Love Sleep, Come Unto Poverty
by Rayna Lissesul
Summary: "If you cannot stand to remember what you have lost, give to me your past and I will blank your slate. In return, I will use your body to do His work. Just don't get too attached… because our relationship cannot last. And do not forget… I love you."
1. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident I

So many months later… And instead of updating, I start anew. ^ . ^ ' Do not hate me…

If you are one of my recurring readers, welcome~! If you are new, I thank you for coming, even if you're just browsing~.

Alright, let's get down to business; this will be an eventual Komui Lee x OC story… Eventually. Very, very eventually. You definitely won't see it for a while, but I do see it (because F F .net has been down for sooo long I, literally, have dozens of chapters just sitting here. ^ . ^ '); Komui is just… such a _nerd_ it takes forever for him to get anywhere relationship-wise! X D Aaah, but I love that labcoat-clad nerd.

The title is subject to change (because I have no idea when and if F F . net is going to break again, so I want to get this up there now, and I just woke up and can't think of a better title at the moment). If you have suggestions, feel free to suggest~. They might help me think…

Oh, and though this is an OC story, it's not AU. I am following the D . Gray-man storyline, though because this is about a character other than Allen, you won't really see the canon storyline in the beginning unless you squint. Very, very hard. But it becomes much more obvious later on.

If the rating changes, it'll be due to swearing and/or violence; I'm gonna try to keep overly sexy things out of this story. I've been doing it too much lately…

Oh, and so I can pace myself, unless things change I'll be updating every other day. Don't wanna run out of chapters too quickly…

Well, what has become my standard far-too-long opening author's note has come to a close~! Read and enjoy, and I'll see you all on Saturday~!

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

_Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes and you will have plenty of bread._ -Proverbs 20:13, English Standard Version 2001

* * *

"La-la la lalala… La-la LA lalaLa…" She sang somewhat tunelessly to herself, lying flat on her back and tossing a soft, cloth ball up and down.

The dark green ball, color so worn it almost looked to be a murky gray, like stagnant water in a gutter on an overcast day, made a soft rattling sound as it left her hand, the smooth, granulated filling allowing the ball to make a slight oblong shape as it went up into the air. It returned to its circular form, though, when it reached the top of its arc, only to flatten slightly with another soft, beady rattle as it fell back into her hand.

"La-la la lalala… La-la LA lalaLa…" When someone gave a pointed cough on the other side of the train car, she sighed softly and closed her mouth, humming the tune to herself, instead, and doing so so low she could hardly hear herself above the noisy clatter of metal on metal as the train sped along the tracks.

She scratched the back of her head with the hand she was using as a pillow as her focus shifted from the up and down motion of her cloth ball to the netting of the luggage rack overhead, watching as other people's bags swayed back and forth with the motion of the train.

The late evening sun cast everything in a dull orange relief and making the outlines of the few strands of hair she was too lazy to push out of her eyes seem red.

Changing the focus of her eyes from her ball to the luggage and then to a close-up of her hair, though, made her eyes and the space on her nose between them hurt, so she caught her ball and closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose and making a slight face. She inhaled some old dust trapped in the crocheted weaving of the dull green cloth, and now the back of her tongue tasted like old carpet…

She shifted her hold on the ball slightly and freed up her forefinger, rubbing it along the bottom of her nose in some vain hope of getting rid of some of the already inhaled dust. All she gained, though, was a slightly annoying itch from the scratchy cotton gloves she was wearing, the sensation only worsened when the ridge of flesh between her nostrils skipped along where the cut-off finger of the glove ended and the skin of her real finger began.

Giving up, she dropped her hand back down to her side and turned to face the back of the seat she was lying, in, burying her face in the nice, cool upholstery and sighing.

"La-la la lalala…" She murmured, closing her eyes, "La-la LA lalaLa…" She didn't even remember how the rest of the song went… She knew she probably wasn't even singing the wordless tune in the right key, like it was playing in her head.

She just remembered that the one part of the chorus, while it had been sad, reminded her of something… something she couldn't pin.

But that was the point the songwriter had been aiming for, she supposed. Nostalgia…

It went well with her mood at the moment… It went well with how her mood usually was.

She wasn't sure what people saw when they looked at her and her faded, travel-worn clothes, her coat that was clearly cut for a male but had been taken in to fit her in the sleeves, her unladylike boots and the gloves she wore (not just because it was cold)… And frankly, she didn't really care.

And it wasn't out of callousness or attitude; she'd just stopped fussing over such things.

Odd or not, worn or not, the clothes reminded her of home… And home made her sleepy…

And she liked sleep. She liked sleep a lot… It brought her comfort.

But that wasn't all sleep brought her, she remembered, opening her eyes slightly and staring at the burgundy back of the seat. No… now sleep was bringing her something else…

A job.

A place to go.

A purpose.

An aim.

A goal.

A place… to live… Maybe… she hoped…

…And that was a nice feeling; hope. Not that she'd ever felt hopeless or depressed, but actively feeling hope, and for a genuine reason was… nice.

And even if she couldn't stay, even if they didn't deem her worthy, even if this feeling wasn't permanent… At least it was something to do…

And she hadn't had something to do in such a long time…

She used to do a lot of things. She didn't really remember much of what it was (she rarely remembered those kind of things when the constant fog in her mind), but she knew she used to be a very active person.

When that had ended, she didn't remember… And it didn't really matter. It had been so long ago, anyway…

And now… now she might have something new to do, so it mattered even less.

And to think, it was all because of Sleep…

She smiled fondly and scooted away from the back of the seat a bit, bringing her right hand up to her face and peeling back the glove portion on her middle finger to look at what laid beneath.

Sleep…

Who knew it would bring her such good fortune?

She clenched her hand into a fist and pressed it against her chest, closing her eyes again as her smile widened slightly.

Sleep…

'Sleep…'

Warmth surrounded her middle finger briefly, and then the constant fog she'd been living in since she couldn't remember when thickened, and quite easily she was asleep.


	2. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident II

Aaah, I forgot to mention in the last chapter… Some of the romanizations of names I will be using may not be ones you, yourselves, use. This is because I have the official DGM -Gray Ark- Fanbook, which provides me with Hoshino's English spellings of character names.

Well… for the most part. The most recent characters aren't in it, so when I don't have official Fanbook romaizations, I use Viz. Yes, they did a sucky job on translating DGM, and yes, I do read every new release on MangaStream, but Viz has a contract with Hoshino's people and I like to respect my mangaka, even if they should have gone with a better international publisher… (And don't call me out on my name usages on my BLEACH fics, ne? ^ . ^' I don't buy BLEACH manga.)

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Dragging her feet and a worn duffel bag, she looked up at the massive structure before her with passive awe.

'Who put this thing all the way up _here_?' and 'What's with the weird atmosphere?' were two natural questions she asked herself…

After all, the campanile-like building ('Venetian architecture…?' She drowsily wondered.) wasn't just at the top of a random and extremely unstable-looking plateau… It was night, there were black clouds (black clouds… at night…?), the moon was full and there were hundreds of little bats flitting around (at least, she thought they were bats… some of them were shaped funny… did bats come in squares?).

"Must be more tired than I thought…" She mumbled, which, really, would be quite a feat for whatever chemicals in her body it was again that made her sleepy. But it was the only rational explanation she could think of when one of the 'bats' that flitted in front of her wasn't just _diamond_-shaped, but also oddly shiny, like metal, with two little red lights for eyes that may or may not have scanned her face with little beams.

She blinked at the 'bat' slowly, suddenly feeling rather dull, but continued walking along, stumbling slightly when one of her feet (which she'd apparently been dragging) skipped along a random rock on the otherwise clean path.

She recovered quickly, though, and when she looked up again the 'bat' had multiplied… There were now eight of them. All of them mostly different shapes (two seemed to be diamonds, one or two were cubes, a few were spherical and she didn't really pay attention to the rest), and all of them aiming little, variously colored beams at her face.

After blinking at them slowly, she stopped walking and raised one arm slightly, her hand darting out with speed belied by her drowsy appearance and snatching one out of the air.

The rest of the 'bats' scattered, terrified, and the one in her hand flapped its delicate-looking little metal wings frantically, buzzing and whirring in her hand.

…Did bats buzz and whirr? And were their wings metal? Something told her 'no'…

"Well, that's what you get." She scolded passively as the non-bat continued to flail and squeak at her (there; squeaking seemed _much_ more appropriate for a bat…). "You shouldn't hover in arm's reach, shoot colored lights in people's faces and expect them to _not_ swat at you… I think there's some lesson in etiquette that may be related to this, though they probably didn't have mechanical bats in mind…"

Still dragging her duffel bag along, she held the mechanical 'bat' up at roughly around her eye length, keeping its little beam-shooting face aimed at her so she was sure it was paying attention.

That, and she wanted to make sure it didn't catch its wings on her coat and hurt itself…

"_Oi, oi, let that go! It's a delicate piece of equipment!_"

She stopped again and glanced at the 'bat,' blinking.

…Huh… bats that spoke English…

"…I fell asleep on the train." She decided in a low mumble, looking ahead again and ignoring the various commands and protests that continued to issue from the English-speaking mechanical bat. "If you don't want them touched, teach them about personal boundaries." She raised her voice slightly, making the 'bat' shut up.

After a walk through a forest and a few more curious inspections from more mechanical 'bats' (all of whom kept a good distance from her), she finally came to the front door and stared up at it, deciding that… yes… she'd fallen asleep on the train.

'Oh, well…' She sighed, staring at the giant, eerie, Easter Island moai-esque face set in relief in the massive door in front of her, 'May as well just go with it…' After all, if she woke up too soon, she'd have nothing to do until the train stopped, and she didn't much care for being too bored… And dreams could be quite entertaining.

After staring up at the face for a few minutes, she dropped her duffel bag and lifted her hand, waving slowly.

"Heeeeeeeey…" She called out slowly, "Oooooooooiii…"

The face didn't react.

A heavy sigh, then she dropped her arm back by her side and eyed her duffel bag favorably. Maybe she could nap until someone decided to check for the newspaper the next morning…? Sleeping in a dream was always a fun conundrum…

"_Please state your name and purpose._"

She turned her attention back to the mechanical 'bat' _still_ clenched in her hand, which had long since given up on struggling and folded its wings primly.

"…Did you just switch accents?" She mumbled thickly after a moment. The 'bat's new voice had spoken in perfect English, yes, and both voices were male, but the new voice seemed to put slightly distinct inflections on certain vowels…

The 'bat' heaved a slightly crackling sigh, then the voice spoke again, "_Beyond the point at the moment. Please state your name and purpose, or we will have no choice but to eliminate you._"

She continued staring at the bat. Eliminate, huh…?

"…Gracia." She answered after a moment, turning her head away and stifling a yawn with one hand before turning back to the 'bat' and finishing, "'nd some nice old guy told me to come here… Said you might be interested in 'Sleep'."

"…_Sleep?_" The slightly accented voice asked after a moment, the serious, business tone fading slightly to be replaced with a distinct sound of curiosity.

"Sleep." Gracia smiled, letting the 'bat' go and lifting her hand.

The moment she pulled off her glove, revealing the thick, silver band around her middle finger, the now flying 'bat' hovered in close, glowing eyes flashing as it examined the ring closely.

"…_Do you happen to remember this 'nice old guy's' name?_" The 'bat' asked after a moment of silence.

"Huuuu…" Gracia sighed heavily, drooping and pressing her ungloved hand against her forehead, "Not so good with names… I wanna say Theodore…? But I know that's not right… Theodore is a first name, and what I'm thinking of is his surname…"

"…_Do you have any proof at all that he directed you here?_"

"Hnnn…" Gracia looked up and to the side, closing her eyes as she thought slowly, then blinked her eyes open, smiling, "Oh, yeah…!" She reached into both of the pockets on her large overcoat, pawing around inside, then gripped several pieces of paper in her left pocket and jerked them out.

After rifling through the papers for a few minutes, pushing a particularly stubborn clump of hair out of the way several times, she finally picked a sealed envelope and showed the 'bat' the front of it, where several lines of step-by-step instructions had been written.

"These are the directions he gave me." Gracia smiled widely, proud of herself for remembering to keep the envelope on her (she had a habit of forgetting things after long naps), "And he told me to…" She paused, her eyes rolling back in her head as she took a moment to think, then snapped her eyes open again and finished, "Tell you to 'not let Yu-_kun_ gut me'." Though she had no idea why a French man would use what she was pretty sure was a Japanese honorific…

The temperature in the air seemed to drop rapidly and Gracia shuddered slightly, sneezing.

After a moment of pregnant silence, the 'bat' snickered, "_Alright, alright. Look up at the Gatekeeper and let him examine you._"

It took Gracia a moment to guess that he was talking about the moai face in the giant doors, and when she went to look up at it she jumped, screaming when she saw the face had leaned in and that its nose was nearly brushing her forehead, beady eyes bugging out.

The face screamed when she did, leaping back against the large doors, and Gracia stumbled back, tripping over her duffel bag and falling flat on her back, arms and legs sprawled out.

There was an awkward moment of silence, then the 'bat' flitted over and said patiently, with a slightly worried tone, "_That's alright… The Gatekeeper does that. Just stand up and try again…_"

"…Can I just lie here and let him do it?" Gracia mumbled, already feeling sleepy, "You know… cut out the possibility of falling again…"

"_Sure!_" The 'bat' replied brightly just as the Gatekeeper tentatively leaned forward again.

The giant face mumbled to itself about 'nasty hobos,' shuddering slightly and wrinkling its nose when it had to lean in close to her, then spoke in a booming voice, "X-ray examination! Determining whether the subject is a human or an Akuma!"

Gracia cringed slightly when two beams of light shot out of the Gatekeeper's eyes, but laid still and closed her eyes as the beams focused on her. She frowned. The lights still shone through her eyelids and burned her retinas…

After a few moments, during which she started to become uncomfortably warm, there was a strange stretching sound, like rubber expanding, and the light was suddenly gone. Gracia opened her eyes and looked up, slightly blinded, to find the Gatekeeper's pupils had been replaced with check marks, one in each eye.

"She… checks out." It grumbled after a moment, "Nasty… nasty hobo…"

Gracia sighed, stumbling to her feet and brushing herself off. Nothing she wasn't used to, but it was still rude…

"_Okay!_" The 'bat' flitted over, the male voice with the very, very slight accent speaking cheerily, now, "_You check out! The gate will open very shortly; just follow the guards inside and I'll come meet you, Miss Gracia!_"

She smiled slightly and waved after the 'bat' as it flitted away, wondering who exactly would 'come to meet her,' then turned back to the Gatekeeper, watching as one of the giant doors (or gate, now that she could see it open properly) slid up.

Gracia blinked, then smiled sleepily at the two men on the other side of the gate, both of whom were wearing identical uniforms of vertically striped tunics and pantaloons.

Both men nodded to her shortly, then tapped the butts of their bladed spears against the ground in unison and turned sharply on their heels, starting to walk.

Snapping to attention after her short daze, Gracia grabbed the strap of her duffel bag and swung it over her shoulder, stumbling a few feet to the side from the weight before shuffling after the men quickly, her heels scraping the ground as he walked.

The men led her across a short, barren courtyard and up the steps to the real entrance of the building, and as they walked Gracia stared at them both, wondering what the uniforms reminded her of…

"What's the Papal Swiss Guard doing in England?" She asked when she finally remembered just _where_ she recognized those uniforms from…

The men paused briefly and glanced back at her, blinking, then turned and faced one another, both taking two steps back and tapping the butts of their glaives against the ground again before standing perfectly still.

Gracia stared at them in confusion for a moment, then jumped slightly and glanced between them and down a ways when someone chuckled.

"They're not the Pontifical Swiss Guard." The man walking towards her smiled, holding a cup of coffee in one hand and adjusting his glasses with the other, "But very good on identifying them. Though it's not a secret, most people wouldn't recognize the Swiss Guard by their uniforms alone…" The man lowered his hand and smiled, starting to extend his hand even as he continued walking towards her, "Hello. I'm Komui Lee."

"Gracia." Gracia smiled back, starting to walk towards him, "Sorry, but I don't remember my sur—"

She didn't make it two steps before, around her right middle finger, Sleep suddenly heated up and dizziness washed over her.

The man, Komui Lee, jerked to a stop and stared at her in shock as she stumbled and dropped her duffel bag, the two guards who had escorted her in suddenly dropping flat. When more members of the Swiss Guard who lined the walls on either side of the room made to rush forward, some with their hands already on their swords, he waved them off, staring at Gracia intently.

Gracia, who had pressed her hand to her forehead and was watching him groggily from between her fingers, mumbled, "Sorry…" She struggled against her own heavy body for a moment, finally managing to stand straight, "Sleep… does that… a lot…"

"Sleep…" Komui repeated slowly, his eyes flickering to the hand she had pressed against her forehead, "Your Innocence, I take it…?"

When the silver ring burned against her forehead, Gracia closed her eyes and groaned, then blinked them open again and stared at Komui drowsily, "Innocence… Yeah… The old guy called it that, too… He said he would have taken me to train me, himself, but Sleep kept putting him and the people he was traveling with to sleep, and he was worried that if it happened at a bad time, we'd all get hurt… So he sent me here…"

As she spoke, she took a moment to look this Komui Lee over… The light blue turtleneck was about the only piece of color he was wearing. His pants and the long jacket he wore over his clothes were both white, as was his beret. Even his shoes (slippers, she noticed with a fleeting sense of envy) had a black and white checkerboard pattern…

"I see…" After a pause, Komui sighed, "So, I take it if I get too close, I'll fall asleep like the guards did?"

"Probably." Gracia mumbled, "I haven't met anyone who can resist Sleep…" She then sighed, herself, "Of course, if Sleep puts me to sleep, things'll only get wor—"

Even as she started to collapse, exhausted, she saw Komui start to pass out, himself, but before he did a flash of black took him and he was gone…

* * *

Komui gasped and leaned against Lenalee heavily as she pulled him out of the foyer and came to a stop in the hallway, the siblings watching with near identical frowns as the disheveled young woman, Gracia, collapsed, along with the twenty something members of the Swiss Guard in the foyer.

"Well, it's no wonder her cognizance and memory skills are so poor." Komui sighed, "If I collapsed and fell asleep at random times, I'd probably be a bit slow in the head, too." He then stared at her, pouting.

Lenalee glanced up at her brother, then giggled, "Brother, your envy is showing…"

"I knooooow!" Komui whined, "But I'm jeeeaaalooous… I wanna sleep like that!" And he did. The unconscious woman looked so content, despite sleeping on a cold stone floor. If he could sleep like that in a _bed_, he wouldn't mind Reever ripping out his throat later…

"I know, Brother, I know." Lenalee sighed and gave Komui's shoulder a consoling pat before letting go of his waist, stepping back once she was sure he could stand on his own and looking back into the room, "But this is a problem…"

"Yeah…" Komui nodded, setting one hand on his hip and taking a sip of his coffee while examining the foyer before lowering his mug and going on, "Such a non-specific Innocence, and one so far out of her control…" He paused, then sighed, "We need to get that ring off of her finger."

"…Shall I go get it?" Lenalee asked after a moment, tipping her head slightly.

Komui twitched slightly, then spread his stance slightly and struck a pose, chuckling, "Hohoho, you? Of course not. No need to put you in any danger… We'll send Kanda."

Lenalee blinked, then sighed, "Brother, there is no danger, it would just put me to sleep… And I'll be in and out before it can affect me. Besides, Kanda just got back from his mission, there's no need to wake him."

"But what if you did fall asleep?" Komui asked dramatically, his lower lip sticking out in a pout as he pulled his sister into a tight hug, his glasses catching the light and tears pouring down his face, "And what if you fell while going at a high speed and smacked your head against the cold, harsh stone floor? No! I will not let my little Lenalee risk brain damage!"

"No worse than the spinal damage you're going to cause if you hug me any tighter." Lenalee twitched slightly, her smile taking an exasperated tone as she pushed against her brother's stomach, "I'm going in, Brother."

"No!" Komui wailed even as Lenalee pushed him away, "I will not allow it!"

"I'm off, Brother!" Lenalee said brightly, activating her boots even as Komui dove after her and zipping into the foyer. Ignoring the dramatic cries and wails that followed her, she knelt beside Gracia and lifted the woman's hand, grabbing the ring on her finger and tugging.

The young Exorcist's eyes widened when the ring not only refused to budge, but flashed brightly, a wave of numbness shooting up her arm.

Gritting her teeth as dizziness and grogginess settled over her mind like a thick fog, Lenalee stood partway and shot straight back, zooming past her brother in a torrent of dust and collapsing several feet back down the hall.

Komui stared at her in shock, then dropped his coffee mug and dashed over to her, even as several others who had snuck over to see the new person knelt behind her and started asking her questions.

Lenalee closed her eyes and panted slightly, vaguely hearing her brother bark something at the others. When they backed off, she opened her eyes and looked up at Komui as he knelt in front of her, a serious frown on his face.

"The Innocence… won't let her go." Lenalee panted out, still fighting off the intense urge to sleep and glancing down at her limp arm, "And it numbed me…"

Komui's frown deepened and he glanced over his shoulder, back towards the foyer, "Stubborn, is it…?"

Lenalee and the members of the Science Division who were behind her were silent, watching the Supervisor as he thought, then blinking expectantly when he sighed and stood.

"We'll just have to wait until the effects wear off, then." Komui shook his head, "Hopefully it won't take too long…" He then turned to his sister and picked her up, walking down the hall and barking orders, "Partition off the foyer and warn everyone against going in there! I want someone stationed there at all times; take her straight to Hevlaska and inform me when she's awake so we can get that ring off! And someone clean up my coffee!"

Lenalee sighed and closed her eyes, smiling slightly.

He only acted bossy when he had a mess he was going to have someone else clean…

* * *

Gracia opened her eyes slightly and looked up, taking a moment to look at the unfamiliar ceiling above her.

When she finally remembered where she was, she smiled faintly and closed her eyes again, going back to sleep.

They hadn't kicked her out yet…

Maybe she would get to stay…


	3. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident III

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia yawned and rubbed her eye, stumbling along as the person holding her hand pulled her down several hallways and flights of stairs quickly.

Whoever it was had snatched her up as soon as she'd stood after her nap… She hadn't even had time to grab her duffel bag…

She didn't even think about protesting; she was too busy making sure her feet touched the ground with each step so she didn't trip on air. It had happened before, after all, and she was prone to it when she was tired.

When she was led across a narrow platform and onto some sort of veranda, she blinked and smiled, waving to Komui Lee when he glanced over at her.

"Morning…!" She greeted, her voice still thick with sleep.

Komui seemed to pout briefly (was it just her, or did he seem to look a bit envious…?), then nodded to her quickly before looking back at the keyboard-looking thing in front of him, pressing his hand against something.

The veranda they were on jolted, and Gracia stumbled and grabbed onto the rail quickly, putting a bit too much of her wait against the bar and leaning over the edge. When she finally realized the 'veranda' they were on was some sort of platform elevator and that they seemed to be sinking down, she groaned and turned away from the railing, falling to her knees and pressing her hand to her stomach.

The person who had dragged her through the building knelt beside her quickly, sounding nervous as he asked, "M-Miss? Is your Innocence acting up again?"

"Not really…" Gracia mumbled, groaning and pressing her hand against her mouth, "Something of a side effect of it, though… Vertigo affects me badly, and elevators don't help… Just downward motions, though."

"Don't worry!" She heard Komui call out to her brightly, "It will be over shortly."

Gracia sighed and just laid down on the floor of the lift, curling up and closing her eyes. She didn't think about how odd it might look to Komui and the man who had brought her here… She was used to just laying down wherever she was when she felt tired. And though she wasn't tired, being upright was only going to make her nausea worse.

Though laying down didn't seem to make things much better, she noticed, because when the lift stopped and a glowing white, tentacled form leaned over it, several tendrils scooping her up into the air, Gracia couldn't even bring herself to fight.

She could only watch in terror as the tendrils brought her up to a vaguely face-like part of the creature, where a feminine nose, chin, and somewhat plump pair of lips waited.

"It's… alright…" The lips of the creature parted and spoke in the soft voice of a woman, the tendrils wrapping around Gracia a bit more snugly and cradling her carefully, "I am just… going to examine you…"

Despite the female creature's words, Gracia's panic only increased when she felt something _slithering_ under her skin. She started hyperventilating, her bones shaking under her skin and her teeth rattling against one another.

Tearing, she looked at Komui and the other man on the platform in a panic.

When Komui only gave her a reassuring smile, though, she turned to the only other thing she could think of.

"Sleep…" She whimpered, closing her eyes, "Sleep, Sleep, Sleep…"

Around her right middle finger, the ring heated up quickly, making the tendrils around her falter.

"Miss Gracia, calm down!" She heard Komui call out to her.

She wasn't sure if she wanted to fall asleep, or if she wanted to put the creature to sleep, but before either could happen a tendril wrapped around her finger, and in the next moment the band of comforting heat was gone.

Gracia stiffened and stared upwards with wide eyes, tears pouring down her face as the creature hovered over her, somehow managing to look sympathetic without having eyes.

"Your connection with your Innocence is strained… when you call out to it under duress…" The female creature explained in a gentle tone, "I'll give back… Sleep, you called it?… once you've calmed down…"

Gracia stared at the creature, trembling and hyperventilating worse than before.

She hadn't been separated from Sleep ever since she had first put it on… And she didn't remember when that had been… She'd never been able to take it off, and no one had ever removed it from her.

That this… thing… whatever it was, could do it so easily, and without making her feel even the slightest tug, had her far more terrified than the creature's appearance.

She… she hadn't realized… how dependant she had become on Sleep's steady presence…

"My name is Hevlaska…" The creature went on, still speaking in a gentle, calm, muted voice, "And I, like you, am an Accommodator for the Innocence…"

"…Ac-ccommodat-tor…?" Gracia repeated after a moment, her voice shaking slightly.

"One who is compatible with the Innocence…" The creature, Hevlaska, explained patiently, "The Innocence… choose who they wish to wield them. If an Accommodator has a high enough synchronization rate with the Innocence, then they stand to become an Exorcist…"

"…Exorcist…" Gracia blinked slowly, starting to feel oddly calm, even without Sleep with her. And that almost scared her as much as losing it to begin with had…

"Explanations can be saved for later…" Hevlaska murmured, the tendril around Gracia's right middle finger twitching slightly and something cold wrapping around it, "I will now determine your synchronization rate with your Innocence…"

Gracia shuddered and closed her eyes, quickly (especially for her) realizing that the cold (and now warming) band on her finger was Sleep, then squinting her eyes slightly when something warm and smooth pressed against her forehead.

"…5%… 17%… 32… 59… 76… 78…"

When the smooth, warm fleshy presence left her forehead, Gracia blinked her eyes open and looked up at Hevlaska.

"Gracia, your current maximum synchronization rate with your Innocence stands at 78%…" Hevlaska explained, "Though this is somewhat lower than the average, which explains your lack of control, you have been in contact with your Innocence for some time… and thus are capable of improving your synchronization rate quite easily…"

"…So long as it doesn't put me to sleep, first…" Gracia mumbled, shuddering slightly as Hevlaska set her back down onto the lift carefully.

"Gracia…" When Hevlaska started with her name again, Gracia looked up at her, blinking when she saw how close she was, "When the time comes and you must let Sleep go, you will have troubles… If you do not start distancing yourself from it now, the separation will destroy you."

Gracia blinked, swaying slightly as she took a moment to think over Hevlaska's words. Once she had, she brought her right hand up to her chest and hugged it with her left, the only thing she seemed to glean from the prophet's words being, "Sleep… is going to leave me…?"

* * *

"…And that is all there is to know!" Komui finished brightly, clapping his hands and smiling at Gracia, "Any questions?"

Gracia stared at the man behind his desk flatly for a moment, thinking, then mumbled, "No… But I will have you know… that stunt you pulled…? Not telling me anything and nearly giving me a heart attack when I met Hevlaska…? Yeah… I've never wanted to punch someone more."

Komui chuckled, leaning back in his seat and adjusting his glasses with an almost proud smile, "Yeah, I have that effect on people…"

Gracia twitched slightly, then sighed, mumbling, "Mr. Lee…"

"Yes?" Komui tipped his head to the side slightly.

Gracia looked down at her hand, where the plain silver band that was Sleep shone dully, then looked back up at him, "Sir… When Mr… Tiedoll, you said his name was? …When he told me to come here… he said that… I might not be able to stay… if I wasn't approved…" She paused, then drooped slightly in her seat, "Hevlaska… said my synchronization rate was low… Do I have to leave…? Are you going to take Sleep from me? Am I… not acceptable?"

Komui blinked, a shocked look crossing his face, then stared at the woman in front of him.

Even though she clearly wasn't a teenager (he would even venture to say she wasn't much younger than him), she obviously had a… severely immature disposition. Which wasn't to say she was stupid; she was just extremely child-like in some aspects, such as her dependence on others…

He could tell by just looking at her that she had no home; her clothes weren't just worn, they were close to tearing in some places. Her face was gaunt, as if she were malnourished, and though he couldn't see what her physique was like underneath the many layers she wore, he knew she was short for her age because she was underweight.

And the way she spoke of her Innocence, Sleep… It was clear she was heavily dependant on it.

As if it was her only companion, as well as her only reprieve from the world.

If he had honestly had to tell her she had to not only leave, but also leave Sleep behind with the Order, the guilt would have kept him from sleeping soundly for at least a week.

But the Black Order wasn't a charity organization; if Komui had honestly felt she was incapable of learning to master her Innocence properly, he would have had Hevlaska keep it when she'd removed it from the girl (woman?) and had her escorted to the nearest town.

Even before he'd had a chance to properly assess her physical appearance, Komui had already made his decision.

"Of course you're acceptable." He smiled at her, "The Innocence has chosen you. You're an Exorcist now." Komui then paused before quirking a brow slightly, "Unless you don't want to, that is…" (Not that she had much choice at that point, but getting a new Exorcist to affirm their own willingness was always a good idea…)

"N-No, I do!" Gracia squeaked, jumping up so fast the sleepy haze that was a constant in her mind thickened briefly, making her stumble and reach back to grip the arms of the chair she had been sitting in desperately in order to keep herself upright, "I do, I do, I do, I really, really do…"

"Good!" Komui smiled brightly, standing, "Well, then, so long as that has been decided, if you'll come with me I'll do a quick examination of your Innocence, have you fill out a bit of paperwork, then take you to whichever room Lenalee has assigned to you."

"…Room?" Gracia blinked slowly, confused, before she carefully turned and followed Komui as he walked out of his office.

"Of course." Komui chuckled, "Everyone has their own bedroom here… You don't honestly think we commute, do you? Did you see the size of that cliff out there? Traffic would be horrendous…"

Gracia blinked at his back, walking after him with her naturally slightly stumbling gait, but by the time she had thought of a response to what he had said she knew the 'unspoken allotted time for response' had past…

Because she had been under Sleep's influence for so long, she had had no choice but to learn a… new spin on societal norms.

While most people responded to quips or stabs at humor with their own remarks within at least three seconds, six at most, her perception of time was a bit… skewed… and it took her a bit to think of something.

She was really only able to respond to questions and direct statements; the sort where the 'ball' is passed from one side of the 'court' to the other with the expectation that it will, eventually, come back. Like tennis.

Short and humorous, things, though, were like baseball… hit and miss. And if you responded too late, you were looked at like you were odd. Because people had already put whatever they had said out of their minds and moved onto the next topic, if you dwelled to think about it, you were weird and slow.

And Gracia was already slow enough without others thinking she was dumb, as well…

"—cia…? Miss Gracia?"

Gracia jumped slightly and blinked, looking around. Komui was standing next to a metal table that had a large, moveable lamp over it, the objects fitting as the rest of the room gave her the impression it was some sort of medical exam room. When had they gotten here…?

Komui smiled at her sheepishly, gesturing to the table, "You look like you might have fallen asleep while you were walking… Why don't you lay down? We don't want you to collapse and hit your head…"

Had she any sense, Gracia might have had half a mind to feel embarrassed.

Instead she just eyed the exam table happily and shuffled over to it, turning and sitting on the edge before swinging her legs up and laying down. Even though the paper crinkled loudly underneath her and the lamp shone in her eyes brightly, a flat surface was a flat surface, and the only time she ever felt truly balanced was when she was laying down… She was painfully aware of how badly she swayed when she was sitting or standing; especially standing.

Chuckling slightly at her eagerness, Komui pulled up a stool and sat on her right side, holding out his hand. When Gracia put her hand in his, he automatically pulled it up to his face, separating her fingers and looking at Sleep closely.

Gracia shifted slightly, looking uncomfortable. She was feeling particularly protective of Sleep after what had happened with Hevlaska…

"…Strange…" Komui mumbled, "Your Innocence isn't affecting me at all, so it must not be activated, yet you still seem exhausted…"

Gracia blinked, then smiled sheepishly, "I'm always sleepy… And Sleep only makes me extremely tired and puts others to sleep when I panic. I'm sorry for what happened in the front earlier with the guards… The Gatekeeper scared me."

"Oh, is that what that was about?" Komui chuckled, shaking his head and setting her hand back on her stomach as he stood and walked over to one of the many cabinets in the room, "A bit of a delayed reaction, though, don't you think?"

"Sleep takes a bit to react when I'm really tired." Gracia explained, glancing at the doorway as a girl in a black-skirted uniform with her hair pulled up into two high tails on either side of her head walked in, "And that climb up the plateau wasn't easy…"

"I'd imagine…" Gracia jumped slightly when Komui's tone suddenly changed to one of hyper elation, "Ah, here she is! Miss Gracia, this is my beautiful, intelligent, adorab—"

"I'm his younger sister, Lenalee Lee." The girl interrupted Komui easily, smiling and bowing to Gracia slightly, "It's a pleasure."

"Hello." Gracia smiled at Lenalee, lifting her hand and waving, "I'd sit up, but I'm afraid I'd get lightheaded and fall…"

"That's fine." Lenalee giggled slightly, walking over and holding out a clipboard, "If you could fill out what you can on these, I'll send them to be processed."

Gracia nodded and took the clipboard, propping up her legs and using her lap as a makeshift, largely upright table as she lifted her head, took the pen out of the snap on the clipboard and started filling out the papers with her left hand.

"Left-handed?" Komui sat back down, carrying several tools with him, "Isn't that awkward with your Innocence?"

"I'm right-handed." Gracia mumbled, blinking slowly so her eyes would focus. Paperwork always tended to make her sleepy… "But because Sleep is on my right hand, I've had to learn how to be left-handed for certain things… And you still need to examine it, right?"

"True." Komui chuckled. His tone then turned light and casual as he spoke, "I'm going to put your Innocence under certain… stimulants. I assure you, I know precisely what I am doing, but you… might not want to look."

Gracia slowed slightly in her writing after he said that.

He was going to mess around with Sleep.

He was going to mess around with Sleep, who wouldn't come off of her hand.

He was going to mess around with Sleep, directly next to her dominant hand.

She wasn't going to look, she decided. Gracia wasn't one to… panic too much… if the situation didn't call for it… But all day long, it had been stress after stress… It seemed this new world she was in was one where she would panic frequently.

And if she panicked now, then she would put Komui to sleep, and she would put him to sleep while he was messing with Sleep, right next to her hand…

…She wasn't going to look.

Unfortunately… when the loud whirring of the drill started up, her eyes slowly migrated over without her permission…


	4. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident IV

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia opened her eyes slowly and stared at the stone ceiling above her stuffily, feeling extremely disoriented and uncomfortable.

She'd slept with her mouth open, apparently, because her lips were parted and chapped and her tongue felt too warm as she breathed in and out. When she moved her tongue out and around to lick her lips, it felt like sandpaper…

For an indeterminable amount of time, she was unable to move, her brain incapable of registering her limbs or even her torso. Even when she could feel her body and move again, her movements were dramatically slow. She almost tired herself out again just swinging her legs over the edge of the bed she was lying on…

Another typical waking.

But a bed…?

Gracia sat up slowly and blinked down at the edge of the bed peeking out from between her legs. Where was she…? She hadn't slept in a bed for such a long time… Had someone found her collapsed outside and taken her to a hospital?

But… this place didn't look like a hospital, she realized as she slowly lifted her head and looked around with watery, half-lidded eyes.

An average sized room with a bed, a small rug beneath her feet, random and neutral posters on the wall, a desk in one corner and a dresser not far from it…

…It looked far more like a personal room than a hospital.

…Meaning she was… in a house…?

Great. What had she forgotten this time…?

Gracia sighed and rolled her eyes back into her head, mentally stumbling over herself as she tried to remember where she was… or, at least, where she'd last been. Hadn't she been in Rome at one point or another? And had that before or after Granada…?

After several moments of dizzy thinking, Gracia realized what a mistake closing her eyes had been.

She had to forcibly peel her eyes open again when she felt herself slump back onto her side, and she sighed as she stared at the wall across the room.

Where was sh— Ah…! Now she remembered…! She'd been in Hambleton when she'd met Mr. … Theodore…? …Tidball…? …Tillerman…? …Whatever his name had been, and he'd given her a letter and directions and told her to go to the… Black Order…?

Then, there'd been a long train ride, a plateau it had taken her forever to scale, a… giant face in a wall? …And then that guy in white…

Ah, he'd been doing a procedure on Sleep!

Suddenly energized, more energized than she'd been in a while, Gracia sat up quickly (or as quickly as possible for her, which was still rather slow) and went to look down at her hand, then stopped, a feeling of anxiety gripping her. What if he'd… hacked her hand off…?

Gracia whimpered softly and closed her eyes, her temporary strength fading as she swayed.

Please, let her hand still be there, let her hand still be there…

She looked down to her right, heaving a huge sigh of relief when she saw that both her hand and Sleep were still intact.

Her mind at ease, Gracia relaxed and slowly lifted her head to stare across the room and at the wall, waiting to wake up a bit more. After all, she still hadn't _completely_ remembered everything, and she needed to ask someone what was going on…

When she could move without exhausting herself, Gracia stood slowly, stretching her arms high over her head when she was balanced and yawning widely. She arched her spine back, several joints cracking, and rocked forward onto the tips of her toes, clawing at the air.

Feeling a bit more energized after a good stretch, Gracia shook her head and smacked her lips, frowning slightly at the taste in her mouth and looking around the room slowly. She wanted to find a bathroom now…

Blinking and smiling slowly when she saw her duffel bag over in front of the dresser in the room, Gracia stumbled over to it and grabbed the strap, hefting it up and swinging it over her shoulder.

Her groggy mind set on finding the bathroom, Gracia stumbled out of the room she'd slept it, practical things like pausing to remember what door it was out of all of the others in the hallway and making sure she hadn't left it locked behind herself slipping her mind as she stumbled down the dark corridor.

Despite the walls, floors and ceiling being made of stone, the air was so warm and cozy…

She could feel herself getting drowsy again…

Gracia let out a small, choked whine as she stumbled around, trying to get her bearings. Why did all of the walls look the same…?

Not seeing the staircase coming, Gracia didn't have time to prepare to trip up and fell, crying out as she went tumbling head over heels down a flight of stairs, her cry ending in a squeak when she slammed into a banister. She then grunted when her bag landed heavily on her stomach, staring at the ceiling dazedly and wondering just what had happened…

"Ah, are you alright!"

"Hey!"

Gracia blinked slowly as two figures leaned over her, one with brown hair, glasses and headphones and the other larger than the first with a hat pulled down over his eyes.

"M-Miss Exorcist?" The one with the glasses squeaked, looking her over worriedly, "Are you alright?"

"…'m fine." Gracia mumbled slowly after a moment, pressing her palms against the ground and sitting up slowly. When her hands slipped and she started to fall back, two pairs of hands grabbed her shoulders and kept her upright.

"Do you have a concussion?" A deeper voice than the man with the glasses had had (so it was presumably the other guy… right?) asked quickly, large hands scooping Gracia up, "C'mon, Johnny, let's get her to the infirmary!"

"Right! Let's go, Tup!"

"No… concussion…"

The two men stopped to blinked down at her, "Eh?"

Gracia pouted and whimpered, lying her head on Tup's shoulder and whining, "Sleeeeepy…"

The two men from the Science Division blinked, then nodded slowly, "Oooh…"

Once she was on her feet and had (groggily) explained her situation, the shorter of the two, Johnny, laughed and smiled at her.

"Oh, so you're that new 'sleeper' Exorcist? That explains it… Well, you should have a bathroom in your room. You're a girl, after all, and girls have bathrooms in their own room if they don't want to go to the communal female washrooms."

Tup and Johnny shuddered, remembering how adamant Supervisor Komui had been about _that_ when the issue had first come up…

Gracia, who had completely missed their shudders and expressions because of one long, exhausted blink, stared at Johnny and mumbled, "My room…?"

"Yeah…" Johnny smiled, nodding, "The one you just woke up in!"

"…Which one was that again…?" Gracia asked softly, her eyes rolling back into her head and one hand rubbing her forehead as she thought, "One floor up and…"

Tup and Johnny exchanged glances, then picked up Gracia's duffel bag and set their hands on her shoulders, guiding her back up the stairs.

Gracia stumbled and let them, yawning widely and rubbing at her eyes as she slumped up one step at a time, nearly tripping on the last. She muttered a slow apology when the two young men had to yelp and grab her to keep her upright, then sighed and continued letting them push her down the hall.

The trio stopped to stare at the door the confused and tired young (older?) woman had left open in mixed exasperation and embarrassment (the later more on Gracia's part), but Tup and Johnny chuckled/giggled it off and pushed her in.

"Right there, see?" Johnny pointed to the other doorway in her room, smiling, "Sink, shower, the works. You should even have some prepackaged toiletries in there."

"…Yer not gonna fall asleep standing in the shower and hit your head, are you?" Tup asked after watching Gracia smile at Johnny sleepily and sway, "That hasn't… happened before has it?"

Johnny's brows shot up and a frown twisted onto his face.

"…Dooon't worry…!" Gracia drawled after a moment, grinning at them lopsidedly and saluting, "I haven't fallen asleep standing up in the shower in…" She trailed off, her eyes rolling back into her head as she thought.

She stood like that for two minutes.

Johnny and Tup exchanged glances, both having similar thoughts; maybe she shouldn't be bathing by herself… She should probably go to one of the few female communal washrooms the building had.

"…I know, I know." Gracia sighed five minutes later, shaking her head, "This… doesn't look so good, does it?" When Johnny and Tup tried to assure her, she giggled and waved them off, "Don't worry, don't worry, you guys aren't the first to doubt me… And it's not like you're way off the mark or anything… But it's all good." Her lopsided, sleepy smile widened, "I may not be able to measure time very well, but I know it's been a while since the last time I got a serious injury from falling asleep in the shower."

…This didn't make either of the two Science Division members feel better in the least.

Even though they smiled and nodded at Gracia, they waited outside of her room, ears pressed against the door as they listened for anything that may have sounded like a squeak… or a thump… or a crash… or the sound of a severely underweight female slipping, smacking her head against the wall or a faucet and falling to the ground. Something like that.

They were so focused, in fact, that they didn't notice the extra ear press against the door alongside theirs.

"What're we listening to?"

Both young men jumped away from the door with shocked yelps at the dramatically whispered question, clutching at their chests with identical movements as they stared at the building Supervisor with wide, terrified eyes.

Komui pouted, tipping his head, "Aww, c'mon, what'd I do? I'm not _that_ scary, am I?"

"Shh!" Johnny hissed as Tup slapped his large hand over Komui's mouth, "She might hear you!"

Komui squeaked and flailed against Tup's hand, gasping and glaring between the two when he managed to free himself, "Are you boys doing something _perverted_?"

Tup and Johnny blinked at the Supervisor, then rolled their eyes.

"No, no." Tup shook his head.

"We're trying to make sure Miss Gracia doesn't kill herself!" Johnny explained.

Komui blinked as the young men laid out many elaborate scenarios, listening amusedly but keeping his face utterly blank, as if he were still incriminating them. They were so funny…

"…Yeah, yeah, I get it, I get it." He finally brushed them off when they started to turn green from their own graphic descriptions of hypothetical head wounds. They were going from funny to just sick, now. "And good job, but you do really have to be so obsessive? I mean it's not like she's actually going to…" Komui trailed off, thinking.

Did he really think that she wouldn't fall asleep standing up in the shower?

…Not two minutes later, all three ears were pressed back against the door as Komui, Johnny and Tup listened to make sure Gracia didn't kill herself.

* * *

Gracia peeled her clothes off and left them in a heap on the floor, what started as a simple shudder that wracked her entire frame turning into severe shivers as she hugged herself and stepped into the shower.

Saying she couldn't remember the last time she had been completely naked would be rather pointless, because Gracia was well aware of the fact that her memory was almost completely useless, but she knew it had been quite a long while… Even when she changed clothes from one extremely grungy pair to something a bit less grungy, she always left at least an undershirt on, or maybe socks and pants, depending on what needed changing…

And a shower… Not a sleepy splashing in a river or lake, or a quick wipe down in a public bathroom with paper towels, but an actual shower…

Gracia flinched and hissed as she stepped underneath the hot stream, lowering her head and staring at her feet as the water cascaded down. Even without her touching or washing anything, filth just slid right off of her skin, staining the water almost black by the time it reached her feet and swirled around the base of the shower before going down the drain.

After staring at the murky water for a moment, feeling a twinge of shame, Gracia grabbed the still wrapped bar of soap on one of the shelves built into the wall and tore it open, closing her eyes and starting to wash with as much vigor as her body could muster. Unfortunately, with closing her eyes came a spike in her drowsiness, and her vigor didn't last long before she slumped against the wall of the shower, her feet sliding apart slightly…

Before she could fall, Sleep burned against her finger, waking her up.

With Sleep continuing to nudge her periodically, Gracia finished washing her body and her hair, the water that ran down the drain as clear as the water coming out of the showerhead by the time she was done. Feeling more awake than she had in some time, Gracia stepped out of the shower and managed to not fall, as one (herself, included) might have suspected she would have.

Feeling so cognizant she was (ironically) starting to suspect she was dreaming, she wrapped her hair up and padded back into her bedroom, opening her duffel bag and riffling around for the cleanest (or, though it's bad grammar, 'least dirty' would be more colloquially accurate) set of clothes she had available…

Shortly after dressed in a pair of worn but still fairly darkly colored, loose-in-the-waist-and-hips dress pants and a somewhat frilly dress shirt, Gracia turned and stumbled back over to her bedroom door, opening it…

…And staring down at her feet when three bodies fell inside and collapsed in a heap.

…Oh, was it naptime?

A drowsy smile curled on Gracia's lips, and just as the three men started to pick themselves back up (all muttering some apology or embarrassed explanation or another) she fell forward and collapsed on top of them, going right to sleep.

Waking up and taking a shower had really drained her…

* * *

After he had freed them from the thin but somehow heavy (was it her sleep 'aura'?) mass that was Gracia, Komui sent Johnny and Tup back to their stations before hauling Gracia to her feet and dragging her towards his office.

Fortunately, Sleep apparently hadn't registered her sudden loss of consciousness as a reaction to a threat.

Unfortunately, it seemed that even though Gracia hadn't activated it, Sleep was _still_ sending out _some_ kind of 'aura,' because the closer they got to Komui's office, the _heavier_ she seemed to get, and the more Komui wanted to sleep…

…Or maybe he was just so used to having reactions of aversion to work that his subconscious was rebelling before his conscious mind even thought about it…?

Oooo, mind boggler~!

Komui snickered, then finished dragging Gracia into his office and deposited her on the sofa in front of his desk, walking back to his seat with a heavy sigh. He needed to talk to her, but with her randomly falling asleep all of the time having her on hand would be more time efficient than sending out word for her and just waiting for her to come stumbling in…

However, though it seemed like Komui would be waiting quite a bit of time, Gracia actually woke up shortly after the Supervisor sat down at his desk to work, making him blink. There really was no rhyme or reason to her random sleeping patterns…

"Hnn…" Gracia sat up slowly and looked around, and Komui blinked again as the towel she had on her head slipped off. So, her hair was actually auburn? How strange; before she showered, it looked like it should have been a darker brown…

Komui shuddered; that was a bit nasty.

Still, she was cleaner now, and it actually made her look better. A lot better…

"…Kevin."

Komui blinked and stared at her.

Gracia blinked and stared back at him, sitting upright with her feet planted on the floor, now. She sighed and closed her eyes, rubbing her temple, "No, no, 'Kevin' isn't right… Though I know it's a 'K' name… Wasn't the first syllable 'Ko-'? Lesse… 'Kobe'?" She tipped her head, frowning slightly as she kept her eyes closed, "'Kodi'? 'Konrad'? 'Konami'?"

Komui twitched slightly and stared at her, listening to her rattle off dozens of names before finally supplying, "Komui."

"…That's the one." Gracia snapped her fingers, opening her eyes again slowly and smiling at him sheepishly, "Sorry about that, Mr. Lee… I have a hard time with names…"

"That's fine." Komui assured, smiling. After all, every time they'd spoken she'd been half asleep, and it was obvious her cognizance and memory skills were terrible… But he couldn't help but wonder, "Is that why you didn't fill your surname or any other pertinent information on the paperwork Lenalee gave you?"

Komui held up the clipboard of papers she had started to fill out during the previous day's physical exam, frowning slightly when her eyes glazed as she stared at it.

"…Surname… date of birth… blood type… age… height… weight…" The woman started listing slowly, remembering the different sections from the paperwork, "Dependants… family… hometown… These are all things… I lost a long… long time ago." Komui's fingers twitched slightly when Gracia looked at him and smiled sleepily, "You have such thorough paperwork… Everything that's filled out… is the sum of my life as it is now. My name is Gracia. I am homeless. I did have a home and family once, yes, but I've long forgotten the details…

"I am not poor, I do have some money that I keep on me at all times, but I don't have a permanent job. I travel from town to town, doing what little work there is for a woman in my position to do… London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast, Granada, Madrid, Paris, Luxembourg, Warsaw, Rome… There are few places in Europe I haven't been. The Gatekeeper was right on when he called me a hobo. I have an Innocence… I call it Sleep. Sleep is my only companion, and it seems to have the ability to put those around me to sleep, at the cost of the same thing happening to me…"

Komui continued staring at the woman as she fell silent and looked down at her right hand, the fingers of her left gently clasping the ring on her right middle finger as she held it close.

"…And now, Sleep has given me something more." Gracia looked up at Komui and smiled, "I have a new job, a new purpose, and new companions! I'm sorry I can't fill in all of the blanks for you, but I promise… I'll do my best to overcome my drowsiness and work hard."

Komui sat in silence for a moment, staring right into Gracia's exhausted, foggy, but happy gray eyes.

He watched just as silently as she fell onto her side, going back to sleep on the sofa.

After a moment, Komui chuckled, "I'm sure you will."

* * *

_^ . ^ ' Well, this is getting a tad depressing... Is anyone even reading this?_


	5. HPPD Flashback: Record Lost

As per request by one of my readers, the rating of this story will not go above 'T'; this means no heavy swearing, no excessively graphic descriptions of violence, and no overly sexual situations…

And, frankly, I prefer it that way; I have more chapters of this story already written than any of you can imagine (except Inuyoshie, but she has an advantage over the rest of y'all, so HA! ;p), so I already have the tone of this story cemented in my mind, and it's not really an M story. I'd have to really, _really_ work at it to make it M, and then it would just suck because of how forced it would be.

I'm a bit burnt out on writing M at the moment, anyway… It's nice to be in the T zone again. So, if any of my old readers stumble across this and wait around with baited breath for another salacious/torture scene… Sorry, not happening here. ^ . ^ '

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"Gracia, you remember Lenalee, right?"

Gracia nodded and smiled at Komui and Lenalee, "Yeah… Well, her name kinda escaped me for a moment, but I did remember flashes. You guys are siblings, right?"

Komui nodded, smiling widely, "Yes, very good! Now, Lenalee is going to take you down to the training facility today and help you with your Innocence."

Gracia nodded again, still smiling. That seemed like a good idea… She'd been in the Order for just two days now, but she'd seen Lenalee zipping around on occasion (a very, very rare occasion, considering Gracia had problems venturing far from her room), and the teenager seemed like she could be fast enough to escape should Sleep accidentally be set off…

"We had to clear out the training facility for the two of you." Komui chuckled, shaking his head and pushing several mountains of papers aside as members of the Science Division continued to flock in and out of his door, loading his desk up and making it impossible to see the two females standing in front of him, "But it's all for the best. We can't have you sleeping in your room all of the time, but we also can't have you accidentally knocking anyone out while they have their Innocence activated… Someone could fall and hurt themselves."

Gracia smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head as Lenalee giggled.

"Besides," Komui perked, "Since sleeping actually just seems to make you even more tired, maybe exercise will wake you up!"

"Maybe, indeed…" Gracia continued smiling, even when she had to raise her hand and cover her mouth as she yawned widely.

Komui pouted (something Gracia was starting to think he only did around her because he was envious of how much she slept…), then glanced at Lenalee and nodded.

Lenalee nodded back to her brother, smiling, then turned and took Gracia's wrist, pulling her to the door.

Gracia, who had gone from yawning to nearly falling asleep on her feet, jerked awake with a soft squeak and stumbled after her, blinking and trying to hold Sleep back when it flared at the sudden rough treatment.

She then smiled at the back of Lenalee's head slightly.

It had been the day before yesterday, late in the evening, that she'd climbed up the precarious plateau that the European Branch of the Black Order was situated on, and it had been about midnight when Komui had finally managed to take her to Hevlaska and then examined her Innocence…

Her paperwork had been filed early the next morning, and then after that she'd woken up just before noon and had met Johnny and Tup, only to fall asleep after talking to Komui and sleep through the rest of the day and the night.

That made today her second day, and already she knew these people's names better than… well… anyone else's. That included her own name, of course, considering she knew the Lee siblings' surnames without knowing her own.

She was really, really starting to like this.

"Oh, that reminds me, shall we go to the cafeteria before we start training?" Lenalee glanced back at Gracia, smiling, "You haven't eaten since you got here, have you?"

"…I don't think so." Gracia smiled sheepishly, looking around slowly as Lenalee pulled her down a few hallways and several flights of stairs.

When they walked through a large, tall archway into a massive dining hall, Gracia had to stop and shake her head, reeling from both the large amount of people occupying the tables and benches and the smell of _food_…

Saliva flooded her mouth and Gracia had to swallow several times, her stumbling worsening as Lenalee pulled her over to the line of people trailing from a small window in the wall of bars to the right of the entrance, where a brown-skinned man with dark hair pulled back in dozens of braids that had been further separated into two ponytails stirred a frying pan while talking to the person in front of him at the same time.

The man with the frying pan made a comment, the person he was talking to rubbed the back of his head and smiled sheepishly, saying something back, then took the tray offered to him and walked off towards the tables…

And that was all Gracia needed to assume that the man behind the window was the head chef.

"His name is Jeryy." Gracia glanced at Lenalee, who smiled and pointed to the chef, "He's the head chef of the kitchens and one of Komui's friends… He's worked for the Order for quite some time."

"Aah…" Gracia nodded. Then it seemed like she blinked, and suddenly she was standing in front of the window, staring at a smiling but seemingly confused Jeryy.

"You okay, hon?" The chef asked, tipping his head.

"…Hehe, yeah." Gracia smiled, rubbing the back of her head, "I probably just fell asleep on my feet again…"

Jeryy blinked, then snickered, "I see, I see…" He then smiled at Gracia widely, "Well, hon, I'm Jeryy; it's nice to meet you. What can I make you?"

Gracia smiled back, "I'm Gracia, and the pleasure is all mine… Now… food…" She blinked, her eyes rolling back into her head as she thought, "What do I wan—"

"Wait, did you say Gracia?" When Gracia blinked her eyes open in confusion, Jeryy clicked his tongue, shaking his head, "Komui told me about you, hon; you're supposed to be put on a special diet to help you gain weight."

Gracia blinked, her eyes dulling slightly as the chef turned his back and walked further into the kitchen. "Weight…"

It flickered through Gracia's mind to ask just how thorough an exam Komui performed on her after she had lost consciousness…

Though she had no idea how old she was, she knew she was physically a bit… unhealthy for her age… But there was no way anyone would be able to tell without stripping her down… Right? It was part of the reason she kept all of her clothes so baggy; so people couldn't get any ideas as to how her body looked…

She looked down at herself, picking at the somewhat frilly dress shirt she was still wearing and murmuring, "Lenalee… Can you tell… that I'm underweight…?"

A brief pause, but one that was still noticeable (even to her, the woman for whom time was a bit of an anomaly), was present before Lenalee answered in an upbeat voice, "Only slightly, but you're looking a lot better since you bathed."

…Though there were very, very few things that struck a negative cord with her, Gracia was extremely… extremely uncomfortable with people knowing about her health…

As the window in front of her wavered at the edges of her vision and melted, she pressed her hand to her forehead, closing her eyes and frowning deeply.

What… did this remind her of…

"_You're not looking so well, dear… ****, are you sure she's been doing well? Maybe you two should move back in wi—_"

"_That's not necessary, Ma'am. It's a new house in a new town; she just needs time to adjust. Isn't that right, _**Gracia**_?_"

"_Ah… yes… I'm fi—_"

"G-Gracia!"

Gracia jerked, her eyes snapping open and her body tensing. She inhaled sharply when she noticed in the window in front of her, Jeryy was back, and the sunglasses he was wearing had slid down his nose to reveal groggy, lidded eye—

She jerked back away from the window quickly, grabbing her right hand with her left. On her middle finger, Sleep was burning.

"Gracia, it's okay…"

Gracia looked up in a panic, getting lightheaded as she hyperventilated, meeting Lenalee's eyes even as she continued taking steps back.

"You need to calm down." Lenalee said calmly, still walking towards her, "You're activating you Innocence out of instinct. If you calm down and stop relying on it, it'll deactivate…"

Gracia stared at her for a moment longer, then heaved a shuddering sigh and closed her eyes, focusing on that word. '_Deactivate…_'

The reaction was almost instantaneous.

Sleep suddenly stopped burning, and not long after she didn't feel inclined to crawl into a corner, curl up and doze off…

When she saw Lenalee smile and nod at her, she calmed. It must have worked…

"Good." Lenalee nodded, "Just like that… Equipment type Innocence won't just stop working on their own. You have to tell them to."

"…Tell it to…" Gracia repeated slowly, feeling numb. With Sleep 'deactivated,' it seemed like part of her had shut down… Which probably wasn't so inaccurate…

She hardly noticed when Lenalee stared at her, frowning, and she might have fallen asleep standing again, because after what seemed like a blink Lenalee was leading her down one of the many rows of tables.

Gracia blinked when Lenalee seated her and set down a tray of food in front of her, looking down at her plate. A bowl of thick porridge, a small plate with two halves of a bagel slathered in a thick butter, a tall glass of orange juice… Bland but tasty, acidic but easy to stomach, fattening but exactly the kind of fattening she probably needed…

"…Miss Gracia, do you want to talk about what set you off back there?" Lenalee asked softly after Gracia had started eating.

The older woman paused, some of the butter on the bagel she was eating melting and dripping into her porridge.

What had set her off…

…She didn't remember anymore. When she tried to reach for it, it slipped away as if in watery sand, sliding from the forefront of her mind fluidly and disappearing into the opaque reaches…

"…I've forgotten." She finally muttered after several long moments (moments longer than she thought they were), going back to eating.

Nothing was said after that, and they didn't speak again until they were in the training complex.

"Alright." Lenalee said as she turned to Gracia after leading her across a long, dark blue mat laid out in the middle of the room. She smiled, clasping her hands behind her back, "Let's start with the basics. There are two types of Innocence; parasitic and equipment. Parasitic types come from the Innocence merging with the human body on a cellular level, making the body, itself, the weapon. Equipment types are the result of an Innocence synchronizing with a person but requiring special measures be taken so that the user may access their powers as an outside source. For example—"

Gracia blinked, then looked down at Lenalee's legs, her eyes widening slightly when the tops of the boots the younger girl was wearing broke down, unfurling in a corkscrew fashion like paper. The unfurling stopped at her knees, and green markings flared up the sides of Lenalee's legs, ending where the boots had previously ended.

"This is my Innocence, the Dark Boots." Lenalee nodded, lifting one leg and turning it slightly to bend it towards the opposite knee, as if she were pirouetting, "They are an equipment type, like yours. They originally didn't take this form; the Science Department had to modify them so they would work for me."

After thinking about this for several moments, Gracia nodded, looking back up at Lenalee, "Will Sleep need to be altered…?"

"Probably not." Lenalee shook her head, lowering her leg and setting her foot back on the floor, "It doesn't happen very often, but sometimes the Innocence will take a form, whether by its own will or by the hands of humans who did it by accident, that allows its Accommodator to use it without it having to be altered. While there are those who might say that your lack of control stems from the fact that your Innocence has been allowed to stay in the form you found it in, Brother says it's just because of your low synchronization rate and the fact that you've thinned the line so much between consciously and unconsciously activating it."

"…And that's what we're here to fix, right?" Gracia asked.

"Right." Lenalee nodded, smiling, "And the best way to do this would be to put you under different stresses and make you focus on _not_ activating Sleep, no matter how much your instincts want you to. Now…" Lenalee's smile turned encouraging as she crouched slightly, "I promise, Miss Gracia, I'm not going to hit you… But you have to make sure you don't call on Sleep, alright? Trust me and don't react automatically."

…Alright, she could do that, Gracia decided with a nod. After all, she'd been accidentally activating Sleep for _years_; now that she knew what it took to turn it on, all she had to do was focus on _not_ doing it, right…?

…Eh, wrong assumption she quickly learned.

Because as soon as a green energy flared around Lenalee's ankles, Sleep burned, and Lenalee dropped flat, fast asleep.

"…This is gonna be hard…" Gracia slurred even as her eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed, as well.

Really… Really hard.

* * *

"C-Could you tell me about the other Exorcists?" Gracia asked, squeaking slightly and cringing when Lenalee's foot stopped mere millimeters from making contact with her face.

It was their third day of 'reflex exercises,' and while she still flinched back and occasionally knocked Lenalee into a temporary stupor, she was already getting much better. All she had to do, she figured out, was keep herself distracted. Talking to Lenalee helped.

"Sure!" Lenalee smiled brightly before she disappeared, going on even as Gracia flinched when the wind she generated made her stumble, "Allen Walker is the newest member, other than you. You'll meet him when he gets back from his mission… He's really nice! He has white hair, he's fifteen, and his Innocence is a parasitic type."

"Allen Walker… white hair… parasitic." Gracia mumbled, trying to keep the facts small so they would be easier to remember. She flinched and jumped to the side when Lenalee reappeared beside her, clamping her eyes shut and biting her lip when her thoughts jumped to Sleep, which warmed a bit around her finger as a result.

"There is also Yu Kanda, though it's best just to call him Kanda." Lenalee went on, slapping herself lightly when she felt herself starting to get tired. The sleepiness faded quickly, though, and she lunged at Gracia, spinning and coming to a stop with their faces inches apart, "He's eighteen, has long black hair, and is another equipment type, like us. And, seriously, just call him Kanda."

"Kanda… long hair… equipment." Gracia muttered, shuddering and opening her eyes as Sleep cooled.

Lenalee nodded, smiling, then flipped over and jumped back, landing some ten feet in front of and away from Gracia, "You'll also meet Bookman and his apprentice, Lavi. They're both equipment types, and—"

"Bookmen…" Gracia blinked, feeling slightly shocked. It had been a bit since she had heard that title… "You mean the history recorders?"

Lenalee paused and blinked at her, looking as shocked as she felt, "You've… heard of the Bookmen?"

Gracia paused, then smiled, "I've been all over Europe, so I've had chance to hear of this and that… I've never met them, but I've heard of the Bookmen, yes."

"…You must have seen a lot, then." Lenalee smiled, deactivating her Dark Boots, "Traveling like that…"

"Heh, don't get me wrong…" Gracia muttered, relaxing as their training session, apparently, ended and raising her arms over her head as she yawned and stretched, "I don't remember anything specific… Just flashes, mostly… but yeah… I guess you could say I've seen a lot."

"And you don't—" Lenalee cut herself off with a flinch, biting her lip.

The older woman blinked at her, then smiled, "It's okay, Lenalee… Go ahead and ask."

"You don't… miss having a family…?" The girl asked haltingly, clasping her hands behind her back and working her heel into the padded ground.

"…You can't miss what you don't remember having…" Gracia muttered, feeling nostalgia drape over her mind like a thick blanket. After a few moments of pained silence, she perked, smiling sheepishly and shrugging, "Besides, I don't feel any particular attachment to the concept of 'family,' anyway, so it doesn't hurt like you're probably thinking it does. I have Sleep." Her smile widened slightly, "Any kind of void not having a family would have left is filled by that."

"…That's a bit sad…" Lenalee murmured.

Gracia blinked at her. She didn't feel that way… As long as she had something to fill that void, something that made her feel good, it didn't matter, right? It wasn't like she was lonely or depressed… Even if it was an inanimate object, having Sleep made her happy. She didn't really need a family… She just needed company every now and then… Company and a purpose…

And she had that.

After smiling and shrugging at Lenalee, Gracia waved to her and turned, walking out of the training complex.

Training was done for the day, and while she felt tired she oddly wasn't tired enough to sleep, so what could she do…?

…Well, the Science Division never seemed to run out of work; maybe they needed help?

Smiling, Gracia tromped down the nearest staircase, heading towards the lower laboratories. Even if it was just pushing papers or moving boxes, she was glad to help, if only because helping the Science Division was fun. They always managed to deviate from their work schedule in some way or another and do the screwiest things…

The moment she opened the door and walked into the room, several pale faces shaded themselves with paperwork and moaned about "The light, it buuuuuurrrns!", making Gracia giggle and walk inside quickly so she could shut the door.

"Ah, Miss Gracia…" She looked over and smiled back when an exhausted-looking Reever smiled at her, "Do you need anything?"

"That's what I came to ask…" Gracia muttered, covering her mouth and yawning widely before walking over to Reever and tipping her head, "Is there any way I can help, Chief?"

Reever blinked down at her, then smiled (looking almost nervous about it) and waved his hand, chuckling, "N-No, Miss Gracia, that's just fine…"

Gracia blinked, tipping her head. What was he worried about…?

Before she could think about an answer, a stack of papers smacked her in the head and startled her, making her squeak and clench her hands.

Sleep, in turn, heated up around her finger, and she dropped flat.

* * *

Reever jerked and gasped, stumbling away from Gracia as she collapsed and the air around her turned thick and strangely comforting. Feeling drowsy, he glared around the room at the other Science Division workers, demanding, "Alright, who startled her to activate her Innocence? Don't think this gets you out of wor—" Before he could finish, Reever slumped back against a nearby stack of papers and slowly sank to the ground, his eyes sliding shut.

The other Science Division members eyed him with devious grins.

It didn't matter _who_ had done it; they'd all had the same idea as soon as they'd seen her walk in…

No…

As soon as they'd _heard_ of this wonderful Exorcist who had the power to put people to sleep!

Johnny and Tup exchanged sleepy grins and a high-five before they, like the rest of the exhausted men and women around them, slumped against their paperwork and went to sleep.

* * *

Komui (skipping work again) whistled happily as he sauntered down to his favorite of the Science Division labs, a wide grin on his face. Reever hadn't been up to hound in him the last five hours, so he'd gotten a good nap and was feeling fantastic.

Of course, he had to wonder just why Reever hadn't been around to bite his ear off… Had the poor, stressed Australian finally worked himself to death? If so, that would be… bad…

Komui frowned.

Really, really bad.

He paused in his happy saunter, thinking, then continued sauntering, his smile coming back.

Nah, Reever wasn't dead. Komui had done _much_ worse to Reever than simple paperwork ever could and the younger man was still alive. He'd probably just gotten buried under another paper avalanche.

In which case, Komui would burst in and save the day, and then he'd be allowed a break so he could take another nap~! (Keep in mind this is Komui's train of thought we're talking about, so he's being a bit… idealistic, what from being high on actually having energy and all.)

So, of course, when Komui walked into the lab and found everyone in it using important paperwork as pillows and resting to their content, he had to pause to think long and hard, panic rising in his chest when he couldn't remember if he had or hadn't developed any new experiments lately…

…Had he killed them all and not even realized it? Damn, the Matron would have his _head_ if he'd accidentally drugged them all into comas (again)!

As soon as Komui saw Gracia, though, he had to pout, wailing to the sleeping inhabitants of the room while raising his arms and shaking his fists, "Why am I the only one who doesn't get to experience Miss Gracia's wonderful sleeping spell?"

…Ever aware of the big picture, that Komui.


	6. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident V

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"…I'm not allowed to go down to the Science Division anymore…?" Gracia pouted slightly.

"For the time being, no, you're not." Reever sighed, glancing at her and smiling tiredly, "Sorry, but with the division members exhausted enough to be childish and force you to activate your Innocence like they did so they can sleep, we can't risk it." He paused, then frowned slightly, "Now that I think about it, you should probably avoid the Supervisor, as well."

Gracia blinked, then smiled, "Supervisor Komui likes to sleep…?"

"'Likes' would be an understatement…" Reever muttered, more to himself. He paused, then glanced at Gracia and nodded, "If you want to help out somewhere, why don't you try going to the medical ward? I think we have a few mental trauma patients there the Head Matron and the doctors are having to constantly medicate; getting them off of those medications for a while might be a good idea."

The woman blinked again and stood there, taking a moment to process this thought. Then, her almost constantly present smile widened and she stood a bit straighter, her slouch lessening.

Helping out was all she really wanted to do; there hadn't been any reports since she'd come in, so she hadn't gone on any missions. And though she was always tired, that didn't mean she always wanted or needed to sleep…

And Reever's suggestion sounded like the most plausible way she could both help and do so without having to worry about affecting the work of the other departments.

"Chief, where is the medical ward?"

Reever pointed, smiling as she wandered off.

He then absently swung the binder in his hand back, smacking Komui in the face as the man practically congealed out of the wall with an air horn.

"Supervisor…" Reever started slowly, looking down at Komui in mild annoyance with a twitching brow, "Were you planning on using that air horn to scare Miss Gracia into using her Innocence…?"

"N-Neeeeeeh…?" Komui, sprawled out on the floor and twitching, drawled slowly, a bit of blood pooling beneath his forehead, "O-Of course not, Reever, what ever gave you that idea…?"

Reever rolled his eyes, took the air horn from Komui's twitching grip, shoved it into his pocket and started walking off. "Oh, and Supervisor?" He started before he turned down a different hall, "Get back to your office and get to work."

Komui twitched, then whined after him pathetically.

* * *

"…so Chief Wen… Wendell?" Gracia blinked when the Head Matron blinked at her, then sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, thinking, "Wendorf…? Wensel….? Wenburg… Wenhamm!" Gracia snapped her fingers and smiled, nodding, "Chief Wenhamm thought that my Innocence might be able to help."

The Head Matron stared at her, looking her up and down slowly, "You're the one with the sleep-inducing Innocence, aren't you…?" When Gracia nodded, the older woman nodded, "Right this way, then."

Though the younger woman's stumbling gait prevented them from going at the elder's much more disciplined pace, they still crossed the hospital easily enough, the Head Matron glancing back when they neared a door with a window lined in red tape.

"We've studied the effects your Innocence has on the human body." The Head Matron told her, "If we weren't even aware of the effects, we wouldn't consider allowing this."

Gracia blinked. She hadn't heard any feedback from the official studies of Sleep, so she was curious… "You've studied it…?"

"Yes." The older woman nodded, "And from what we've gathered in concurrence with what the Supervisor found when he studied you, your Innocence releases an unknown chemical that has both neurological and physical effects. Though we don't know exactly what this chemical is or what elements it's composed of, they haven't had any negative consequences, or even traces left behind in their bodies once you deactivate."

"…Chemicals…?" Gracia mumbled.

The Head Matron nodded again, opening the door and gesturing to Gracia to go inside.

Once she stepped in, Gracia had to freeze, her eyes widening.

The small room had its walls lined with beds, and every bed was occupied with a person… Some of them were heavily bandaged from head to foot, some of them staring off into space blankly with pale faces and wide eyes, some of them not even staring, just lying there with open eyes, open mouths, utterly prone with no signs of life other than the rising and falling of their chests…

Gracia shuddered, closing her eyes. The scene had penetrated the happy, sleepy bubble around her and… stirred a memory…?

It almost felt familiar, the scene in front of her, but as she reached out to grab at the feeling a thin but strong hand with long fingers clutched her shoulder, the Head Matron leaning over her shoulder and murmuring, "These men and women are trauma cases who haven't slept properly in at least a week and don't respond well to outside contact… If all you can do is help them rest, then that's all you need to do." She paused, then sighed, "But don't try to be a psychologist."

Gracia turned back towards the Head Matron as the woman's presence left, watching as the nurse opened the door and stepped through.

"The effects of your Innocence fade two hours after you fall asleep, yourself. Someone will come by to check on you then. And Miss Gracia…" The Head Matron paused, then gave her a slightly pained smile, "Thank you."

Gracia blinked, then smiled after her, turning and walking further into the room.

She could feel the eyes of several of the trauma patients on her, so she continued smiling calmly as she sat down at a table in the center of the room, pushing the chair she was in away from it away from it halfway on one side so she could lean her elbow against the surface and prop her head up.

When she noticed one of the younger trauma patients, a young male who had his head completely wrapped in bandages, staring at her, Gracia smiled at him, tipping her head, "How long has it been since the last time you slept?"

The young man jerked at the question, his eyes widening. He then scowled and looked away, ignoring her.

Gracia just continued to smile at him, even though she could feel several others glaring at her now, "It's okay to talk about it, you know… even if it's only… so you can get angry at me… Because that's why humans have language, right…?" She tipped her head sleepily, "So we can understand… and help…"

The young man was looking back at her now, his eyes drooping and jaded. He almost looked… like he was silently pleading…

"…I'm here to help you all rest." Gracia's smile softened and she laid her head down on her arms, "Don't worry; it's a good rest. One where you don't need shots, one where you don't wake up feeling drugged, one where you never have bad dreams… Sleep has never given me nightmares, trust me. Sleep doesn't do that to humans…"

She heard a few murmurs around the room, but before anyone could ask her anything, the bandaged young man slumped back slowly, his eyes dropping shut.

It was only after there was a calm, peaceful stillness in the room, when everyone was asleep, that Gracia started to feel sleepy, herself…

She fell asleep easily, finally feeling like she was able to help out.

* * *

The Head Matron and Komui stood outside of the trauma ward two hours later, looking inside and watching the room's sleeping occupants.

"Well, it seems she's ready to go out on missions, now…" Komui mumbled, "Now that we've seen the effect of her Innocence on humans, it's time to test it on Akuma…"

"Hmm…" The woman glanced at her young boss, frowning slightly, "With Kanda and the new boy out on their mission in Mater and the other Exorcists recovering from theirs, Lenalee is the only fair candidate for her partner."

"I know, I know." Komui sighed, adjusting his glasses and nodding, "And the best. If Miss Gracia's Innocence accidentally activates, Lenalee would be the only Exorcist we have who would be able to escape quickly enough…"

The Head Matron stared at him for a moment, then slowly quirked a brow, "And you're alright with that?"

"…Of course I'm not." Komui whimpered pathetically, pressing his hands and face against the door and slumping to his knees, thick but comical tears pouring down from behind his glasses, "My precious Lenalee going on a dangerous mission where her only backup is someone who's as likely to hurt her as she is help her? Why! WHY, MY LENALEEEEEEE!"

The Matron stared down at him flatly, her raised eyebrow twitching when he threw his head back and started wailing.

When the Supervisor's wailing got to a point where it was starting to wake some of the patients in the hospital, the Matron's eyes narrowed and she leaned over Komui, hissing darkly, "If you do not be quiet, I will tell Section Chief Reever where you are."

Komui immediately slapped his lips together and stood, still sniffling pathetically and choking back heaving sobs.

But at least he was much quieter.

The Head Matron sighed, then glanced off to the side when she was called, speaking to Komui as she started to walk off, "Save assigning the mission for when she wakes up of her own accord; if you disturb her now, it just might set off her Innocence again." She then excused herself and went to help with the other patients.

Komui nodded after her absently, staring through the window of the trauma ward with an intent look on his face.

After a moment, he opened the door and slipped inside, tiptoeing over to Gracia slowly while stealing glances at the patients in the room. He also took a moment to think about how he felt.

Despite the fact that Sleep was still clearly influencing the people in the room, and despite the fact that Komui did, indeed, feel slightly tired, he didn't feel like just conking out while standing like he had before…

So, Sleep's initial wave was the strongest, and the effect wore away over time…? Though it still maintained a strong hold over those who had felt that initial wave.

'Conserving energy by keeping its main focus on the immediate targets…' Komui thought as he came to a stop behind Gracia, looking down at her, 'As opposed to spending extra energy to constantly keeping the 'aura' strong…'

So by that logic, Sleep was also capable of pouring out an intense sleep effect, so long as the user that the energy to expend. And by putting Gracia to sleep every time, it was also restoring energy.

Or, at the very least, it saved itself from expending extra energy that Gracia would be spending by staying awake…

"…What an unusual Innocence." Komui decided with a sigh, shaking his head. He stared at Gracia's back for a moment longer, then looked around, spotting what he was searching for at the end of an empty hospital bed.

Grabbing the blanket and unfolding it a bit, the scientist walked back over and draped the blanket over the sleeping Exorcist's back, quickly stepping away when he was done. When the constant sleepy 'aura' didn't increase, he sighed, relieved.

When his 'Reever-dar' went off, Komui looked around in a panic before dashing out of the trauma ward and taking off.

* * *

"…Mission…?" Gracia blinked slowly.

Komui nodded, handing two thin, black books to Lenalee and waiting for her to sit beside Gracia before he started to speak, "It's just at the other end of England; one of our supporters there caught sight of an odd article in a newspaper and sent it to us, and per standard procedure we sent a group of Finders."

When Lenalee handed her one of the two thin, black books, Gracia took it blankly and looked down at it, mumbling again, "Mission…?" She still wasn't awake yet, and her mind was stuck on that word…

"Two of the four Finders have disappeared investigating the problem." Komui sighed, shaking his head, "The remaining two are sure it's caused by Innocence. Now, the town you two will be traveling to is called Grate. It's a small settlement near the River Tamar, and its most notable feature is the old canal aqueduct that runs through the airspace above the town. This is also where the problem seems to come from…"

"…You mean the Tremmel Aqueduct?" When Komui and Lenalee blinked at her, Gracia's eyes glazed slightly and she started talking, "The Tremmel Aqueduct is a eighty-seven year old condemned structure that links the Rivers Tamar, Inny and Lynher, and was used to support dozens of man-made rivers that supplied fresh water to other small villages in the area. It also provided a safe and efficient transportation system via small ferries that used to float along the current. Because the aqueduct was built directly over Grate, it used to be a popular place for people to gather and travel along or send their wares across the aqueduct using the ferry. Twenty years ago, however, strange disappearances began to occur during transportation, and when an entire ferry, its cargo and its fifteen passengers vanished one day without a trace, the use of the ferry for transportation was ended. Rumors began to spread, and soon the Tremmel Aqueduct was regarded as a curse rather than a blessing. Towns that were supplied with river water that stemmed from the aqueduct were either abandoned or died off when the flow of commerce ceased, and then maintenance on it was altogether abandoned. The structure is now condemned, but every now and then someone will walk along the maintenance pathway and never return…"

Lenalee's eyes widened at the end of the story and she opened her information guide quickly, skimming the pages.

Komui gapped at Gracia, then started sputtering and pointing at her, "Y-You… You— How did you know about that!"

"…Eh?" Gracia tipped her head innocently, a sleepy smile on her face, "I stayed in Grate once… There's a bakery there that makes great pie." When Komui continued to sputter in a rather amusing way, Gracia's smile only widened, "There are few places in Europe I haven't been to, Supervisor."

"Th-Then why didn't you mention it be-fooooore!" Komui whined, now pouting.

Gracia just gave him an air-headed smile, "Sorry; it completely slipped my mind. I just remembered when you mentioned Gate…" Her eyes glazed slightly and a hungry look crossed her face, "They make good pie…"

Komui only pouted harder, making Lenalee giggle.

Behind Komui, Reever sighed heavily, then smacked Komui over the back of the head with a small stack of papers, "Supervisor!"

"Owww…" Komui whined. He then rubbed the back of his head and sighed, nodding, "Right, right…" Turning serious in an instant, he started speaking again, "Miss Gracia knowing about this town will help; apparently the citizens aren't that fond of outsiders. Regardless, you two are to get to the aqueduct and secure the Innocence. Destroy any enemies who would stand in your way…" Here, he tapered off, casting Lenalee a sad, longing look.

Lenalee smiled silently in response, then stood and bowed slightly before walking out.

Komui sighed after her, then glanced at Gracia, who was still reading the information booklet.

"…Miss Gracia…"

When Gracia looked up, Komui was looking at her pleadingly. She blinked, tipping her head slightly.

"…You're an adult." Komui muttered, "I wouldn't ask this of one of the younger Exorcists, but you're an adult… Even if you don't remember it entirely, there must have been someone younger in your life at one point you would do anything for…"

A twinge of pain ran through Gracia's chest and she flinched slightly, starting to frown.

"Just… keep a close eye on her… That's all I ask… From one adu— From one 'older sibling' to another…"

"…I'm afraid I don't comprehend what you're asking, Supervisor."

Komui blinked, his eyes widening as a blank look settled on Gracia's face as she stood slowly. When she looked at him emotionlessly, his fingers twitched.

"I don't remember… ever having a family." Gracia muttered, her tone void, "I probably did have one, but I don't remember them. Not in the slightest. So it's impossible for me to understand what you mean."

Komui's eyes quickly darted to the side and down out of guilt, his glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose slightly. Behind him, he heard Reever sigh heavily.

"…But don't worry about it." When Komui looked back at her quickly, Gracia smiled and waved her hand lazily, turning and walking towards the door, "Lenalee's still my comrade; I understand that concept. And so long as it's in my power, none of my comrades will get hurt…"

The woman stopped at the door to smile at him one more time, then walked out slowly, stumbling slightly and lifting her hand to cover her mouth as she yawned.

Komui sighed slightly and smiled, leaning back into his seat.

He felt relieved.


	7. REM Cycle: Record Tainted, Hidden

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia blinked and tipped her head, staring down at the black clothes laid out on her bed.

…Had someone snuck into her room and left them there? Or had she forgotten she'd gone somewhere again and taken clothes from said place…

It took her a moment to notice the piece of paper underneath the sleeve, and when she finally did see it she reached out and grabbed it, unfolding and reading what turned out to be a note.

She then smiled, looking back down at the clothes. Her new Exorcist uniform? She actually got her own uniform? She was liking this work more and more…

Gracia stripped down and pulled on the uniform piece by piece, shuddering slightly when she took off her old socks and pulled on the new ones that had been left, as well. Though it wasn't saying much, she couldn't remember the last time she'd pulled on new socks that had felt so plush…

…Actually, her entire uniform felt rather plush, now that she thought about it… Even though the black pants looked baggy, they were incredibly thick. And though the white dress shirt she pulled on after the pants and tucked into the waist was more form-fitting than said pants, the material, there, was thicker than the norm, as well. Was there some sot of pattern, here…?

Gracia didn't have time to dwell on it when someone knocked on her door.

Lenalee smiled when Gracia opened her door, and when Gracia smiled back, nodding, Lenalee took her wrist and pulled her out of her room, shutting the door and starting to lead Gracia through the Order.

"How do people leave this place to go on missions…?" Gracia asked as they walked, blinking.

"There's a stairwell that leads down through the plateau, and it ends in an underground river." Lenalee explained, glancing back and smiling, "We have boats there that follow the river into a nearby town, where we take trains to get to wherever we need to go, whether it's in England or to a harbor so we can take ships to get to the rest of Europe."

"Aaah…" Gracia nodded smartly, "Convenient…"

Lenalee nodded, then looked ahead again and led Gracia around one of the many floors of the main inner polygon-shaped building, the center of which was empty and lead straight down to Hevlaska's chamber. The girl led her down a few staircases, then through a thick metal door and down what already looked to be a long, _long_ staircase.

Gracia was slowly starting to understand why Lenalee was still clamped onto her wrist; the monotony of left foot, right foot, down a step and yet another over and over in the dark, narrow corridor made her feel drowsy after only ten steps.

When Lenalee tugged at her wrist gently, Gracia's eyes snapped open and she blinked, disoriented. She then smiled sheepishly.

Lenalee giggled and faced back down the steps, still pulling Gracia along.

Komui, Reever and a few others were already waiting for them at the bottom of the staircase on a stone platform lit by a lone lamp, a gondola drifting in, as Lenalee had said, an underground river tethered nearby.

Komui and Reever looked over at them both and smiled as they walked over, and Lenalee perked slightly, smiling back at them both.

Gracia would have smiled back… had she not had to tip her head back slightly, cover her mouth and yawn widely.

Quickly, Komui's smile faded and he pouted, whining at Gracia as she recovered, "Do you _have_ to do that in front of me?" He then yawned widely, himself, making Reever roll his eyes.

Gracia smiled at him dully, "I've found, in my many years of lazing, that holding such things back only leads to an even larger one, later…" She then turned slightly serious, "Not to mention health problems."

Komui quirked a brow, "Actually, it's holding back _sneezes_ that can lead to health problems." His quirked brow twitched and he pouted again when he saw Gracia wasn't paying attention to him anymore.

"Johnny and Tup…" Gracia smiled at the two young men sleepily as they walked over to her.

"You remembered our names!" Johnny perked at that, grinning, "We were told you had problems remembering names!"

"Oh, I do, I do." Gracia nodded, sighing and shaking her head, "Oddly, though, since I've come here, I've slowly been feeling more and more awake and aware…" She then smiled, "It's understandable, though. I actually have things to do here… Like this mission."

"Ah, right!" Johnny turned to Tup, who handed the smaller male a length of black cloth he had draped over his arm. Johnny then turned to Gracia and held the cloth out, smiling, "This is for you! Tup and I remembered what happened to you before, so we took your jacket before they delivered your uniform to you and made some quick modifications."

Tup took over speaking as Gracia took the cloth, which turned out to be a long coat, and slipped it on, "Your uniform was made a bit thicker than regular clothes as it was to protect your from attacks, but we made your coat even thicker so you won't hurt yourself if you fall asleep standing and collapse."

"Pull up your hood!" Johnny smiled and made a pulling gesture from his neck to his head, "There's extra cushioning in there to protect your head!"

Gracia blinked down at the coat, the hem of which ended just below her knees, then reached back and grabbed the hood, which felt fairly thin but was heavier than she expected and squishy to the touch. When she pulled it over her head, it rested there comfortably, heavily, like a thick, somewhat gelatinous blanket.

"How does it feel?" Johnny and Tup leaned forward for feedback, looking excited.

Gracia smiled slightly. They were really proud of themselves…

But…

"It muffles sounds and amplifies my voice inside of the hood." Gracia smiled sheepishly when the two young men drooped, "Won't that hinder me when I need to, say, communicate with others…?"

"Fair enough…" Tup sighed, smiling slightly.

"We'll work on the design." Johnny perked back up, smiling, "It'll give us something to do."

"Isn't that what paperwork's for?" A voice suddenly growled from beside them.

Johnny and Tup tensed, swallowing harshly and looking over to meet Reever's irritated glare, the Chief's eyebrow twitching.

"_This_ was what was so important that you two had to drop the pending case research you were assigned to? Komui or I could have done this. Easily." Reever's eyebrow twitched again, "You two are just skipping work…"

Johnny and Tup exchanged glances and sheepish smiles, quickly patted Gracia on the back, then turned quickly and fled back up the stairs.

Reever glared after them, sighing heavily, then turned back to Gracia and nodded with a serious look, "It's time."

Gracia nodded back tiredly, then turned and walked over next to Lenalee, who had watched the scene amusedly with her brother and was absently talking to him.

Lenalee smiled as Gracia walked over, then turned to Komui and hugged him quickly before she turned yet again and leapt onto the waiting gondola, where there was one man manning the pole and another sitting next to the man manning the pole, this one wearing a long, tan jacket and fiddling with a metal box in front of him. The girl smiled at both of these men, who smiled back and nodded in acknowledgement, then sat down near the front of the boat.

Gracia was about to step onto the gondola, herself, when she noticed Komui was pouting, the man seeming to be holding himself back from leaping after his sister. Probably upset that she hadn't given him much of an opportunity to hug back…

Sighing as she walked by him, Gracia reached out and grabbed his beret, pulling it down into his face and teasingly pushing into his nose.

He flailed slightly and sputtered, grabbing his beret from her and jerking it out of the way as he pouted down at her, slightly shocked and slightly indignant.

"Grate is all of five hours away, six, at most." Gracia smiled at him slightly, "And it'll take us, what, an hour to get to the trains? We'll be back in three to four days, assuming finding the Innocence doesn't take too long. You can hug her all you want when we get back."

When Komui just continued staring at her, his mouth moving silently and the shocked factor of his look increasing somewhat, Gracia's smile widened and she turned, walking over to the gondola.

"Trust me, Supervisor, I know what I'm talking about… I may be slow when it comes to giving my opinion, but I've been traveling for a very long time." As soon as she set foot in the gondola, Gracia fell to her knees and clutched the edge of the boat, ducking her head as her face turned green and groaning.

"…'Traveling for a long time,' huh?" Komui asked amusedly, "Then why is it you get seasick so easily?"

"It's Sleep's fault…" Gracia whined, curling up on her side and rolling around on the bottom of the gondola, "Seasickness, vertigo, my aversion to pickle juice… Sleep amplifies it all."

"Pickle…?" Komui almost looked like he wanted to ask, but he shook his head and brushed it off, glancing at the ferryman and nodding.

When the gondola pushed off, Gracia groaned and clamped her eyes tightly shut, stilling and curling up in a small ball.

"Don't worry, Gracia!" Komui called after gondola as it drifted off into the darkness of the tunnel, "We'll have your bed warmed and a hot cup of tea to settle your stomach when you get back!"

Gracia smiled happily at that, humming and relaxing as the mere thought of a warm bed and a hot drink made her feel sleepy.

"Of course, you won't go unattended to, Lenalee!" Komui's voice got louder as he gushed, "I'm going to redesign your entire room! Oh, and I'll also have a glorious chocolate cake fashioned in the shape of the adorable you from back when you were a child! Ah, I need to get to work on this!"

"A—Supervisor Komui! Get back here!"

Gracia cracked one eye open and looked up at Lenalee, smiling slightly.

Lenalee gave a strained smile back, then sighed heavily and looked away in guilty embarrassment when Komui and Reever's screams echoed down the hall as the Chief chased the Supervisor.

Gracia giggled, then closed her eye again and relaxed. Despite how odd it seemed, such an environment was oddly comfortable to her…

* * *

"Pluuuush…" Gracia crooned, lying out flat on her stomach in the personal car of the train and nuzzling the seat.

Lenalee shook her head slightly, smiling, then sat and started talking, "Miss Gracia, what else do you know about Grate? I mean, modern day Grate."

"Hnn?" Gracia turned her head to face Lenalee, blinking, then relaxed and sighed, "Let's see… The townspeople are very wary of outsiders, especially those who come to investigate or mess with the Tremmel Aqueduct… Not that they're protective of it; it's just they've related the aqueduct to supernatural occurrences. They leave it alone, it apparently leaves them alone."

"Ah…" Lenalee pulled out the booklet of the mission specifications and opened it, "Yes, apparently the townspeople do treat the aqueduct as if it has its own sentience…" She then looked back at Gracia, asking, "Do you think the Innocence could be related to the aqueduct, itself? Or maybe the water…?"

"Nah." Gracia shook her head, rolling over onto her back and adjusting the plush hood of her uniform so it acted as a pillow, "Before I made it to the town, I drank from one of the immediate offshoots of the aqueduct. There's nothing wrong with the water. And the Tremmel Aqueduct is long; the incidences have been linked to just the area around Grate. Whatever it is, it's something that's separate from the water and the structure, but still connected to it. Maybe an object that's lying on the service ramp, or it could have gotten mixed in with the mortar…"

Lenalee nodded, chewing on her lip. She then smiled at Gracia, "I've noticed you seem a lot more awake than when you first came to the Order. How are you feeling?"

Gracia smiled slightly.

In truth, she was, indeed, feeling more awake than she had in years… It often happened that, when she had things to do, she would become more energetic, but this was taking it to a whole new level… Her awareness and the small bit of training she'd done with Lenalee had gotten it to where she didn't simply collapse and fall asleep as frequently as she used to.

Her synchronization rate was going up?

Having something to do helped her suppress Sleep's urges?

The strict diet Komui had her on was actually getting her healthier?

Whatever the reason…

"I'm feeling just fine, Lenalee." Gracia continued smiling at Lenalee, "Better than I have in a while, actually…"

Lenalee smiled, relieved, "Good."

Gracia continued smiling at her, though it was a bit vacant, now…

…Why did Lenalee seem genuinely relieved?

Yes, Gracia understood that they were comrades, so it was natural for Lenalee to worry about her condition, but… for some reason it seemed she was taking it… too far…?

Like it wasn't just worry for a comrade anymore.

Like the connection was… stronger…?

Gracia was somewhat at a loss with that. It tapered off into territory she wasn't familiar with…

When Lenalee turned back to her mission booklet, though, apparently not noticing anything strange, Gracia's smile relaxed and she closed her eyes, sighing.

Though the private room was much sounder a room she'd ever been in on a train, it still swayed back and forth as the entire car rocked with the suspension system, and in the enclosed space the soft sound of the wheels running on the tracks and the train whistling by was as soothing as it was in coach…

Relaxing, Gracia fell asleep naturally, not having to depend on Sleep to knock her out.

And around her finger, Sleep remained slightly cold and still, none of the telltale signs of activation flaring even once.

* * *

"_You're not looking so well, dear… ****, are you sure she's been doing well? Maybe you two should move back in wi—"_

"_That's not necessary, Ma'am. It's a new house in a new town; she just needs time to adjust. Isn't that right, __**Gracia**__?"_

"_Ah… yes… I'm fine. The mountains are much colder than I had imagined they would be; it'll just take me some time to get used to the temperatures."_

"_I see… ****, she does have anemia; I have an old, thick blanket of hers at home we used to bundle her up in as a child when the winters got too harsh. I'll have it sent up, if it won't be too much of an inconvenience."_

"_If it's thicker blanket she requires, Ma'am, I can easily have some ordered… Though perhaps sending up something from her childhood will make her feel more at ease. Gracia, what do you think?"_

"_Ah… My old blanket? I haven't slept with it in years, but I do… remember it. It was always so comforting… It shared Grandmother's scent… But I don't want to be a—"_

"_Of course it did, dear. She made it for you. ****, I will tell the staff once I return home and have it sent up immediately. In the meantime, Gracia, you must put on a thicker base before you apply your other cosmetics. Sporting such pale skin in front of ****'s colleagues cannot be good for his reputation."_

"_Huhu, I can assure you, Ma'am, you have little to worry about. Gracia is always hospitable and she has an excellent memory for remembering recurring guest's personal tastes when it comes to tea and snacks. She is radiant, and her fair complexion only adds to this. My friends are all quite jealous."_

"_Haha, of course they would be! She comes from fine breeding, after all, though none so fine as yours. Gracia, make sure you treat **** well."_

"_Ah… Of course…"_

"_She always does, Ma'am."_

"_Enough of this 'Ma'am' business. Call me Mo—"_

* * *

(_If you guys get an alert for a new chapter but get an error message when you try to load the new chapter, give it a few hours. F F . net is having issues at the moment and it may be taking longer than it should for some to be able to load newly posted chapters._)


	8. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident VI

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"Ah, there it is…!"

Lenalee and the Finder that accompanied her and Gracia sighed in relief as the older female Exorcist pointed down the path with a smile, the tree line finally giving way and revealing a town a several meters ahead.

They'd been wandering around in the forest for almost two hours, following Gracia's instructions when their map had failed them. Just when it seemed she'd gotten them even more lost, though, they'd made it.

Just outside of the town were two figures in tan coats; more Finders.

Both raised their hands slightly and waved, standing from the stump they were sitting on and walking over.

"Miss Lenalee!" One of them said as they approached, "It's good to see you arrived safely."

"It's good to see you two are safe, as well." Lenalee smiled at them, "Have the other two Finders reappeared?"

"No, Miss." The other Finder shook his head, "Sol and Marco are still missing…"

Lenalee frowned slightly at that, then she perked, smiling again, "Don't worry; Gracia and I will find them." She glanced at Gracia, who smiled slightly and nodded back.

"Before we do anything, though," Gracia held up one hand, "We should probably go over the details with one another."

"Ah, good point, Miss…"

"Gracia." Gracia smiled at the two Finders, nodding.

"Miss Gracia." The two Finders bowed to her slightly, then glanced back at the town, "Discussing it out here isn't exactly secure, but the townspeople are a bit upset with us after what happened to Sol and Marco…"

"…That's okay." Gracia smiled, starting to walk towards the town with her sleepy gait, "I know people here, and I know someone who will let us use a room…"

The two Finders blinked, then glanced at Lenalee, who smiled and nodded, following Gracia, the Finder that had come with the two females following her.

* * *

"Ah, Gracia? Are you sure about this…?" Lenalee asked, unsure, as she glanced around the alleyway they were in, chewing on her lip.

Behind her, the three Finders looked about as unsure as she did, but in front of her Gracia only smiled in her glassy-eyed, foggy way as she nodded, then turned and knocked on the back door of the building they were behind.

The door opened a moment later and a young woman with a flour-coated face and two long, rust-colored braids hanging over her shoulders poked her head out, blinking with she saw five people loitering behind her building.

Her brows furrowed and she opened her mouth, as if to say something, but before she could Gracia lifted her hand and waved, smiling.

"Hi!"

The young woman froze, staring down at Gracia silently.

Lenalee and the Finders jumped when she then squealed and lunged at Gracia to hug her tightly, dusting her black Exorcist uniform in flour as she spun her around.

"Grace, Grace, Grace!"

"Pie!"

The joyous reunion came to a twitching halt, the braided female pulling back from Gracia and pinning her with a grinning, twitching glare, "It's 'Haley,' not 'Pie'."

"Oh, I know your name isn't 'Pie'." Gracia smiled, not at all ashamed as she said, "I just forgot your name and associated you with your fantastic pies, instead."

Lenalee, the Finders and Haley went deadpanned.

"What did you want, Gracia?" Haley asked, smiling but twitching at the same time.

"Somewhere where I can talk with my companions without having to worry about anyone listening in…" Gracia smiled back at her, "Can we come in?"

Haley blinked down at her, then glanced around as if making sure no one was listening or looking. When she was sure it was secure, she nodded to Lenalee and the others, then grabbed Gracia and pulled her inside, leaving the door open.

Lenalee and the Finders blinked, then walked inside quickly.

"You all can use the back room." Haley said once they were all in, nodding as the door was shut, "But what's going on?"

Lenalee and Gracia exchanged glances, then Gracia looked at Haley and nodded, "I have a new job for an organization called the Black Order… We go around investigating 'paranormal' occurrences linked to this thing called 'Innocence'. We think the strange things that are going on with the aqueduct have to do with Innocence."

Haley blinked, then scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Are you kidding me? That's the same crap they," She gestured to the Finders, "Were spouting. _They_ said they could handle it, but _two_ of them went missing. Haven't I told you? It's better to leave the aqueduct alone."

"…You know, Farron wouldn't agree with y—"

Lenalee jumped slightly and covered her mouth with a hand when Haley slapped Gracia across the face, the baker's eyes narrowed and livid.

"I'll bring back a pie in a moment." Haley hissed, "Feel free to talk about whatever you need to." She then turned and stormed out of the room, taking a swinging door directly across from the door that led back out to the alley.

Once she was gone, Lenalee stepped towards Gracia, mumbling her name.

"…I'm fine." Gracia said after a moment, looking back at Lenalee and the Finders with a slightly vacant smile, "I probably touched a nerve… Farron was her boyfriend; he disappeared along the aqueduct chasing after his younger sister."

Lenalee flinched, "I see…"

Gracia nodded, sighing. It was something she couldn't forget, her bad memory aside… The look on Haley's face when she'd been told had pierced right through Gracia's sleepy fog.

The girl, though, had a bright demeanor, and she'd managed to make it look like she'd recovered in two days…

"I really need to think about what I say before I say it…" Gracia mumbled, the guilt finally starting to sink in as she realized how callously she'd acted.

"She hasn't kicked us out…" Lenalee set a reassuring hand on Gracia's shoulder, smiling, "She's probably just a little mad; not irreparably so."

"I suppose…" Gracia sighed and glanced at the Finders who had already been in Grate, nodding, "So, what did you guys find out…?"

The Finders exchanged glances, then pulled off their massive backpacks and sat down on them, sighing.

"There are stairwells that lead up to the maintenance path every eighty feet, or every four support pillars." One started, "Almost all of the ones in the vicinity of the town have been blocked off, though there was one, just outside of town and facing away from it, that had been cleared. That was the one we used."

"We checked out both sides." The other chimed in, rubbing his neck, "Going east doesn't get you anywhere; there's a massive gate about thirty miles down where the path ends because the aqueduct rejoins with the river. The problem starts about twenty feet westbound…"

"Trevor and I were on the left side…" The first Finder picked up again, his voice lowering slightly, "Sol and Marco were on the right…"

Trevor picked up again, his voice also lowering, "We were in constant communication so if anything happened, we'd have an idea of about where it occurrences were starting… Loel was just telling us this joke when the connection with Sol and Marco got bad…"

"When we looked over there was something… shining in front of them…"

"And a moment later they were gone."

The two Finders fell silent.

"…And you haven't seen them since?" The Finder who had come with Lenalee and Gracia asked after a moment. When the two men shook their heads, the third Finder glanced at the two Exorcists, "Communication golems won't work, then. And there haven't been any Akuma sightings… It has to be an Innocence."

"Then we don't have far to go." Lenalee said with a decisive nod, standing straight, "Gracia…"

"…Right." Gracia nodded slightly, standing straight from the table she was leaning against and glancing at the Finders, "One of you… should stay here. That way if we don't come back, you can call the Supervisor…"

"Right." The two Finders who had been there the longest exchanged glances, Trevor speaking up before Loel could, "Sorry, buddy, but that'll be you. I've got seniority."

Loel opened and closed his mouth, then sighed and lowered his head, giving in.

"Okay," Lenalee nodded, "Let's go."

Gracia watched the younger Exorcist and the two Finders walk out the back door, feeling disoriented. It almost didn't seem real, what was going on… Had she fallen asleep on the train?

But when Lenalee reached back into the room and grabbed her wrist, pulling her along, it suddenly sank in that it was finally beginning… Her first mission was _actually_ beginning…

"Ah, that's right…" She glanced back at the Finder they were leaving behind, mumbling as she grabbed the door and started to shut it behind herself as Lenalee continued dragging her, "Tell Haley to take a break and eat the pie, herself. She needs the sugar…"

The door shut behind her completely as Lenalee gave her arm a rough tug, and the town seemed to flash by as the younger Exorcist continued pulling her along.

Gracia wasn't used to going anywhere _near_ as quickly when she walked, and it was more disorienting than the idea that she was _actually_ about to investigate a rogue Innocence, and that she might _actually_ find herself in a fight…

The town, which was small, abruptly ended along the edge of the aqueduct, the structure looming darkly and ominously with blackened bricks grown over with moss and ivy that obviously hadn't been trimmed in years, the plant weighing so much in some areas it was sagging or had long since fallen to the ground and was now growing in a carpet.

Gracia sighed and continued slumping after Lenalee, absently glancing skyward. Twilight was close, and Gracia was already feeling the effects of the coming evening; had been feeling them since they'd arrived in the town.

But as she watched Lenalee order one Finder to stay at the base of the staircase and the other to follow them up, she realized they could well be pulling an all-nighter; there hadn't been any signs of Akuma yet, so there was no reason to stay around and wait for them. Best to get the Innocence and go before undesirables found out about it…

"You stay here." Lenalee was saying when Gracia's consciousness swam back up from the depths of her sleepy thoughts, "Gracia and I will head in and check it out. If we're not back in a day and a half, assume something went wrong."

Gracia blinked slowly at that, vaguely wondering if she shouldn't be worried…

"Gracia, are you ready?"

She blinked and looked at Lenalee, then looked around slowly.

Somehow, they'd gotten to the top of the stone staircase without her realizing it and were now standing on one of two sidewalks that ran parallel on either side of the slow moving canal in the middle.

The Tremmel Aqueduct was some fifty feet in the air, made of darkly-colored limestone, and was in poor repair, just as the reports had said it was… Though despite its obvious age, nothing seemed wrong with it.

…Though there was an odd stillness in the air…

When Sleep suddenly warmed around her finger, Gracia reached out and took Lenalee's wrist, pulling her close and mumbling, "Lenalee, stay close as we walk along…"

Lenalee blinked, staring at the older woman in slight shock.

Her almost constantly murky gray eyes were suddenly clear, pupils narrowed as she looked around slowly but sharply. When Lenalee saw something flash slightly in the darkened twilight air, she looked down, chewing on her lip slightly when she saw Sleep flashing.

Oddly, though, Lenalee wasn't feeling any unnatural levels of tiredness.

Was Sleep… waking Gracia up…?

"…Okay." Lenalee nodded, falling into place beside the older woman as she started walking.

Gracia continued looking back and forth as she slowly reached up, grabbing the edges of her hood and pulling it up so it rested on her head. She didn't, though, pull it all the way into place; it really did muffle sounds too much, and if Lenalee spoke to her she wouldn't be able to understand a word she was saying…

"_How does it look so far, Miss Lenalee?_"

Gracia twitched and glanced over, blinking when one of the diamond-shaped 'bat' things flitted up beside Lenalee, its lightbulb eyes flashing.

"Clear, though the air is a little eerie, and Gracia's Innocence is reacting to something…"

"_What about the Dark Boots?_"

Lenalee paused, thinking about it, then blinked, "They do feel a bit heavier than usual…"

"Lenalee, what is that thing…?" Gracia asked, her previous sharpness giving way to sleepy curiosity.

"Hmm?" Lenalee glanced at Gracia, blinking. She then smiled, gesturing to the 'bat' thing, "Oh, this? It's a golem. They're Order-issue communication devices for Exorcists; you'll probably get one when we get home."

"Ahh…" Gracia nodded slowly.

When the air suddenly changed and something flashed brightly in front of them, Lenalee and Gracia froze, looking ahead slowly.

Right in front of them was something that hadn't been there before; an oval floor mirror with a stand made out of a very light, almost white wood.

It flashed, reflecting the light of absolutely nothing, then focused on them, reflecting them perfectly.

When Lenalee tensed beside Gracia, the older woman absently reached out and grabbed the hem of Lenalee's coat tightly; Finders had disappeared on this path, she wasn't about to let it happen to the girl unless she was dragged along, as well.

After a moment, though, nothing happened.

Frowning, Gracia took half a step forward.

The mirror flashed brightly again and Sleep heated around Gracia's finger. Now slightly behind her, Lenalee reached forward and clutched at Gracia's arm.

"Gracia, be careful…" She hissed.

"I know…" Gracia mumbled back, "But we won't get anywhere just standing here…"

"…I think we should walk up behind it." Lenalee mumbled.

"…Alright…" After a pause, Gracia turned slowly to face the canal and stepped towards it.

"Gracia!"

"I'm not comfortable with turning my back on that thing…" Gracia mumbled, keeping the mirror in sight out of the corner of her eye, "You stay there. I'll just wade across, walk up a bit more, then wade up behind it an—" As soon as she made to step off of the edge of the walkway and into the water, she blinked and found herself on the other side of the path, the backs of her legs all the way up to her mid-back pressed against the stone railing of the walkway and the canal some eight feet in front of her.

The mirror was still in the corner of her right eye, and in the corner of her left Lenalee was staring at her in shock, dark eyes darting from Gracia and back to the spot where she'd been standing a moment before.

Gracia looked at the spot, as well, to make sure she'd actually been there and hadn't done something stupid in her sleepy state, like walk backwards instead of forwards. But right there, on the edge of the path just before it dropped down into the water, was half of her shoe impression.

"…I don't think the mirror wants us coming up behind it…" Lenalee mumbled. "…We'll have to approach it from the front." When Gracia glanced at her, frowning, the girl shook her head, "The fact that it's doing strange things means it's been invocated by an Accommodator. An Accommodator _must_ be nearby, and if we can't see them, then…"

They both looked at the mirror, which flashed and reflected them once more.

"…Think this is how Alice felt moments before going through the looking-glass?"

"No, Alice was much more curious." Lenalee mumbled in answer, "And I don't think her looking-glass was this ominous…"

"…Point." Gracia held out her hand towards Lenalee, mumbling, "Shall we, then?" She didn't want to take her eyes off of the mirror, and she didn't know how much closer they could get before the mirror did… whatever it was it was going to do to them.

And if this mirror was going to be anything like Alice's mirror, she didn't want to get separated from Lenalee; Gracia knew her Innocence made her rather useless when she was on her own, and Lenalee had a strong offense and high escape chances.

Lenalee's smaller hand slipped into Gracia's, which sported longer but equally thin fingers. A flash of green as Lenalee stepped closer told Gracia the girl had activated her Innocence, and Gracia had to work on _keeping_ her own from activating as they walked towards the mirror slowly.

The closer they got to it, the taller the mirror seemed to get, and the taller it got, the more it leaned towards them on its axis to keep them in its direct line of reflection.

As soon as both females were directly in front of it, the mirror spun down towards them quickly on its stand, Gracia and Lenalee pressing close to one another as the cool glass swallowed them from head to foot like water.

Even when they were gone, it continued spinning for several revolutions, then it slowly came to a stop, flashing and still facing eastward before its reflective surface dulled.

* * *

(_If you guys get an alert for a new chapter but get an error message when you try to load the new chapter, give it a few hours. F F . net is having issues at the moment and it may be taking longer than it should for some to be able to load newly posted chapters._)


	9. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident VII

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"…Gracia…? …Gracia… Gracia, wake up…"

"Nnn, don' wanna…" She rolled over, burying her face in her arms.

"Gracia, wake up!"

No answer.

"…Komui's going to perform another exam on Sleep…"

Gracia's eyes snapped open and she jerked away, flailing.

Lenalee stared at her flatly. Same technique, different wording…

Gracia groaned and relaxed, looking down at herself and blinking slowly when she noticed something… odd.

…She was floating in midair.

When she looked up, Lenalee was floating in midair, too. And so were countless other items around them… A clock here, a few wooden crates there, rolls of cloth, chairs, boats and…

"…People?" Gracia mumbled, blinking.

"Yeah…" Lenalee nodded, glancing at the nearest floating person, a young woman in a blue dress and a bonnet, uneasily, "People…"

All of the people, though, were unconscious, their eyes closed and their bodies prone.

"…Well, we know where all of the vanished people and items went." Gracia mumbled, absently reaching out and pushing a box away from her when it floated too close, "The mirror pulled them in and trapped them here."

"And it isn't keeping us frozen like them because we're Accommodators." Lenalee concluded.

"But we're still stuck in midair…" Gracia mumbled, waving her arms and legs slightly but getting nowhere, "And we're still trapped…"

"We should find the Accommodator, or the source of the Innocence." Lenalee said. She then activated her Dark Boots, planted her heels against the top of a nearby table, and kicked off gently, floating towards Gracia.

Gracia reached out and took Lenalee's hand when she was close enough, letting the girl pull her through the air and over to a floating mattress. When Lenalee landed, she helped right the older woman and the both stood, using the mattress as the new 'floor'.

Gracia, though, had to pause and close her eyes, starting to feel sick. There was no set concept of gravity in this place, it seemed, so 'up' and 'down' was dependant on which way you oriented yourself… And suddenly having what she perceived as 'up' become 'right,' instead, hadn't helped the vertigo.

After spending a moment getting used to her new, internal center of gravity, Gracia opened her eyes, finding it easier to accept that 'right' was now 'up' and 'left' was 'down,' few other directions mattering.

"Ready?"

Gracia nodded to Lenalee, who glanced around, then turned and walked over to the edge of the bed, leaping over to the next item; a bookshelf. Once she landed, the girl glanced back at Gracia and waited, holding out her hands as the woman jumped over.

They continued this pattern for a while, following no path and making one that looped back and spun around on itself several times using only the most stable items that were closest to them to use as leverage.

Lenalee was the first to notice Akuma floating around, and as soon as she saw them she grabbed Gracia and pushed her down flat against the mattress of a chaise longue, covering her mouth with one hand as she lay down next to her and peeked over the edge.

After squirming a bit, Gracia pushed herself up and peeked over with Lenalee, her eyes widening, "That's… an Akuma?"

"Yes…" Lenalee nodded.

It was bulbous and awkward-looking, with its bulging arms longer than its diminutive legs. It seemed to be wearing some sort of… vertically-striped black and white jumpsuit, and it had a frowning, porcelain-looking, doll-like face on its stomach.

Like the people trapped in the timeless void, it was frozen in place, one of its massive arms stretched forward with its hand closed partway around something.

"…It's not moving…" Gracia murmured needlessly after several moments.

"What's it holding?" Lenalee asked, squinting her eyes.

Gracia tried to focus on it, but the Akuma's fingers were in the way, blocking their view. "…Only one way to find out." She muttered after a few more moments, standing.

Lenalee stood quickly, setting a hand on Gracia's shoulder, "Don't. I'll go look."

"…Alright." Gracia frowned slightly, "But if that thing starts moving… come back and throw me at it. That should freak me out enough to make Sleep knock it unconscious…"

Lenalee gave a slightly wry smile but nodded, then turned to face the unmoving Akuma and leapt towards it.

Gracia knelt, watching.

Lenalee landed on a trunk next to the Akuma and stared up at it, hesitantly reaching out and touching its side.

It was cold, even stiff, under her hand, the flesh not giving way to touch like flesh should, and even though terror was making Lenalee stiffen, nothing happened. The Akuma didn't move, didn't even twitch.

Like everything and everyone else in the void, it was frozen in time…

After several moments of staring up at the Akuma intently, searching for any sign of movement, Lenalee did something she never wanted to do again; she started to climb the Akuma.

Gracia tensed and watched her with slowly widening eyes, wanting to say something but too shocked and a bit too tired to think up anything. Thanks to her skewed perception of time, by the time she thought of saying something, Lenalee was already on the Akuma's shoulder on her hands and knees, reaching out slowly towards the creature's partially clenched fist.

There was something there… she could see it… she just had to reach a little further an—

Lenalee set her foot down against the Akuma's shoulder to lengthen her reach, and as soon as her still activated Dark Boots touched the Akuma's flesh, the creature began to deteriorate.

The resounding scream that followed shocked the breath right out of Gracia's lungs, and she could only watch in a stupor as the creature's free hand came around and slammed heavily into Lenalee.

The blow sent Lenalee spiraling off into the colorless distance.

Gracia stared after Lenalee with wide eyes, then slowly turned back towards the Akuma, her mouth going dry when she saw it looking at her.

The Akuma grumbled and shifted, hissing, "Exorcists…"

It moved slowly, several of its joints and bones creaking and cracking in protest from being stiff for so long, and initially it seemed like the Akuma's mobility was limited; when it raised its free hand to its face and tried to curl its fingers, there were only more crackling sounds that made it grimace.

Gracia was shaking, at this point terrified to the extent that she, herself, could hardly move.

Ironically, even though she was faced with a palpable threat, Sleep didn't activate as the Akuma took a few slow steps towards her, using some large wooden chunks of what seemed to be a destroyed boat around its feet.

When the section of its shoulder that Lenalee's Dark Boots had touched deteriorated a bit more, the skin flaking off unusually in hexagonal slices, the Akuma hissed and glared down at its shoulder harshly. It then threw its harsh glare out to where it had knocked Lenalee, grumbling, "Bitch…"

Gracia slowly glanced over her shoulder, looking for Lenalee, as well. Was she that small, black dot that was out well beyond where the cloud of debris ended? Uh-oh…

More cracking behind her made Gracia turn back to face the Akuma, and she looked up at it with wide eyes.

The Akuma, now standing right behind her, grinned down at Gracia sadistically, lips split to reveal sharp, cracked teeth as a long, scaled tongue lolled out of its mouth.

"Exorcist…"

Its large, heavy hand crashed down on top of her, the force enough to shatter the wood of the chaise longue and split the seams of the mattress until the whole thing burst.

* * *

Her momentum too great for her to slow in the vacuum-like void, it was all Lenalee could do to get control of her careening. And even when she had, there were no solid surfaces for her to kick off of.

Lenalee, her feet aimed towards the empty space she was flying towards, ground her teeth and looked towards her endless destination helplessly.

It would never stop.

With the rogue Innocence still activated, she would just keep flying off into this dimensionless, colorless void forever, never going anywhere but always getting further away from her only way back.

A sudden explosion behind Lenalee made her snap her attention back to where she had come from, her eyes widening.

She had to be at least eight hundred feet away from the debris cloud where the people, items, Akuma and Gracia were, but without any wind resistance or any other outside noises, sound carried so quickly…

When items in the debris cloud started exploding, the sounds of their destruction coming one after the other, Lenalee's eyes widened. She realized what she was listening to.

Gracia was still back there, and the Akuma had seen her.

Gracia wasn't a combat Exorcist; she had only been trained to use her Sleep for unit support.

Lenalee was listening to that Akuma pummel Gracia.

Lenalee's eyes narrowed, and she looked back down at her feet.

If there wasn't anything to provide resistance for her rebound, she would have to make her own resistance.

"Waltz : Misty Wind!"

* * *

As she was beaten over and over again, Gracia found herself stunned.

_Why?_

She took a heavy blow to the chest, the bookshelf she was pressed against exploding. Chunks and slivers of wood were embedded into her skin.

_Why wasn't Sleep helping her?_

Her head was grabbed and she was slammed though a trunk of clothes, fine silks and satins getting stained in blood.

_It had always helped her before for the most trivial things, so why wasn't it doing anything now?_

A rough punch slammed into the lower half of her body and sent her crashing into a chandelier, the crystal drops shattering and slicing through her thick uniform.

_She couldn't think… couldn't remember… How was she supposed to activate Sleep again?_

Around her finger, Sleep was ice cold and useless.

The Akuma's other hand, this one occupied by whatever it had been holding, swiped in from the side to deliver a heavy blow to Gracia's arm and chest, and when something fleshy but almost rock hard slammed into her skull with an audible crack, she saw stars and lost all coherent thought.

As she sailed away from the Akuma, which was turning to launch itself at her again, a wide-eyed, in shock Gracia could only stare blankly as Lenalee suddenly jetted back into the area, a tornado of green, black and gray swirling out from the bottom of her feet.

The Akuma didn't notice her until it was too late, and Lenalee drew her leg back and threw it forward quickly, her booted foreleg meeting the side of the creature's face in a resounding explosion. The Akuma was sent flying, crashing through more debris and, regrettably, a few people.

Lenalee flinched at that, grinding her teeth, but kicked off a large, rolling globe and braced her hands against the table Gracia had slammed into, the girl's hands on either side of the woman's head as the younger looked down at the older with wide, tearing eyes.

"Gracia!"

Gracia was staring after the Akuma with blank eyes, her pupils dilated. Slowly, jerkily, she raised her hand and pointed, croaking, "G-Girl…"

Lenalee blinked and turned her head quickly to look after the Akuma, blinking the tears out of her eyes and jolting as she could finally make out what the Akuma had been holding onto so tightly.

As the Akuma turned back to face the two Exorcists angrily, it swung a girl in a pale pink and blue dress carelessly in its fist, the girl's eyes closed and her forehead bloody from where her head had been smacked into Gracia's.

"…Right." Lenalee nodded, her eyes narrowing in focus again as the Akuma started lumbering back towards them awkwardly, "Stay here, Gracia!" The girl was gone in a flash, her movements creating the only wind in the area.

Gracia watched hollowly as Lenalee started fighting with the Akuma, still in shock from the blow to the head.

The Akuma was surprisingly agile for its size, using Lenalee's speed against her to limit her movements; when Lenalee threw herself at it to kick, it would move at the last moment to make her redirect her energy, least she go flying off into open space again.

It was during one such dodge that the Akuma grabbed Lenalee's leg before she could land on anything, the creature swinging her around and slammed her into a cast iron, wood-burning stove.

Lenalee's pained scream ran through the air, and a jolt ran through Gracia.

"_I wouldn't ask this of one of the younger Exorcists, but you're an adult… Just… keep a close eye on her… That's all I ask…"_

Gracia didn't know why, but when she heard Lenalee's scream, she thought of Komui.


	10. REM Cycle: Record Tainted, Fragmented

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

She remembered, now.

She'd been warned that as her synchronization rate with Sleep increased, the line between subconscious activation and conscious activation would become more defined.

Sleep wouldn't just save her anymore.

It was an equipment type; she would have to _make_ it do what she needed it to.

And as Lenalee floated listlessly through the air, blood swirling around her, Gracia realized that Lenalee needed her. Not as an adult, but as support.

Lenalee needed the damned thing to stay still so she could land a solid attack.

Gracia stood slowly as Lenalee clambered onto the bottom of a nearby sofa, the girl panting heavily as she brushed her bloodied bangs out of her face and glared at the Akuma.

The Akuma, its attention completely focused on Lenalee, grinned.

Panting, herself, and barely able to move her body without electric shocks of pain jolting through her and making the corners of her vision sparkle, Gracia raised her right hand and aimed it at the Akuma.

'_Innocence… Invoke… Sleep Activate!'_

It was one of the most powerful and coherent thoughts she'd had in some time, and apparently it worked, because Sleep suddenly burned hotly around her finger and flashed white.

In front of her, the Akuma's eyes rolled back into its head and it stopped moving.

Lenalee blinked, stunned, then looked back at Gracia. When she saw the older woman standing, her Innocence-equipped hand aimed at the Akuma, the younger girl smiled widely and nodded.

Gracia smiled back and nodded weakly, the action sending her head spinning. She then ground her teeth as her head injuries resulted in waves of nausea being swirled in her stomach. Her grip on Sleep's invocation slipped.

As a result, the Akuma began to stir.

Seeing this, Lenalee turned her attention back to the Akuma and leapt, somersaulting in the air and bringing her heel down to cleave its skull in half.

And that was the end of the Akuma.

Its body broke and burst harmlessly into slivers of hexagons that faded quickly, the force of the burst enough to make the debris around where the creature had been getting pushed outwards a few feet before it all slowed and stilled again.

Lenalee and Gracia stared at where the Akuma had been, then collapsed against their respective supports, letting their injuries get the better of them for the moment.

* * *

"…Hey, Lenalee…" Gracia called out weakly after a bit.

"…Yeah…?" Lenalee called back.

"…We're still stuck here…"

"…The Innocence was a separate occurrence from the Akuma. The effects won't just disappear because we've defeated the enemy…"

"…Should we take a look at that girl, then?"

"…Sure…"

The females clambered to their feet with pained groans, holding their heads and brushing the blood away before it got into their eyes.

They then made their slow, pained ways over to the girl in the pale pink and blue ball gown. After pulling her into a nearby large bathtub they'd taken refuge in, their focus immediately shifted to what was in the girl's hands.

A large shard of glass, the back coated with something silvery and paint-like to make the other side reflective.

A piece of mirror.

After several unsuccessful attempts to wake the girl, Gracia remembered how Lenalee had woken the Akuma and pressed her hand to the girl's bloody forehead.

Sleep sparked as soon as it touched the girl's skin, and she jolted and woke up, brushing aside her long, dark blonde hair and looking between Lenalee and Gracia with shocked violet eyes.

"Wh-Where am I?" The girl demanded regally, sitting up and backing away from the two Exorcists, "What happened to the monster?…!"

Gracia and Lenalee exchanged glances, then Lenalee explained gently, "The Akmua is dead. As for where we are… we're in a void you created with your Innocence, and we're trapped. Can you let us out?"

"…Innocence?" The girl frowned. She then looked down at what was in her hands, distress quickly painting her face as she cried, "My magic mirror! It's been shattered!"

Gracia frowned sympathetically as the girl hugged the shard of mirror to her chest. Even though the girl didn't have the right grasp on the situation, Gracia knew she'd probably be in a similar state of upset if anything happened to Sleep.

"…I remember what happened now." The girl said slowly after a moment, her hair forming a curtain in front of her face, "Mama, Papa and I were moving our belongings from our summer home to our winter when the monster attacked… I had always used to play in my mirror to escape my lessons, so I thought we would be safe there. But the creature followed us and…"

Absently, Gracia wondered if her earlier reference to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland had been really been inaccurate…

"…The monster is dead now, I promise." Lenalee said gently, "You don't have to hide in your mirror anymore."

"…I have been trapped in here for far too long." The girl whispered, "Were I to go back, I would die."

That statement was met with silence.

The girl had only been trapped in her mirror for twenty years, so biologically she would be in her mid-thirties, but during all of that time she had been completely immobile. She hadn't even been breathing… And hadn't the Akuma been quite stiff in its initial movements?

Maybe it was the same principal as things that had been trapped in ice for too long; they became brittle and broke when you tried to free them…

"…Though the same would happen to the people around me if I keep them trapped here, wouldn't it?" The girl asked suddenly, sitting upright and pursing her lips, "I cannot allow that to happen." She then looked at Lenalee, asking in a strong voice, "This… Innocence, you said? What would you do with it?"

"There is a war being fought in the name of God." Lenalee answered, "We would use your Innocence as a weapon."

"A Crusade!" The girl's eyes widened, "You would use my mirror in a Holy Crusade!" Without waiting for an answer, she nodded, "Then, as my last will and testament, I leave my mirror to your cause." The girl sat up properly and reached out, placing the shard of mirror in Lenalee's hands. "I only ask that you and yours remember who this mirror belonged to."

"Then we need your name…" Gracia prompted softly as the colorless void around them began to waver and melt.

The girl glanced at Gracia, then nodded, smiling, "Alice L—"

All too quickly, the world around the shattered, and Alice turned to dust and blew away in the wind as Lenalee and Gracia fell into the freezing, dark waters of the aqueduct.

* * *

Gracia opened her eyes slowly and stared at the ceiling above her, absently wondering when she'd gone to bed.

She should probably be worried that she forgot such pertinent things so often, but for some reason she never could bring herself to fret…

Feeling a weight pressed against the bed next to her, Gracia glanced over, blinking when she saw a young teenager with long, dark hair sitting in a chair beside her bed, resting her head on the mattress.

It took Gracia a moment to recognize Lenalee, and once she had she looked around slowly. After another moment, she realized where she was; in Haley's room back in Grate.

Gracia sat up slowly and with a soft groan, groggily pressing a hand to her forehead and blinking when she felt bandaging under her fingers. Ah, that's right, that Akuma had slammed her into several pieces of household furniture…

"Nnn… Gracia?"

The older woman looked down at Lenalee, smiling sleepily when the girl looked up at her and blinked slowly, "Taking advantage of Sleep's aura, were you?"

Lenalee blinked slowly, taking a moment to comprehend (a clear sign she'd fallen under Sleep's influence), then throwing herself at Gracia and hugging her waist tightly, "Oh my god, after we pulled you out of the aqueduct Sleep suddenly knocked you out and you haven't responded to anything in over twenty hours! I was afraid Sleep had made you comatose!"

Gracia blinked down at Lenalee slowly, confused.

Then, as she slowly remembered how she'd felt when she'd seen Lenalee get swung into a wood-burning stove, she lifted her hand and set it on Lenalee's head.

Was this how the girl was feeling…?

Was this how it felt to… worry about someone…?

"I'm fine." Gracia mumbled, "But… what about you? That Akuma… You hit that stove pretty hard…"

"I'm okay." Lenalee smiled up at Gracia, nodding and pulling back to sit in her chair. Her face then fell and she looked away, "I'm just… sorry it took me so long to figure out how to come back to help you… I'm not usually so slow…"

"…Lenalee, you're apologizing to _me_ for being slow…?" Gracia chuckled, shaking her head, "I'm the one who forgot that I needed to invoke Sleep to make it work; it's not your fault at all. Had I remembered, you would have come back to an unconscious enemy that you would have killed with ease. You wouldn't have gotten hurt…"

Lenalee looked like she wanted to protest, but realizing they were getting to the point where they were about to start fighting to assign more blame on themselves, the girl just sighed and smiled sheepishly, "I guess we both made mistakes…"

"Yeah…" Gracia sighed and nodded. She then blinked and sat up a bit more, asking, "Where is Alice's Innocence?"

"I have it." Lenalee nodded, "And the Finders are helping locate all of the people who regained consciousness after we were freed from the hammerspace." She paused before smiling at Gracia, "Farron and Felicity were found, and they're downstairs eating some of Haley's pies."

Gracia smiled slowly, then collapsed and fell asleep again. This time, it was of her own accord.

* * *

Gracia pressed her bandaged and burning forehead to the cold glass of the train window, rapping her fingers against her thigh and humming softly.

The goodbyes she'd exchanged with Haley, Farron and Felicity weren't exactly painful; whether she was part of the Black Order or not, the three were convinced that she would come wandering back sooner or later.

With the shard of Innocence-infused mirror (which Lenalee had suggested they call Alice's Mirror to honor their promise to the girl who'd fallen through her looking-glass) safely tucked away and the Finders recovered, all the group had to look forward to, now, was a stress-free ride back to the Order.

"La-la la lalala…" Gracia sang softly to herself, "La-la LA lalaLa…" Absently, she wished she'd brought her cloth ball…

"What's that tune from?" Lenalee asked suddenly, making Gracia glance over at her.

Gracia smiled at her, answering without having to think about it, "It's something my Grandma used to si—"

Around her finger, Sleep suddenly burned like a hot brand.

A pain ran through her head, and Gracia's eyes widened as she grabbed her head and screamed.

Lenalee watched in terror, then dove for Gracia when the older woman fell and caught her, struggling to hold her as violent seizures wracked Gracia's body.

Then, just as quickly as it had come, the seizures were gone and Gracia was blinking slowly, looking around in confusion.

"Hello…" She greeted Lenalee slowly, "And who are you…?"

Mute, Lenalee just stared down at her.

After a moment, Gracia's eyes lit up slightly and she sighed, "Oh, that's right, Lenalee… Sorry, did I fall asleep sitting up?"

Lenalee could only watch as Gracia sat up slowly, then stood and took her seat by the window again, sighing and pressing her forehead to the glass as she started humming the same tune.

After a moment of thought, Lenalee took her seat, as well, and tried to be as nonchalant as possible.

Something wasn't right. An understatement, yes, but until she knew what was really happening, what else could she say about it? And she couldn't ask Gracia… it was clearly linked to her past, and remembering seemed to trigger a… violent reaction from her.

Lenalee would have to talk to her brother about this.

Sleep… might be too much for Gracia to handle by herself.

* * *

"_Chin up and back straight, Gracia. You mustn't look slovenly when you meet your fiancé for the first time."_

_Gracia obeyed as best she could, but sitting up straight stretched her already tortured diaphragm, and when she sat straight for too long she got lightheaded…_

…_She didn't like corsets…_

"_Oh, isn't this marvelous? Gracia, do remember your manners. Pinky out when drinking, but not so far as to make people wonder if it's broken or deformed."_

…_But if she kept her pinky out, it pinched the circulation to the digit and made it white…_

"_Keep your conversations light and polite; politics, hunting and books by that horrible Darwin fellow are not topics ladies should touch."_

…_It wasn't like she was familiar with politics and hunting, anyway, but Darwin's theories were interesting…_

"_Speak only of music, good Christian writers and anything he brings up, so long as it doesn't have anything to do with the inappropriate subjects."_

…_But men always spoke of manly subjects…_

"_And do not look at your lap and twiddle your fingers when you speak. Meet his eyes, but remember to never raise your voice above a stage whisper."_

…_She had never met this man before, but she was expected to meet his eyes…?_

_She would never voice her objections though… she'd long learned that people just spoke over her, anyway, so what was the point?_

"_Ah, here he comes! Gracia, be courteous!"_

_She always was, she thought, but when she met him… she learned a new definition of courtesy…_

_Even as she stood, he knelt before her and smiled, taking her hand and kissing it._

_If only he was always so nice, she would later think._

"_My dearest Gracia, I'm so happy we could finally meet. I know you must have heard it by now, but I wish to tell you, myself… My name is—"_

* * *

_(*sigh* Is it just me, or is this getting a bit boring? I mean, waiting two days for a new update, that is… Would you guys like it if I updated every day for a bit? Just a bit, though; have to pace myself so I don't run out of chapters to post. *looks around shiftily* Besides, I'm a bit eager to get Kanda into the story… He's so fun to torture. XD)_


	11. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident VIII

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

As soon as Lenalee stepped off of the gondola in the underground waterway, she was swept into an overzealous, squealing, white jacket hug that left her face burning with embarrassment.

Gracia smiled slightly as she watched Komui try to hug his sister to death, stepping out of the gondola with some difficulty only to be saved from stumbling by Reever.

"Welcome home." Reever grinned down at her sheepishly as he helped her stand upright, "Sorry about the greeting; Komui always has to come down to see Lenalee."

Gracia just smiled and shook her head, making to walk over to the stairs.

She didn't get far, though, when she, herself, was seized in a massive, warm hug.

"Lenalee told me about how you saved her!" Komui gushed in Gracia's ear, "My new bestest best friend in the whol—"

"Supervisor," Gracia started with a sigh, pressing a hand against Komui's chest and pushing him away, "When did you take a bath last?"

Leaving him sputtering and whining as he struggled for an answer, Gracia slowly dragged herself up the stairs to look for her room.

She wasn't feeling well for some reason… She wanted a nap.

* * *

Komui stared after Gracia in shock.

She seemed… depressed?

That wasn't right. While Gracia managed to make herself seem somewhat happy all of the time, she was actually a very stoic person; emotions didn't register well for her.

At least, that was his impression of her after a few days contact.

…Something happened.

_Something_, Komui found himself thinking for some reason or another, _involving Sleep._

"Brother…"

Komui turned to face Lenalee, blinking questioningly, "Yes, Lenalee?"

Lenalee clutched Alice's Mirror to her chest, biting her lip, "There's something… I need to talk to you about… It's about Miss Gracia and Sleep."

Komui frowned.

He didn't always like it when he was right.

* * *

Gracia dropped her soiled uniform onto the floor and pulled herself into the shower, her hair draping around her face and forming a curtain that veiled her vision.

As soon as the heated stream of water touched her head, her hair was soaked and darkened to a deep, reddish burnt umber, dimming her vision further and making her drowsy.

A gentle, burning nudge from Sleep, though, kept her awake and alert enough to push her hair back over her shoulders and get her to start washing herself.

As she bathed, Gracia dwelled… on seemingly nothing.

For some reason, she felt tired… and not in the usual way. Sleep wasn't affecting her and she was still fairly well rested from the train, but she was still… exhausted…

Worn out.

Listless…

Like… even if she didn't sleep… she just wanted to lay down in bed for a few days… or weeks… and not deal with anyone.

And she had no idea why.

She had a feeling something may have happened on the train, that she may have dreamt about something… But she couldn't recall what it had been about.

And that only made her feel more listless.

After passively washing herself, Gracia pulled herself out of the shower without wringing out her hair or brushing herself off, quickly making a puddle on the floor as she reached out and pulled a towel off of the nearby rack.

When she walked out of her bathroom, she had to blink in shock when she saw Komui standing in the middle of her room, looking around in confusion.

Komui took one look at her when he heard her walk out, then turned bright red and did sort of a full-body flail/seizure, slapping his hands over his eyes and turning towards the nearest corner to bury himself in it (and with a rather solid thunk to the forehead, thanks to his eyes still being covered).

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Gracia stared at him in confusion, taking a moment to comprehend. It slowly dawned on her how cold she was getting, then she looked down at herself and realization hit. "Aaaah…" She sighed, pulling the towel down from drying her hair and wrapping it around herself. "Sorry, Supervisor."

"N-No, I'm the one who should be sorry!" Komui squeaked out in a funny voice, "I'd completely forgotten I had washrooms put into all of the female dorms!"

Gracia watched Komui panic a bit more, feeling a dull spark of amusement and a small smile twitch on her lips. She then sighed and wandered over to her closet, muttering a vague dismissive comment as she dug around inside and puling out a faded blue sweater with frayed edges and a long, dark skirt that had seen better days.

"I'll be back out in a minute, Supervisor." She mumbled over his incoherent and embarrassed mutterings, barely remembering to grab undergarments as she slumped back into the bathroom.

A red-faced Komui dared to glance over his shoulder when he heard the door shut. Absently, he noted that his previous examination of her hadn't been entirely accurate. She was _far_ thinner than he had originally believed.

Of course, that only made Komui blush darker and he started hitting his head against the wall in shame, trying to dumb the memories out of himself for the sake of propriety she clearly lacked… or didn't care much for.

It didn't work, though.

There were still scrawny, naked Gracia's running about— er… sleeping in his head.

"I don't know what you're so upset about, Supervisor…"

Komui jumped slightly and froze up, squeaking in the back of his throat. When he glanced back at a now dressed Gracia, she just blinked slowly.

"It's not the first time you've seen what's under my clothes. I know you undressed me during that exam you did on Sleep…" When Komui's eyes widened slightly, her brow twitched up a bit, "How else would you have known to tell Jeryy to put me on a diet so I could gain weight?"

"Aaah… Eh-heh." Komui smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, "I… was… worried…?"

Gracia sighed, slumping slightly and walking over to her bed as she muttered, "Just… forget it. It's fine, I'll stick to the diet, please don't bring it up anymore. Having people concerned about my health makes me uncomfortable." That said, she fell stomach down on her bed heavily, face buried in the pillow and her hands down by her sides, palms up.

Komui stared at her for a moment, looking taken aback. Then, he slowly became unruffled, looking concerned, instead.

"…Lenalee told me that something happened on the train."

That seemed to catch her attention.

Gracia's shoulders stiffened slightly, her fingers twitching and curling back in towards her palms.

"…So something did happen…" She mumbled after a moment.

"Yes." Komui nodded, "I'd like for you to come with me. I need to do another examination on you and Sleep… This one a bit more in-depth."

"You're not going to strip me while I'm sleeping again, are you?"

Komui resumed his earlier flushing and sputtering.

Smiling slightly, Gracia clambered back out of bed and stood, stretching lazily and rubbing her back before she turned to regard the still red-faced and verbally stunted Komui with amusement.

Komui tensed and pursed his lips, hissing, "I'll have you know your undershirt and underwear stayed on!" He then turned and stormed out the door petulantly.

Gracia stared after him, then did something she hadn't remembered doing in a while; she laughed. Hard enough to make her have to bend forward and cross her arms over her stomach, her still wet hair dangling around her face in slender clumps.

For someone as mentally slow as Gracia, being able to get Komui like that just proved he was just _too_ easy to tease.

And that only made it _funnier_.

Grabbing her uniform, Gracia stumbled after Komui weakly, still laughing and rubbing her eyes when they started to tear.

Komui threw a sullen glare back at her, but couldn't stop himself from smiling slightly no matter how miffed he was.

Uncontrolled laughter wasn't something one would characterize Gracia as being capable of.

She really did seem to be settling in… and that was good.

Getting her healthy wasn't enough; if she didn't feel at home and comfortable with her fellow Exorcists, she'd end up relying on Sleep too much for company and her synchronization rate would drop.

And then Komui would have no choice but to take her Innocence from her… Which was something Komui wanted to avoid.

Ever since Gracia had first become a proper Exorcist, after her initial meeting with Hevlaska, Komui had been thinking about Hevlaska's prophecy… About how the separation of Gracia and Sleep would destroy Gracia.

And after she'd been sent out on her mission with Lenalee, he'd had time to dwell on it.

It was his job to protect the Exorcists from the harsh reality of the laws they were subjected to by Central and the Vatican. But in order to properly protect them, protection had to start much closer to home than Rome. It had to start right where they were, on a personal level.

For some, it was consoling them about the separation from their family they would have to face alone.

For others, it was teaching them how to deal with the constant fear of death.

There were even those he had to talk to about accepting how they would have to conform to the rules the Roman Catholic Church had laid out for them when they, themselves, weren't Catholic; he'd had one or two Agnostics be accepted by the Innocence because of their beliefs when they, themselves, didn't really understand the full extent of what they believed in.

In this case? He had to get Gracia out of her shell.

No matter how nice she acted, she was still distant to human contact… to the point where she didn't seem to care about how people viewed her.

What kind of normal person doesn't get embarrassed when someone sees them naked?

Well… of course, she'd already deduced that he'd stripped her before (purely for safety reasons, of course! he can't send a malnourished Exorcists out onto the battlefield!), but still… She was far too detached from reality.

Hevlaska had been right; if she didn't start separating herself from Sleep now and get more used to depending on others for company instead of inanimate objects, she was just going to fall apart when the time came for her to take the ring off.

And judging by how dissociated she always seemed to be… Komui really had his work cut out for him.

When Komui finally got around to realizing that he couldn't hear Gracia laughing anymore, he glanced back over his shoulder to make sure she hadn't… fallen asleep leaning against a wall or a stair banister or something.

Fortunately, she hadn't, but she looked dangerously close to it; her eyes were locked on him and glazed, her eyelids slipping down and taking a bit too long to come back up after she blinked. Her shoulders were hunched forward and, as usual, it seemed like she wasn't able to stand up straight. The light scraping that came with each step she took told him she wasn't completely lifting her feet to walk.

Still, she was following him, and she had a light, healthy flush on her face from laughing, and her current walk was no different than her usual half-awake walk, so she was fine.

"Almost there!" Komui told her with a bright smile. It quickly faded, though, and he flushed and looked forward again petulantly when she snickered.

When they arrived at his usual examination room, the sound of footsteps behind them made Komui slow down.

Not noticing, Gracia walked past him and into the room.

Komui turned back, smiling when Lenalee ran up to him.

"Brother!" Lenalee smiled back, coming to a stop in front of Komui, "I need you to stall Miss Gracia and keep her here for at least an hour."

"Eh?" Komui blinked, "But this is only a twenty minute exam…"

Lenalee sighed and pulled her brother down slightly, standing up on the tips of her toes and murmuring something into his ear.

Komui listened, blinked, then smiled and chuckled, "Alright, alright. I understand."

Lenalee beamed up at him, kissed his cheek, then turned and dashed off.

Komui smiled after her, then grinned maniacally and adjusted his glasses with a chuckle, turning and walking into the exam room with his mad aura starting to grow about him.

"Alright, Miss Gracia, it's time to begin your examination!"

"Pervert." Came a muted, tired mumble from the prone form lying on the examination table, her head propped up on the small pillow and her bangs shadowing her eyes.

Komui's mad scientist mojo deflated and he whined, "Not a pervert!"

Gracia simply smiled slightly.


	12. HPPD Flashback: Record Bypassed

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"Gracia, will you take your Innocence off for me?"

The question had been asked calmly enough, and innocently, but Gracia was immediately put on edge and she glanced at Komui with unusually wide and awake eyes.

Komui sighed and held up his hands, "You don't have to if you don't want to, I just wanted to confirm something."

"Well I don't want to." Gracia muttered, looking away.

"…Gracia, Lenalee told me about an incident that took place on your train ride back." Komui started carefully after a pause. He had to word this carefully so he didn't set her off… "She mentioned something, which seemed to spark a memory for you, but partway through remembering she said you had a seizure."

Gracia, who had been slowly turning back towards him as he spoke, was staring at Komui now, her drowsy face unreadable.

Komui sighed, propping his elbows up against the table she was laying on and clasping his hands as he went on, "And during your seizure, Sleep glowed. I… have a few ideas about this… but I can only confirm them if you take Sleep off for a bit."

When Gracia continued to stare at him, her face still blank, Komui sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Most equipment types don't always have their Innocence on them. When they get back from missions, they either turn them over to the Science Department for repairs, or to Hevlaska so the Accommodator can rest without straining their synchronization rate. However, no one is going to _make_ you take Sleep off. It would just be _safer_, for you, the others you interact with, and the integrity of your connection with Sleep."

"…I need to think about it." Gracia mumbled after a moment, not just because she was still hesitant. She literally needed more time to process the information; Komui was speaking too fast for her to get it all in one go.

"That's fine." Komui smiled brightly, "Now, I need you to do a few things for me…"

Gracia sat up when she was told to, and let Komui lead her through several breathing exercises.

When Komui had her activate her Innocence, she smiled slightly at his pleasant shock when he noted that he wasn't feeling nearly as influenced by Sleep's aura as he'd observed others to be.

"I think my synchronization rate increased…" Gracia explained, grabbing the ring on her finger and twisting it a bit, "When I activated it to help Lenalee, I was able to actively select the Akuma we had to fight as a target… Lenalee wasn't hindered at all."

"Excellent!" Komui beamed, "If you're progressing that much, we can start setting you up for training exercises and missions with other Exorcists."

Gracia frowned, holding up a finger in protest, "Not right off, though… I'd like to be able to nap in between."

"Of course, of course." Komui chuckled, standing and going over to the cabinet behind him, "We wouldn't want you to strain your sync rate after you've just raised it, after all."

Gracia slouched slightly in relief and looked down at Sleep, spinning the silver band a few more times before deactivating it and sighing as the metal cooled.

"So, have you always worn Sleep on that finger?" Komui asked absently, turning back from loading a needle onto a syringe, "It sounds like you're mixed-handed, so I was wondering if Sleep's effectiveness would be altered if you wore it on your left middle, or even any of your other fingers." He popped the cap off of the needle, "Most equipment type Exorcists have an item that takes their whole ha—"

There was a loud, hollow thunk.

Komui looked up, blinking at first in shock, then exasperation when he saw Gracia unconscious… and looking pale and slightly green.

"Why didn't you warn me that you were afraid of needles?" The scientist asked with a sigh, adjusting his glasses.

Of course, taking into account that it had been _Komui_ holding the needle, Gracia's passing out didn't necessarily indicate a needle phobia, did it?

* * *

"Why am I not in bed again…?" Gracia whined slightly, contemplating purposely dragging her feet to give Komui a hard time. She sleepily decided that she liked the younger Lee sibling dragging her around more than the older; Komui was too twitchy.

Her wrist was not appreciating the odd angles it was prone to getting bent at whenever he took a corner too quickly…

"Because your presence has been demanded elsewhere by an angel sent from above!" Komui answered brightly, "And we don't ignore angels!"

"…Angel…?" Gracia frowned in confusion, not getting the reference. She was still a bit out of sorts from passing out after seeing Komui preparing a syringe and needle.

Komui just chuckled, not bothering to elaborate.

Gracia sighed, flinching when Komui swung her around one last corner and into the cafeteria.

She then jumped, her eyes widening and her face flushing slightly when streamers and silly string rained down on her.

"WELCOME ABOARD!"

* * *

Though the party was for her, Gracia sat silently, tiredly in a corner, watching as her younger coworkers were shooed off to bed by the elders and a few alcohols were brought out.

For the first two hours of the party, she'd been kept at the center of attention, greeting people by their names (none of which she would remember, she was sure) and listening to corny jokes and amusing jabs at how they'd have to scare her sometime to see what an Innocence-induced sleep felt like.

She couldn't very well answer the questions, herself, considering she'd never, in her current memories, slept without wearing Sleep, but she eventually got that those who were asking weren't looking for serious answers and just smiled along with those who were laughing around her.

And for the first time in a while, Gracia felt… sad that she wouldn't be able to laugh alongside people…

It took her muddled brain a bit to process the jokes, and by the time she had, saw the humor in them and genuinely found them funny, people had already moved on and she was left to laugh to herself… alone.

It was the first time it had happened while she was in company she would be remaining in for some time, and it made her feel… left behind.

And it actually bothered her.

So, as the kids started to shuffle off and the adults began to switch their humor to something more suited for adults, she pulled away from the group and isolated herself with a plate of barbequed something or other and a mug of some kind of juice… She couldn't very well walk out of her own party, so she'd just use the excuse that she was feeling a bit out of it and didn't want Sleep randomly affecting anyone.

"So, Miss Gracia," She was snapped out of her depressing reverie by Johnny and Tup, who sat across from her with wide smiles, "How did your uniform work out?"

"Well." Gracia smiled back slightly, propping her elbow up against the table and leaning her head into her hand heavily, "I ended up with fewer splinters than I thought I had, and before my hood fell off I could hardly feel the blows I was taking to the head."

Tup's eyes widened slightly.

"…I see…" Johnny said slowly, unnerved that she could say that and still smile.

"Now…" Gracia yawned, scratching her neck, "Shouldn't you two be getting to bed?"

"Eh?" Johnny blinked.

"Only the kids are going to bed!" Tup pointed out, miffed, "I'm twenty-seven!"

"And I'm twenty-five!" Johnny whined, "We're not kids!"

"But you both whine like kids."

Johnny and Tup turned on Reever as he approached, letting out protesting shouts.

"I'm a year older than you!" Tup exclaimed while pointing at Reever accusingly.

"And I'm just one year younger!" Johnny added, doing the same.

Reever chuckled wryly, rolling his eyes, "And you both have more problems staying awake than I do. Besides, you're on graveyard this month; you both should turn in early."

Tup huffed, then smirked slightly, "Alright, _Chief_, we'll turn in… As soon as you beat Johnny in a game of chess."

At that point, the argument had drawn the attention of several others in the room, all of whom snickered when Reever's brow twitched.

Gracia blinked, not getting it. After several moments (that she could measure) of silence, she muttered, "I'll play him…"

Attention snapped back to her, and Johnny grinned slightly, "Are you sure about that?"

The challenging note and slight stab at intimidation blew right over Gracia's head as she yawned widely, covering her mouth with her hand as she nodded, "Yeah, sure, sounds interesting…"

Before Gracia could blink (one of her really, really slow blinks), she found herself moved from her reclusive corner and sitting at one of the center tables, Johnny sitting across from her as he quickly set up both sides of a chessboard she hadn't seen be provided (of course, she had no idea that her last blink had lasted about ten minutes).

She was slightly confused to see all of the remaining adults at the party (most holding champagne flutes or wineglasses) had congregated around them and were watching amusedly.

Then, after a moment, it dawned on her… "You're hailed as something of a chess genius around here, aren't you?"

Johnny looked up from his organizing, blinking from behind his thick glasses, then smiled sheepishly and shrugged, "Well, I wouldn't say genius, but I do have a pretty good record…"

There were several snickers from the crowd.

Gracia quirked a brow slightly, then glanced down at the board. Johnny had set it up so the white pieces were on her side…

"How cordial of you…" She mumbled, reaching out and slowly turning the board around so the black pieces were on her side.

Johnny blinked, "You do know that—"

"White moves first, yes, but I prefer to move second." Gracia sighed, flapping her hand slightly, "Go ahead."

"_****, why do you always let me go first?"_

_A chuckle. "You can tell quite a bit about how your opponent will play if you let them make the first move."_

Johnny started by moving the pawn in front of his King out two squares.

Gracia smiled slightly, that opening move making her think of several dozen strategies…

For some reason, playing against people who freed up the Queen and Bishop first was familiar.

Gracia reached out and grabbed one of her Knights.

The game went on longer than most expected… At thirty minutes, several were pleasantly surprised that Gracia was still in the game, a few giving her congratulatory pats on the back.

An hour in, everyone was silent and sitting, watching intently.

If asked, Gracia wouldn't be able to tell anyone who had taught her how to play… or even when she'd last seen a board.

As soon as she heard the word, she remembered what it meant. As soon as Johnny had moved, she'd remembered many strategies that started out similarly to his.

As soon as she lost one of her Knights, Gracia was no longer slumping in her seat.

Though she had taken all but two of his Pawns and one of his Rooks at an hour and fifteen minutes in, Johnny had just taken one of her Bishops.

That was when she took off Sleep and silently held it out to a nearby Komui, whose eyes widened in shock.

His look was quickly mirrored when others realized what she'd done.

Johnny paused on his turn, swallowing slightly and watching as his Supervisor slowly reached out and took the ring. The young man then watched silently as Gracia mutedly asked for a glass of whine, then looked back down at the board and made his move as she took an offered wineglass and sipped.

Gracia stared at the board intently, her sip turning into a slightly long draught before she finally took the glass away from her lips and reached out, long, thin fingers wrapping around the top of her remaining Bishop as she moved the piece across the board.

As the game continued, she slowly seemed to become more alert, her pupils becoming more narrowed and focused than any who were watching had ever seen them.

By the time her posture had been corrected and she sat at an astute angle, she had one of her pawns across the board and was exchanging it for her lost Bishop.

The loss of Sleep and the wine in her stomach sobered her mood, something no scientist in the room let slip past notice. Komui in particular.

Johnny was glaring at the board intently, his lower lip getting captured between his teeth every time it was his turn.

Gracia was staring down at the board with what could only be described as a cool gaze, gray eyes heavily lidded but clearer than ever and her face out in the open after she swept her hair back with one hand, dragging it over one shoulder and tucking it behind her ear.

"Check." She murmured calmly, setting a Bishop down next to her Queen.

Johnny swallowed harshly and quickly moved his King out of check, and when Gracia's Queen followed he moved a Rook, taking her Queen. When Gracia was forced to take the Rook in defense, he moved a Knight, rasping, "Checkmate."

Gracia blinked, then all at once her sleepy attitude returned and she slouched, scratching her cheek and muttering, "Oops… Completely missed that one."

There was a pause, then many of the people in the room applauded, words being exchange on how close the match had been and Gracia getting slapped on the shoulder and congratulated.

Tup grinned at her widely, catching Johnny in a headlock and rubbing his thick knuckles across the younger scientist's head. "Nice one, Miss Gracia! I haven't seen Johnny that worried about a game since the last the he played Supervisor Komui!"

Johnny went from trying to wriggle away from Tup to paling and shuddering at the memory, Komui picking up on that and grinning.

Gracia smiled sheepishly, shrugging, "It's been a while since I played… I didn't break any rules, did I?" Even though she knew full well she hadn't.

"Of course not!" Johnny burst, "Someone who plays as well as you could never break a rule, even subconsciously! Where did you learn to play?"

"No idea…" Gracia muttered, glancing over at Komui and holding out her hand.

Komui smiled and handed Sleep back without worry, waving to Gracia as she excused herself and wandered off to her room.

She'd taken it off.

Of her own accord.

Already, Hevlaska's prophecy of her destruction should be a bit less certain.


	13. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident IX

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"Who wants coffee?"

Gracia watched with a small smile as the scientists who had just been whining about being too tired let out weak cheers of relief and raised their hands.

"Lenalee, where's the Supervisor?" Gracia asked when the girl got to her, waving off the silent offer of a cup of coffee.

"I don't know." Lenalee looked down at the second to last mug on her tray, one with a ridiculous caricature of a pink rabbit on it that Gracia had come to sleepily recognize as Komui's, "I haven't seen him all day…" She then looked up at Gracia and tipped her head, blinking, "Why? Was there something you needed?"

"It just hit me that Komui's always looked at me enviously whenever I yawn…" Gracia mumbled, shrugging, "I was going to let him see what a Sleep-induced nap feels like."

That caught Reever's attention, and he practically transported across the room and growled down at Gracia with a rather comical look of anger on his face. "What?"

Gracia glanced back up at Reever, blinking and muttering, "I don't see what the problem is… You've been put to sleep by Sleep before, haven't you? It was even during work hours…"

"Th-That was different!" Reever sputtered, waving his arms slightly, "If you let the Supervisor get even the slightest taste of a Sleep-induced nap, he'll—"

"Heeey~!" The jovial voice of the mad scientist in question suddenly sailed through the air, "Is everyone awake?"

Everyone in the room glanced over, eyes widening when Komui flounced into the room with something following him. Something large with heavy, metallic footsteps that shook the room.

"Look, look!" Komui danced around a bit before swinging both arms over to gesture at the giant robot that followed him into the room, "Taadaa~! It's the savior of the Science Department, also known as the Komlin II!"

Gracia looked up at the large robot, her face blank.

Over a bit of time she'd… come to understand that when he wasn't doing work, Komui was usually building robots.

This was one of the few, it seemed, that didn't blow up during development.

'And it's wearing a beret…' She noted with a slow blink.

"I told you, it's Komlin!" Komui said again to whatever he'd been asked, waving Reever off, "I just finished making him! I programmed my thinking and personality into it! It's a multi-tasking robot for the Innocence development~!" He chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest and stroking his ego as he went on, "Analyzing various materials is a given, but it can also repair Anti-Akuma Weapons and look after their Accommodators, as well!" Komui then struck a pose, and… was it a trick of the light, or was the air around him glittering? "It's another me! This will make the workload much easier!"

While Komui immediately found himself smothered in hugs and love from the scientists who were practically crying with joy (and indeed, some of them were), Komui, himself, smiling down at them in a creepily fatherly way as he patted their heads, Gracia could only watch silently as the doors on the robot's chest opened.

A gloved hand slipped out of the darkness within and reached for Lenalee, taking a mug of coffee off of the tray she was carrying.

Komui's mug.

"That's… Brother's coffee…" Lenalee muttered in vague protest as the robot brought the coffee up to what wasn't really a mouth, but rather just an audio speaker, and poured it in. "…Brother, does Komlin drink coffee?"

"Hah hah hah…" Komui turned to regard Lenalee, chuckling, "What are you talking about, Lenalee? It may be another me but Komlin's a robot. Coffee will…"

There was a sudden tense pause as Lenalee's question suddenly hit everyone in the room.

"Did it drink it?…!"

Gracia jumped slightly when several parts of the Komlin flashed brightly and made loud, crashing noises, another hand emerging from the door in its chest and stabbing Lenalee in the neck with a syringe.

Komui cried out in terror as Lenalee was knocked out, running to her side and cradling her against his chest as the Komlin smoked.

"I… am… Kom… lin…" The crackling, mechanized voice warbled from the coffee-soaked speaker, "I… make… Exorcists… stronger… She… is… an Exor… cist."

Komui trembled and hugged Lenalee with one arm, pressing his other hand to his mouth, "K-Komlin…?"

Gracia tried to sink back into the shadows.

"I must surgically alter her into a muscular physique!" The Komlin declared loudly, much to the horror of everyone in the room.

An unpleasant image of Lenalee's head on a bodybuilder's form flashed through Gracia's head, and she made a face, "Eww…"

The Komlin quickly turned on Gracia when she spoke, making her pale and take another step back.

"…Another Exorcist." A third hand emerged from the Komlin's chest doors, this one carrying another needle, "Must—"

Gracia didn't hear any more before she passed out, no drugs needed.

A needle in Komui's hand was one thing.

A needle in the hand of a giant robot designed to think like Komui?

That was just… no.

* * *

Johnny and Tup fled with the rest of their fellow scientists, an unconscious and green Gracia on Tup's back.

They ran onto the lift that hovered in the center of the hollow building, some dragging Komui with them against his will so he wouldn't try to run back to Lenalee.

"Supervisor, Section Leader Reever has her!" Someone tried to reason with him as they grabbed Komui in a chokehold and dragged him onto the platform backwards, "We need to get you where that thing can't reach you! You need to tell us where the off button is!"

Komui, though, wasn't listening, "Lenalee! LENALEEE! NOO! DON'T GO MACHO ON ME!"

The moment the lift disconnected from its dock, Gracia was groaning loudly in Tup's ear and squirming against his back, her face turning green.

Tup quickly set her down, not wanting to get barfed on, and he and Johnny knelt beside her as she dry heaved on her hands and knees.

"Komui…"

Everyone froze and looked at Gracia with wide eyes, having never heard such a dark tone from her before.

Gracia looked up at Komui with narrowed eyes and pointed at him, sneering, "I think it's about time you took a nap."

Sleep flashed.

Komui squeaked and flailed around a bit, then let out a "Nyah" and fell backwards, asleep, onto the people behind him, four people falling with and underneath him.

Gracia snorted, then stood slowly and looked around, "Now, where is Lenalee?"

Several people pointed, and Gracia turned around and watched with a twitching eyebrow as Reever ran away from Komlin two floors down, an unconscious Lenalee on his back.

"The gun!" Johnny suddenly squeaked, leaping over to the lift's control panel, "Section Chief, keep running! I can have the gun online in about five minutes!"

"I DON'T HAVE FIVE MINUTES, JOHNNY!" Reever shouted back, screaming and going flying when the Komlin shot a rocket at him.

Gracia could only watch with building annoyance, her eyebrow twitching.

Komlin was a robot; it had no central nervous system. She couldn't put it to sleep.

She was just contemplating telling Tup to throw Komui at it when the Komlin's creator suddenly woke up and surged to his feet, dashing over to the railing and lamenting, "LENALEEEEE!"

It was too much.

There was just too much damned chaos.

Her groggy mind overloaded and her head throbbing, Gracia knelt down and pressed her palms into her ears, shutting her eyes and blocking it all out.

Screw whether she was being a coward or not; she was tired and in pain. Let the scientists figure out how to clean up their own damned mess.

She didn't get to block the world out for long before the lift was suddenly spinning rapidly.

Gracia felt her stomach lurch up in her throat and grabbed onto a bar of the railing when she slammed into it, wrapping her arms and legs around it in a tight hug and keeping her eyes clamped shut. Vaguely, she could feel the edge of the lift digging into her legs, and she knew that with just a few more inches she would go falling down, down, down…

She didn't open her eyes. She wouldn't. She heard gunfire, but she didn't care.

She just wanted this incident to be over.

Then something hard hit her head and stunned her.

Gracia fell on her side, in shock, and watched vacantly as the giant rock that had smacked the back of her head went tumbling over the edge of the lift.

Vaguely, she heard Komui screaming something about not wanting a buff sister and "LENALEE, WAKE UP!", and then the lift was tipped on its side and Gracia was sliding across the floor.

She slammed into someone before she went toppling off the lift, and they wrapped their arm around her quickly, but when she heard a burst of "LENALEE!" right in her ear, she wished she'd fallen.

She did not want Komui clinging to her as he sobbed over his buff sister.

Gracia then started to recover, the side of her head still throbbing but the images in front of her starting to make much more sense.

The Komlin was clinging to the barrel of a cannon jutting out the side of the now vertically tipped lift, the people who hadn't fallen clinging to the railing and Lenalee kneeling on one of the bars of the railing, her slightly unfocused eyes glaring down at the Komlin.

Then, Lenalee surged forward and flipped around, kicking the Komlin in the face with her activated Dark Boots.

Komui squeaked in Gracia's ear.

The Komlin retaliated by firing lasers at Lenalee.

Lenalee retaliated by booting Komlin in the face again and cleaving a large section of it right off of its body.

The lift corrected its alignment and all around Gracia, the members of the Science Division began cheering and chanting.

"Wohoo, Lenalee!"

"You're awesome!"

"Destroy it!"

At mention of destroying the Komlin, the entire group began singing, "Des-troy it, des-troy it, des-troy it!"

Komui squeaked again, then scrambled past Gracia and over to the Komlin, jumping in front of Lenalee and landing on Komlin's face as Reever started climbing off of the metal monstrosity, someone wrapped in bandages clinging to his back.

"Wait, Lenalee!" Komui held out his hands, "It's not Komlin's fault! It's the coffee's fault!"

The Science Division members groaned and threw mild insults at Komui, some wondering how he'd slipped past them.

"Hate the crime, not the person." Komui tried to insist, smiling weakly, "Hate the coffee, not the Komlin, Lenalee."

He looked ridiculous, his glasses broken, his hair overly curled and frizzy, his clothes singed…

Lenalee clearly wasn't swayed.

As soon as Reever had climbed onto the barrel of the gun, the unfortunate, mummified soul still dangling from his back, she sighed slightly, "Brother…" Then, delivering a powerful kick that sent both Komui and the Komlin flying, she finished, "Go think about what you've done."

Komlin exploded, Komui disappeared from sight because of the smoke from the explosion, and Gracia sighed.

"Finally…" She let herself fall onto the nearest person and fell asleep.

* * *

_(Has anyone else read the latest DGM chapter? That's going to be so depressing to write, especially if how my mind keeps imagining Gracia playing into that with the scenarios it is now…)_


	14. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident X

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"Iceland?" Gracia perked, smiling, "You're sending me to Iceland?"

Komui nodded stiffly, the bandages he was mummified in limiting his movement and his speech. "Yes." He mumbled, "You'll be meeting up with another Exorcist, Yu Kanda. He'll have gotten there before you, but he should be waiting; I told him not to handle this one by himself." Komui paused, then observed, "I haven't seen you this openly excited about something before."

"Iceland is one of the few European countries I haven't been to." Gracia explained in her usual slow fashion, her smile widening slightly, "I've never had a reason or the means to travel that far out at sea…" She paused, then turned green, "Or the stomach. Uugh…" She pressed her hand to her gut, Sleep already acting up.

Komui sighed, then held out a black book similar to the one he'd given her on her last mission. "There have been some odd occurrences going on in one of the northern fjords in Iceland." He explained as she clambered to her feet and came over to take the book, "Accounts of ships getting lost at random locations within the bay. There hasn't been any significant recorded seismic activity, and nothing seems to be going on chemically in the water, but entire pods and schools of local aquatic life have disappeared, and the villages in the area are suffering for it."

Gracia flopped back down in her seat before she opened the book, blinking, "Ísafjarðardjúp."

Komui's brow twitched, "How did you do that?"

She paused, then slowly looked back up at Komui, "Do what?"

"Pronounce that!"

"Pronounce Ísafjarðardjúp?"

Komui's bandaged brow twitched again, "Yes!"

"I dunno." Gracia answered simply. "I looked at it and already knew how to pronounce it, so I did."

"…Something Sleep made you forget, then." Komui sighed.

"Probably." Gracia shrugged slightly, looking back down at the booklet in her hands, "…You know, Ísafjarðardjúp is a… fairly large bay. How are Kanda and I supposed to pinpoint whatever's going on?"

"You've got all the time in the world." Komui answered simply, "Go to the fjord, find the anomaly, and, if it's an Innocence, seize it."

"Right." Gracia sighed, "And where will I be meeting Kanda?"

"In Reykjavík." Komui answered, stumbling slightly on the pronunciation, "You'll have a Finder accompanying you, but we don't have anyone here who speaks Icelandic. Fortunately, English is pretty well-used but…" Komui smiled sheepishly, "You'd better do the talking if the Finder can't. Kanda is a very… abrasive person."

"I see." Gracia sighed again. She paused, then muttered, "This one… might take a while."

Komui blinked, nodding slowly, "Yes… it might."

Gracia smiled slightly, "It's… strange to think I've already been here for a couple of months … My perception of time is several moments slower than that of the average person, but… it feels like I just barely arrived."

Komui stared at Gracia, then smiled kindly, "It's not like you won't be coming back. Missions don't last forever after all; why, with Kanda as small a speaker as he is, it'll probably seem like it'll pass in no time!" His smile then turned sly, "And when you get back, I might just have a new electrically heated blanket waiting on your bed for you so you can thaw out."

"An electric blanket…" Gracia smiled dazedly and slumped down in her seat, a light blush blooming on her face, "Mmmm, I haven't slept with one of those in a while…"

"Well, then it's a promise." Komui perked, smiling widely, "When you come back, you'll have an electric blanket in your room, already made into your bed. All you have to do is go to Iceland for a few weeks."

"…Alright." Gracia tipped her head and gave him a sleepy smile, "Shall I bring back some Icelandic coffee?"

Komui chuckled, nodding, "If you come across good coffee, feel free. It's my understanding that Iceland isn't in short supply."

Gracia laughed a bit, then sighed and stood, looking down at the book in her hand and absently spinning Sleep around on her finger using her thumb.

"…Something wrong?"

"Eh?" Gracia looked up at Komui, blinking. She then smiled slightly and shook her head, "No, no, I'm fine… I should go see how Johnny and Tup are doing with the modifications on my uniform. When do the Finder and I leave?"

"Tonight." Komui nodded, "So don't fall asleep."

Where Gracia would have normally pouted, she only nodded slightly and turned, walking out. She passively noted the stunned look that flashed across Komui's face, though, and sighed, glancing down at Sleep.

Ever since… she'd taken it off during her game of chess with Johnny… she'd stopped forgetting things.

…Well, that wasn't entirely accurate; she still forgot things when she was tired enough or when Sleep was about to be used, was in use or for a bit after it had been used.

She just… well, she supposed she'd stopped having episodes.

She was only aware of the 'episodes' because of Komui; he had told her about what Lenalee had said had happened on the train after her first mission, and after she'd had some time to brood on it… she realized it hadn't been the first time that had happened.

There were certain emotions and sensations she had felt after she'd woken up in Lenalee's arms that she knew she'd felt before, but only at certain times… And ever since the chess match, she hadn't experienced those emotions or sensations again.

She'd also stopped dreaming and having… what she could only assume were flashbacks.

When she'd gone to Hevlaska for an exam and had asked for an update on her synchronization rate, fearing it had dropped, she found it had actually gone up.

Eight-five percent.

Her synchronization rate with Sleep was up to eight-five percent, but she felt further away from Sleep than she ever had been…

It was as if… she had made a choice that day… and that choice had affected her relationship with her Innocence.

Well, whatever the choice had been, it wasn't as if she had meant it like that!

She had liked her relationship with Sleep the way it had been!

Why… Why did it have to change…?

…She'd wanted to ask Komui, but she knew if he knew he would become insistent that she take off Sleep again.

And, frankly, ever since the last time she'd taken it off, she hadn't done it again.

She'd gone back to Sleep never leaving her side, back to being terrified of the thought of taking it off or having it taken from her, back to Sleep being a constant presence in her life and mind.

All in some hope that they could go back to being how they had been before she'd so easily, so thoughtlessly, so _callously_ removed Sleep from her finger…

…As if Sleep didn't matter.

Was that it?

Was Sleep hurt and insulted?

It vaguely crossed the back of her mind that she _was_ referring to an inanimate object, but that… that couldn't be right. She'd… always, _always_ thought of Sleep as if it were sentient.

But that, it dawned on her, had changed when she'd started living in the Order… When she'd started interacting with humans.

While Gracia's thoughts spun off into oblivion, she had walked into the Science Division and over to Johnny and Tup slowly, stopping beside them and staring at them without really seeing them.

The two men stared back at her, first in confusion, then in worry.

"Gracia?" No answer. "Gracia!"

She jumped and gasped, stumbling back and tripping over a stack of papers sitting on the floor.

"Wah!"

Landing on something surprisingly not painful, Gracia went limp when an arm wrapped around her upper chest and grabbed her shoulder, keeping her awkwardly stable against the person she'd fallen back against.

She tipped her head back slowly, blinking slowly when she met Reever's startled eyes.

"Sorry, Reever…" She mumbled slowly, "Tripped on papers again."

"That's fine." Reever frowned slightly, helping get her upright, "Did Johnny and Tup try to startle you into activating Sleep again?" He threw the two males a dark look, which sent them reeling back and holding up their hands in defense without any attempts to defend themselves, only making the situation worse.

"No, no." Gracia put on a smile, shaking her head, "It's my fault. I wasn't paying attention and startled when they tried to wake me up…"

"Yeah!" Johnny jumped in, "Tup and I were only worried!"

"Worried she might be falling asleep on her feet…" Tup muttered. It wouldn't have been the first time, and instances where Gracia fell asleep on her feet usually ended with Sleep getting activated and entire floors shutting down due to dozens of Sleep-induced narcoleptic episodes.

"I wasn't falling asleep." Gracia mumbled frankly, "I was brooding. Now, I'm leaving for Iceland in a few hours, do you two still have my uniform?"

Johnny and Tup blinked at 'brooding' but dutifully ran off when she mentioned her uniform, leaving Reever to frown down at Gracia as she sighed heavily and took Tup's still warm seat.

"Brooding? That's not like you. You usually can't remember enough to have anything to brood about."

When Gracia smiled, Reever grinned slightly.

"Thank you for that, Chief." Gracia mumbled with a slightly sardonic tone, throwing him a look, "I needed to laugh about this situation."

"Sadly, I was kind of being serious." Reever chuckled. He then frowned, "Gracia, you typically don't have the long-term cognitive skills that people who brood need… What are you brooding about?" His frown deepened, "Did Komui say something tactless while he was going over your next mission?"

"No…" Gracia sighed, shaking her head, "It's… nothing. It's fine."

Reever's frown stayed in place, but he had no choice but to move on when he was called to look over several incoming readings from another branch.

Johnny and Tup came back after a moment, and Gracia took the clothes they handed to her and went down the hall to an empty room, changing as quickly as she could (which wasn't very quick at all) before walking back.

Having heard that she was going to be spending some time out just off of the Arctic Circle, Johnny had sewn her overcoat thicker than before, and her hood was still thick and spongy though now there were thick mesh ear holes, designed to let sound in and nothing else, so her hearing wouldn't be hindered. She also now had a pair of convertible fingerless gloves, with a flap that she could flip down over her fingers or back to button it out of the way and free them up.

Her boots were thicker and more insulated, and her pants had three inches at her ankles that were protected by ribbed, synthetic leather, which would hopefully keep her feet from getting wet while she was out on the water.

Overall, it felt so damned nice…

Gracia made sure her walk back to Johnny and Tup went slowly, taking the time to relish the way the cloth moved against her skin. It warmed up quickly and kept the warmth trapped close to her skin; Iceland wouldn't feel so icy as long as she didn't stand out in the rain or trip in a puddle.

Johnny beamed when she gave him her positive report of the new design, then held out a suitcase.

"This one's for Kanda." He explained as she took it, "Don't worry about explaining any of it to him; he wouldn't care, anyway. He'll just learn to understand it, himself, as he uses it in combat."

Gracia blinked slightly, but nodded. This 'Kanda' character sounded very… hostile. And Tiedoll had been the one to first tell her to tell the Order personnel to "not let Yu-_kun_ gut her," so she couldn't say she was surprised, but still…

"Did the Supervisor say how long your mission will last?" Johnny asked, bringing Gracia's wandering focus back to the present.

"Not really." Gracia sighed, "Though it sounds like it could take a while… Kanda and I will have to pinpoint a vaguely described phenomena in over thirty miles by ten to twenty miles of frigid saltwater, never mind the depth…"

"Ouch." Johnny flinched.

"Could be worse." Tup shrugged, "We've had people who've had to search active volcanoes before…"

"That is worse…" Gracia murmured after a moment, nodding slightly. She then sighed, "Well, I'm going to see if I can't find Lenalee…" She smiled slowly and lifted her hand lazily, waving, "I'll see you two whenever I get back…"

The two grinned and nodded, Johnny pointing to her, "And you and I will have to play another game of chess!"

"Right, right…" Gracia nodded slightly, going back to brooding as she murmured an absent farewell before turning and walking out, the suitcase with Kanda's updated uniform still in her hand.

Lenalee was the one who found Gracia (who had managed to get herself lost and had wandered around in the basements before she'd found an old chair and took a short nap), the girl hugging the older Exorcist tightly.

Gracia blinked down at Lenalee, mildly shocked, then slowly hugged her back.

What she realized as she did shocked her even more.

Gracia realized that she'd… miss Lenalee.

The girl had taken to dragging her around whenever she ran across the sleepy older Exorcist stumbling around in the halls, and it was something Gracia had become accustomed to.

To not wake up in the Order, to not be greeted amusedly by those who smiled as they watched her stumble around and make vain attempts to wake up, to not randomly collapse in a pile with those around her when someone pulled a prank on her…

"…I'm going to miss it." Gracia found herself mumbling, "I know… I'll be back, but… I'll miss it…"

Lenalee only hugged Gracia tighter, then pulled back and gave her a slightly wavering smile, rubbing the side of her own face and pulling at Gracia's wrist, "Let's go, I want you to meet Allen before you leave. You never had a proper chance after the Komlin incident…"

Gracia smiled slightly and nodded, indulging Lenalee and letting the girl lead her out of the storage room and back up to the residential area, where she met Allen Walker; white-haired, gray-eyed, well-dressed and adorable Allen Walker.

"Oh, hello." Allen smiled at Gracia brightly after Lenalee had introduced them, "It's very nice to meet you, Miss Gracia."

Gracia smiled back and took Allen's hand when he offered it. The kid was cute… polite nearly to a fault, chipper, and his companion—

"Ah, Timcanpy!" Allen protested as the soft golden ball dove down the back of Gracia's collar.

"It's fine." Gracia shuddered and rolled her shoulders, "Jeez, you're freezing, little guy… Is it warm in there?"

She received a soft nip to the ear as an answer, then Lenalee asked, "Gracia, what's the suitcase for?"

"Eh?" Gracia glanced down at her hand, having forgotten she was carrying the suitcase, "Ah, it's Kanda's new uniform. I'm supposed to give it to him when we meet up in Iceland. Which reminds me… what time is it?"

"You have to go to Iceland?" Allen made a face, "With Kanda?" He shook his head, "I don't envy you."

Lenalee giggled slightly, then answered Gracia, "It's almost five thirty. You'll be leaving soon… Allen, let's take Gracia to the waterway! She'll get lost if someone isn't with her."

Allen smiled at Gracia sheepishly as Lenalee took the older Exorcist's free hand and started pulling her along, "You get lost, too?"

"Quite often." Gracia smiled back, "I don't think it was uncommon for me when I was traveling to have one destination in mind… like Warsaw… and end up in the wrong place… like Dublin."

Allen's eyes widened slightly, a mildly stunned look crossing his face, "But… you have to travel by boat to get to Dublin! How could you not notice that?…!"

"I'm special." Gracia answered with a helpless sigh, shaking her head.

"I… see…" Allen gave a slightly strained, worried smile.

"Yeah… Oh." Gracia perked slightly, "That's right, Lenalee told me about you. You're a parasite type, right?"

"Ah, yeah." Allen blinked, "You… didn't notice when you shook my hand?"

"Eh?"

Gracia looked down when Allen held up his left hand slightly and rolled back his sleeve, baring the red, osteoderm-like, plate-covered skin of his arm.

"…Nope, didn't notice it at all." Gracia looked up at Allen and smiled.

Allen stared at her with once again widened eyes, his walking slowing slightly.

Lenalee paused and glanced back at him, smiling, "You see, Allen? I told you that you don't have to worry about covering your arm; no one is going to say a thing about it. Now, come on! We don't want Gracia to be late!"

Allen flushed slightly and nodded, picking up the pace.

Gracia blinked, glancing between them, "Did I… say something wrong?"

"Not at all." Lenalee threw Gracia a smile, "Allen just isn't used to people reacting casually to his Innocence."

"Oh… Well, this is Sleep." Gracia held up her hand a bit awkwardly, introducing Allen to her Innocence, "Whatever you do, don't startle me. Sleep likes to overreact and put me and everyone around me to sleep whenever I'm caught off guard."

"…I'll keep that in mind." Allen smiled at her.

Lenalee giggled at both of them, then started pulling Gracia down the long staircase to the waterway.

As it tended to, the monotonous and long process of left foot, right foot, left and right over and over made Gracia drowsy. By the time they were close to the bottom, she was practically asleep on her feet, her head lolled forward, her shoulders hunched and the suitcase with Kanda's new uniform close to slipping out of her hand.

The moment Gracia's foot hit the much more solid flooring of the dock and she continued to step forward as if there were another step to the stairs, she stumbled, the suitcase slipping from her grasp and clattering to the ground.

Gracia jumped at the loud noise and looked around, startled.

Allen picked up the suitcase for her as Lenalee set a calming hand on her shoulder and nodded over to the waiting gondola, where a Finder was just putting the last of their luggage (Gracia's duffel bag) into the boat while Komui stood by and watched.

The supervisor looked over and smiled when he saw them, waving them over with one hand while holding a somewhat thin black box in the other.

"Sorry it took so long, but we finally got around to making you your own golem." Komui smiled at Gracia as Lenalee pulled her over.

Gracia blinked and took the box when he held it out, slipping the lid off and staring down shiny, black ovoid resting in the soft, fitted foam bedding inside in confusion. What was a golem again…?

She jumped slightly when something pressed on her head, staring up at Allen's pet-thing (hadn't he called it Timcanpy…?) as it jumped off of her head and landed on the edge of the box, reaching out with one of his little hands and pressing something on the metal oval.

The center of the oval flashed red and it leapt out of the box, a thin pair of wings unfurling from its back and starting to flap quickly as the oval remained airborne.

"Ooooh, that's right…" Gracia mumbled, staring up at the mechanism, "A golem…" She then jumped when the golem flashed a bright red light in her eyes, reaching up and rubbing them with her palms as the golem let out a small beep.

"And it's now imprinted to you." Komui said brightly as Gracia lowered her hands, blinking at him blindly, "You can hook that up to any landline you come across to make free phone calls straight back here, or communicate from golem to golem if any others are in range… Kanda has one, so he'll be the one you'll contact if you need to."

"I see…" Gracia stared up at her new golem a bit more, then pointed to it while glancing at Komui, "And it won't get lost?"

"As long as you don't leave it behind, no." Komui shook his head. He paused, then said hesitantly, "And if anything should… happen to you… It'll find the nearest golem and then find its way back here. That way we'll know if…"

Gracia stared at him in confusion, and the longer she did the more uncomfortable Komui looked.

"…if you die." Lenalee finished softly.

The fog cleared from Gracia's eyes slightly, then returned as her face went blank, "I see…" She glanced at the golem again.

"…Mm, well." Komui cleared his throat after a heavy silence, taking the box back from Gracia and slipping the lid back on, "I'll just put this in your room for you. You and the Finder accompanying you, Dale," He nodded towards the gondola, "Will head into town and take a train from there to the Carlisle Airport in Cumbria County, board a plane and go to the Sydenham airfield in Ireland, and from there you'll board a barge straight to Reykjavík, Iceland. Kanda will meet you there, and you'll travel however you choose to—" Here, he stopped, twitching slightly.

Gracia smiled slightly, "Ísafjarðardjúp."

"…Yeah." Komui pouted slightly, "That place."

"…You know I'm not going to remember all of that." Gracia mumbled after a moment. She was already starting to forget, actually…

"And that's part of the reason you have a Finder." Komui chuckled.

"Oh, right." Gracia nodded slowly, glancing over at the man sitting in the boat and waving slightly.

The Finder, Dale, chuckled and waved back.

"…I should be going, then." Gracia sighed.

"Yes." Komui nodded, "It's time."

When she turned to Lenalee to say goodbye, the girl hugged Gracia again, Gracia hugging back slightly, a bit quicker than before.

"Don't worry… I mean, really, I knock people out when they shout at me too loudly." Gracia sighed, "Just imagine how quickly whatever's attacking me would drop."

Lenalee laughed slightly, then pulled back and gave Gracia a strained smile, "The last time an Akuma attacked you it punched you straight through a bookshelf, remember? And unlike me, Kanda won't come back for you…"

"It'll be different this time." Gracia mumbled.

"It had better be." Lenalee told her firmly, "I won't stand for friends dying on me."

Gracia twitched slightly and stared down at Lenalee, an indescribable look crossing her face and her jaw going slightly slack without her lips parting.

Lenalee nodded seriously.

"…Alright." Gracia said in her slow, low voice after a moment, her bangs falling down in her eyes as she nodded back, "I won't die, then…"

"Good." Lenalee perked and smiled, grabbing Gracia's arm and guiding her over to the boat, "Then get there, do your job and come back home safely."

"'kay." Gracia smiled tiredly and plopped down into the boat, taking the suitcase with Kanda's uniform from Allen when he handed it to her.

"Good luck, Miss Gracia." Allen smiled down at her, stepping back with Lenalee and Komui, waving with them.

Gracia smiled weakly and waved back, sighing and slumping against the suitcase on her lap as the person steering the gondola pushed off. Her golem flapped its wings softly as it hovered next to her head, and in the darkness of the tunnel Gracia stared back at the only light that remained behind them, Allen and Lenalee's black uniforms making them fade quicker into the shadows while Komui's white jacket kept him perfectly visible.

He was still waving when the gondola turned a corner and the dock disappeared from sight.

* * *

_(Alright, so, as you can tell, the next few chapters will feature places and subjects in/related to Iceland. ^ . ^' I, obviously, am not Icelandic. I did do quite a bit of research to try to get my facts as correct as possible, but this research was internet-based, and, as we all know, the internet isn't always right. If anyone can correct any misinformation, feel free to~. If I offend any Icelanders… *droops* I sowwy…)_


	15. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XI

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia made the unfortunate mistake of sleeping through the train ride to Carlisle Airport, and as a result, though she was drowsy, she was stuck with being conscious for the plane ride from Carlisle to the Sydenham airfield in Ireland.

Trying to avoid thinking about her airsickness, yet another one of her many offsets of her vertigo-induced motion sickness, she thought, instead, about what Lenalee had said just before she left…

…Lenalee cared about her health.

Lenalee didn't want her to die.

Lenalee was… _afraid_ of her dying.

Lenalee… considered Gracia to be a friend…

And after taking some time to think about it…Gracia realized that she worried for Lenalee's safety, as well.

She didn't know if she would associate the feelings with 'friendship,' but… she cared about what happened to Lenalee.

And that made Gracia realize that Lenalee wasn't the only one she cared for. Gracia also worried about Johnny, about Tup, about Jeryy and Reever and Komui, and several others at the Black Order…

And this… confused her…

Gracia hadn't gone to the Black Order for emotional attachments. She'd gone for a job, a bed, and a purpose in life.

She'd gone because… because she didn't want to wander Europe anymore.

But… hadn't that been… because she had been lonely?

But… she'd been so sure that Sleep was the only company she would ever need. And now… now she had people she _cared_ about. Now Sleep wasn't as _important_ as it used to be. Now Gracia was slowly starting to come _alive_.

And she wasn't sure she liked it _at all_.

It had nothing to do with the people; they were all good people, and Gracia felt no regret whatsoever for knowing them.

What she felt regret for… was how things were changing; not in the general operation of her life, because she liked her job, but in how it was affecting her, personally.

For some reason, she felt an aversion to emotional attachments, but in an unintentional effort spearheaded by Lenalee, these people were… starting to worm their way in…

Realizing that she'd been thinking about all of this while looking out of her window, Gracia groaned softly and faced forward, leaning over and putting her head between her knees, closing her eyes. Images of the water far, far, _far_ below sent her spiraling, spiraling…

And Gracia just mentally shut down, both to save herself from her vertigo and her brooding.

She missed the days when she couldn't remember her life well enough to brood…

* * *

Gracia didn't remember much about the ride to Reykjavík; there were no passenger boats that went between Ireland and Iceland, so Gracia and Dale had had to take a freight ship. And freight ships weren't pleasant to travel on.

The only thing she would later be able to associate with the trip was pain. Stomach and head pain, specifically. Pain and the railing of the ship and the water far below as she leaned over and—

"Miss Gracia…" Someone shook her shoulder gently. "Miss Gracia, we've reached the harbor."

Gracia groaned and stirred slowly inside of the nest she'd made in the corner of the room out of all of the blankets the ship's captain had been kind enough to provide when he'd seen how severe her seasickness was.

Dale, the Finder, stepped back and watched as Gracia dragged herself out of her nest slowly, deep, bruise-colored bags under her eyes and her face a very unattractive, sickly white. He flinched and helped her stand straight when she stumbled, unable to stand properly even though they were docked and the boat's rocking wasn't nearly as severe as it had been two hours ago.

Gracia took the bags Dale handed her and slung them over her back weakly, then leaned against him when he wrapped one arm around her shoulders and started leading her through the maze that made up the sleeping quarters.

Gracia turned green when the sea air hit her face, but her stomach was void and her body was too weak to make her heave any more, so she stuck with breathing as deeply as possible and keeping her eyes closed as Dale led her across the deck, down the gangplank and across the docks.

They stopped at one point or another and Dale exchanged words with the man Gracia recognized to be the captain by his voice, but she was too sick to open her mouth or eyes to say anything.

Someone ruffled her hair carefully, though, and she smiled weakly before letting Dale lead her on.

Gracia could vaguely tell when they stepped off of the docks and onto land, but her vertigo was slow to fade… She knew from experience that it would take a few days for her to recover.

Unfortunately, they didn't have few days; they had to find—

"Where are we supposed to meet Kanda…?" Gracia asked weakly.

"He should have been hanging around the docks…" Dale mumbled, "We'll probably run into him soon… How are you feeling?"

Not daring to open her mouth again, Gracia just shook her head slowly and kept her eyes closed, stumbling along blindly as Dale continued leading her.

Some time and many dizzying steps later, Dale suddenly pulled Gracia to a stop and she shuddered, groaning at the sudden lurch.

"You're late." A gruff voice rumbled, "What in the hell is that?"

"T-This is Miss Gracia, Sir Kanda." Dale stuttered slightly, "Supervisor Lee sent her to accompany you on this mission. Didn't he te—"

"He said he'd be sending support, not a burden." Kanda interrupted sharply, "What did he do, send her right out from the infirmary?"

"She's seasick…" Dale trailed off, swallowing loudly.

"And our mission is waiting for us in the middle of a bay." Kanda's angry voice took a cynical tone, "Some 'support'. Send her back." She heard the sound of footsteps starting to walk away.

"Ísafjarðardjúp is more than four thousand one hundred square kilometers in surface area at its worst." Gracia mumbled, peeling her eyes open slowly and staring at Kanda's blurry, dark figure, her vision watery from having her eyes closed for so long, "Do you really plan on searching all of that on your own?"

"Che." Kanda snorted, his blurry figure turning back slightly, "And what do _you_ plan on doing? You're not even an offensive equipment type. You're _support_. I don't need support; you'll just slow me down."

"I'll slow them down, too." Gracia mumbled, "And if you're quick enough, I'll slow them down so much that you can beat them in an instant, like how it happened with Lenalee. That'll finish this mission quicker than if you were alone, and we can go our separate ways when it's over."

There was a moment of silence, then Kanda's blurry figure resumed walking off.

Gracia frowned in confusion.

"Let's go." Dale muttered, "I think you've convinced him for now, so we'll follow him."

Gracia nodded weakly, then pulled herself away from the Finder and started following Kanda's quickly retreating form.

After several blocks, Gracia had a feeling Kanda might have been trying to ditch them, but he seemed to be having a hard time of it; Reykjavík was crowded.

Kanda finally (and grudgingly, if how harshly he was clenching his fists was any indication) led them into what appeared to be a hotel, not even acknowledging the receptionist when she nodded and greeted him politely.

The woman seemed to swoon slightly as Kanda walked straight past her and down the hall, then turned to Gracia and Dale and smiled, "Hello. Do you have a reservation?"

"We're with the sourpuss." Gracia mumbled, pointing after Kanda, "And he's probably not going to let us in… Could we have a room key?"

"Oh, so you're who he's been waiting for." The receptionist giggled, nodding slightly and reaching down behind her counter. She came back up a moment later and offered a key on a pretty turquoise and brown lanyard, smiling at Gracia, "Enjoy your stay."

Gracia smiled and nodded back, then turned to face Dale, who was staring at her in shock.

"…What?" Gracia blinked.

"…You just…" Dale pointed behind her, "With the receptionist… and…"

"…Am I not supposed to talk to civilians?" Gracia asked slowly, confused. "Is that a Finder thing…?"

"No, that's not it…" Dale paused, then sighed and shook his head, "Never mind, Kanda will get angrier if we make him wait…"

Gracia nodded slightly and turned towards the hall Kanda had walked down, jerking to a quick stop and slapping her hand over her eyes when the world resumed its earlier spinning.

A hand pressed against her back and she was guided into walking again, the key pulled from her hand just before a door was opened and she was pushed into darkness.

Gracia collapsed on a bed when she was pushed over to it and she laid there heavily, the bags she'd loaded over her shoulders pressing her down into the mattress.

"What in the hell are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but she's suffering from some severe backlashes from her seasickness. She was terrible on the ship… I thought she was going to—"

"Shut up and get her up and moving! We need to leave!"

"S-Sir, maybe she should rest for tonight!"

"No! We are leaving _now_, even if it means we drag her!"

"B-But—"

"I-It's f-f-fine, Dale." Gracia rasped, struggling to push herself up, "We c-ca—" She fell off of the bed and passed out.

* * *

Gracia swam in and out of consciousness, her body freezing but her head thick, pulsing and so hot she could feel the sweat pouring down her temples and beading on her upper lip.

She thought she heard voices, but then again she was also feeling so much pain in her head she thought she might be dangling from it from a medieval torture bridle.

Even though she was fairly sure she wasn't moving, her stomach lurched at random intervals and she felt like she was being spun in circles, her motion sickness stubbornly refusing to settle.

Some time later, things calmed and she became more aware of her surroundings.

She was lying on her back, under several thick blankets, and someone had draped a wet, cold washcloth across her forehead. She felt so dense she could hardly move…

Under other circumstances, it was these kinds of conditions that could keep her asleep for _weeks_… Excluding the washcloth, that is.

But her pulsing head kept her from sleeping, period.

She wasn't even sure she'd been sleeping before her center of gravity had started to settle… Maybe she'd been in such a spiral of discomfort and pain that she hadn't even been able to tell that she was conscious.

She couldn't tell…

After a bit longer, Gracia peeled her eyes open slowly, staring at the dark ceiling above silently. When she dared to, she pressed her palms against the bed and pushed herself up slowly, the washcloth falling off of her forehead and her damp bangs clinging to her skin uncomfortably.

She looked around slowly, tiredly, then paused when she saw a shadowed figure in the corner, realizing after a moment that she was getting a good look at Kanda for the first time.

His physical appearance was actually quite similar to his voice; he was tall, with long, dark hair and piercing dark eyes and a sharp, angular face…

And that angular face and those dark eyes were directed at her in a withering glare.

It took Gracia a moment to realize this, and when she did, she blinked slowly.

Kanda's lip twitched and curled in a sneer.

Gracia blinked again.

Kanda's brow twitched.

Gracia blinked yet again.

"…What?" Kanda growled.

"…Your attitude led me to believe you were older…" Gracia mumbled slowly. "But you're… just a teenager…?"

Kanda's already narrowed eyes narrowed further and his hand twitched towards the hilt of his sword.

Gracia only realized what he was doing when he'd drawn it slightly, threateningly, and when he did she sighed slightly and pushed the blankets off, standing shakily and mumbling, "I don't think General Tiedoll would like it if you cut me, Yu—"

"Do not," Kanda hissed, standing and lowering his head slightly so his bangs hid his eyes, "Call me that…"

Gracia blinked at him, completely forgetting Lenalee's warning to just call Kanda by his last name.

"That's your name, isn't it?" Gracia blinked, "It was part of General Tiedoll's parting words to me… 'Tell them not to let Yu-_kun_ gu—'"

Kanda's sword was drawn in a flash and he lunged across the room (intending to just place the blade against Gracia's neck to shock her with his speed and banish any of her doubts about him hesitating to cut her; everyone got at least one bladed warning), but he didn't expect Sleep to react before that.

Around Gracia's finger, Sleep heated, and Gracia's eyes rolled back into her head as she passed out on her feet.

A wave of drowsiness washed over Kanda the moment he got too close and he crashed into Gracia, both of them tumbling to the floor awkwardly as they fell asleep, Kanda on top of her.

* * *

Gracia woke up before Kanda… which was weird. She almost never woke up _before_ anyone.

But, lo and behold, there she was, staring at the ceiling sleepily with a still unconscious Kanda lying on top of her, his sword sandwiched dangerously between their stomachs and his head resting on her chest as he snored into her boob.

Gracia blinked down at him slowly.

The kid looked angry even when he slept… And what did he wash his hair with, hand soap? It looked dull and brittle… He had terrible split ends.

No, Gracia's train of thought was no different than usual; slow and focused on things far less important than the big picture, because the big picture took more brain to think about and she was too tired to put that much energy into her brain at the moment.

It did cross her mind that Kanda would be _furious_ when he woke up… about the same time that the fact that he was very warm crossed her mind. His body temperature wasn't as frosty as his personality at all.

It also crossed her mind to wonder where Dale was…

But instead of wondering about it, her mind went blank as she laid her head back and closed her eyes again.

Not long after, the door opened and someone walked in.

"Alright, so I contacted Headquarters and updated them on the situation." Dale's voice came before he walked into the room completely, "Kanda, Supervisor Lee said if you have anything to s—" The Finder froze and his words died in his throat when he saw the two Exorcists lying together in between the beds.

Gracia lifted her head slowly and waved at Dale, "Hey… Could you get him off? I'm about to fall asleep again…"

Dale twitched, then ran away, leaving Gracia to blink in confusion when a door opened and slammed as he left.

The loud noise made Kanda jerk and snort, and he braced his hands against the ground on either side of Gracia's chest and pushed himself up slowly, blinking in sleepy, angry confusion.

Gracia waved up at him, "Good morning."

"…WHAT THE HELL? !"

* * *

_(XD Oh, yeah. I went there.)_


	16. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XII

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Kanda sat stiffly on the other side of the bed of the truck the group had hitched a ride on, his lips pursed, his narrowed eyes focused on the scenery and his eyebrow twitching.

…And his face bright red.

Gracia sighed slightly, "Kanda, for the last time, nothing happened. Sleep doesn't work like that."

Kanda's eyebrow twitched again.

Beside Gracia, Dale was silent.

"Kanda, it was your own momentum that put us in that position…" Gracia mumbled, sighing and closing her eyes as she tipped her head back to rest on the wooden grating that framed the left and right sides of the truck bed, "Sleep put us both to sleep the moment it interpreted my body language as responding to a threat. You still had forward energy, and I was falling backwards, so you ended up on top of me. Sleep does not control subconscious actions."

If possible, Kanda's lips pursed tighter.

"…Kanda we both still had on at least two layers of clothes!" Gracia insisted with a bit more energy, starting to get exasperated and a bit annoyed, herself.

"Fine!" Kanda hissed, "Quit talking about it!"

Gracia sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of her nose.

Kanda hadn't quite reacted to the situation as one would have expected… Instead of trying to kill Gracia, he now avoided her like the plague, as if afraid he'd wake up on top of her. Again.

Gracia's Innocence wasn't one he was used to dealing with; Sleep dealt effects, not an attack he could parry. If he fought her she'd put him to Sleep, and not on purpose, which only made the situation that much more difficult to deal with.

For both of them.

Because frankly, Gracia was starting to find Kanda's insistent sullen embarrassment a bit annoying. And she wasn't used to being anything but mildly sleepy for extended periods of time…

She was starting to find annoyance to be a grating emotion.

She had to change the subject.

"Lenalee said you're an equipment type…" Gracia mumbled, her eyes still closed, "Is your sword your Anti-Akuma Weapon?"

Kanda didn't answer.

Gracia opened her eyes slightly and glanced over at him, "What's its name? What does it do?"

Kanda continued glaring out over the passing scenery, not answering.

Gracia stared at him for a moment, then closed her eyes and hugged herself, cuddling back into her jacket and settling down.

She wasn't going to try to pry anything out of him. Of course, there was always…

After a moment, Gracia grabbed the suitcase next to her and pushed it over to Kanda, the teenager grunting when it hit his side and throwing her a glare before he opened it.

"…What is it?" Kanda muttered after a moment.

Feeling a fleeting flash of triumph at getting Kanda to talk, Gracia mumbled, "It's a uniform update. Johnny didn't bother explaining since he said you wouldn't care to listen, anyway, but it's probably designed similar to mine… Thicker cloth for the cold, synthetic leather around the ankles to keep your socks from getting wet, probably some new boots…"

Kanda listened silently, then closed the suitcase and set it beside himself when she trailed off.

Gracia sighed slightly and lifted her head, opening her eyes and looking around.

Dale had managed to get them a ride out of Reykjavík, and though he didn't know exactly where the man would be dropping them off he did know they were going northbound. And considering that the main road (and only road that went anywhere, really) that led north out of Reykjavík headed towards Ísafjarðardjúp, anyway, there really wasn't any way to go wrong.

If the driver's destination was short of their own, they would just find someone else who could take them the rest of the way… or at least further.

"…Do you have _any_ control over your Innocence?"

Gracia blinked and glanced at Kanda, who was glaring at her. After a moment, she nodded slightly, "Yes, I do. I can pick specific targets to subdue… You just startled me, and Sleep's main response to sudden threats is to send a sort of miasma around me to subdue threats in a certain radius."

Kanda stared at her silently for a moment, thinking this over, then snorted and turned away, glaring off into the distance again, "Fine. Just stay behind me and don't pick me as a target, then. And keep up; if you fall behind, I won't come back for you."

"…Fine." Gracia mumbled, closing her eyes.

Well, at least they had a vague battle plan. Now they just had to survive one another's presence for the six to eight hour car ride to their destination.

* * *

"This isn't our stop!" Kanda snapped at the driver, "Take us to where we need to be!"

The driver shook his head and waved his hands at Kanda, standing between the group and his truck and not letting them back in, "I do not need to go further than this! I have business in town that I cannot miss; if you need to go further, find someone else!"

"Speak English, damn it!" Kanda barked.

"Kanda, please!" Dale stood beside the two arguing men, trying to placate them, "We don't understand this man's situation!"

"He said he was taking us to the damned harbor!"

"He never said that! He said he would give us a ride out of town! …I think."

"You _think_? How did you get him to take us this far if you can't understand a damned thing he's saying? !"

"If you continue to raise issue with me," The driver stood taller, scowling at Kanda as he, himself, started to get angry, "We can take this to the authorities!"

"That won't be necessary." Gracia stepped between the man and Kanda quickly, pressing her hands together and bowing her head at him before raising her head and going on, "I am terribly sorry for my companion's brusque attitude and for the misunderstanding. Thank you very much for taking us this far, you have helped us a great deal. Can you tell us what town this is? Once we know that, we will leave you to your business."

The man blinked at Gracia, then huffed and deflated, "We're in Stykkishólmur, now. What is your destination?"

"Ísafjarðardjúp." Gracia answered, pushing Kanda back slightly when he fell silent.

The man nodded, then pointed down the road, "Find a driver to take you down Route 1 to the town of Ísafjörður; the fjord is just outside of town." He then threw Kanda a glare, "And you had best do the talking from now on; I'm sure there are plenty of people who speak English there, but none will want to hear what comes out of your _friend's_ mouth."

The man's words confused Gracia slightly, but she nodded and thanked him as graciously as she could, apologizing to him until he smiled at her slightly as he walked back to his truck, forgiving _her_, at least.

Gracia sighed and turned back to Kanda, only to blink and take a step back when she saw the nasty glare he was giving her.

"Why didn't you say you could speak Icelandic?" Kanda hissed.

"…I wasn't aware of the fact that I could." Gracia answered calmly.

"You just _did_!" Kanda barked, pointing after the man who had driven them this far as he started his truck and drove away, "With _him_!"

"…I couldn't tell." Gracia blinked, genuinely confused, "I understood what he was saying, and I understood what you were saying at the same time, so I just assumed we were all talking in English."

"Did you not hear what the Finder and I were just talking about? !" Kanda raised his voice, "He just said he didn't understand what that guy was saying!"

"…I will admit, that part did confuse me." Gracia mumbled thoughtfully, glancing off to the side and rubbing her jaw.

Kanda twitched, a murderous look crossing his face.

"Sir Kanda, Miss Gracia has poor cognitive skills." Dale muttered weakly, "She probably didn't remember knowing she could speak Icelandic…"

Kanda twitched again, then closed his eyes and ground out, "Where are we?"

"…In Stykkishólmur." Gracia mumbled, "We've covered just over one hundred miles… and we're just under the halfway mark to our destination. We'll find someone, get them to take us to Ísafjörður, and the fjord will be just outside of town."

Kanda set his jaw tightly and nodded, then crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

Gracia stared at Kanda, then let Dale lead her off when he took her arm and tugged lightly, using her to act as an interpreter as they started asking anyone who looked like they were about to drive out of town for a ride.

When they finally found someone, Gracia waited in the passenger seat as Dale left to get Kanda, the group silent as the teenage Exorcist and the Finder got into the backseat of the car.

The woman who had agreed to drive them looked nervous when she saw Kanda, but smiled back weakly when Gracia smiled at her and nodded before starting her car and driving.

Gracia slouched in her seat and hugged herself as they went along.

She'd never felt more ashamed about how slow Sleep made her.

* * *

Wasting absolutely no time when they arrived in the town, Kanda marched straight to the docks to look for a boat that would take them out on the water.

Gracia followed him silently, watching distantly as Dale took it upon himself to apologize to every ship captain Kanda chewed out when they denied his request.

Fortunately for them, most Icelanders they came across spoke English.

Unfortunately for the Icelanders, they spoke English well enough to understand what Kanda said (using the word kindly, of course) to them.

One captain who wasn't about to take Kanda's attitude snappishly informed him that no seafarer in their right mind would take their vessel out on the water while 'The Trip' was sinking ships. He also flatly told Kanda to shove his sword… somewhere very unpleasant.

Gracia had to use Sleep to subdue Kanda slightly when the angry teen nearly drew his sword on the captain as he walked off.

Deciding that Kanda's way of doing things… just might get them thrown out of town, Dale told Gracia and Kanda to go into town and find a hotel while he (Dale) found them a ship, pointing out when Kanda started to get angry that it was, technically, his job.

After a moment of thinking, Kanda seemed to agree, because he took his hand off of his sword and started to storm out of the dockyard.

Gracia glanced at Dale, who flinchingly urged her to go after him, then sighed slightly and followed Kanda, only to find that once they were back in town Kanda silently elected her to find a hotel for them.

Of course, Gracia wasn't good at reading silent commands, so she only knew of the job that had been forced on her when, after thirty minutes of aimless wandering, Kanda asked her gruffly "when in the hell she was going to stop leading them in circles."

Gracia had paused and stared at him at that, then lowered her head slightly and resumed walking when Kanda glared at her.

When she knew what she was expected to do, Gracia found one of the two hotels in town quickly enough and got them a room; one of the few suites the hotel had, thanks to the Rosy Cross above her breast.

Gracia dropped her duffel bag next to the dresser and sat by the window as Kanda set his suitcase on the bed, opening it and finally taking out his new uniform to look it over.

"…What did the Finder mean when he said you have poor cognitive skills?"

Gracia glanced at Kanda, then looked back out the window and mumbled, "Because I didn't understand my relationship with Sleep properly, I've had a low synchronization rate with it for years. I've always… activated it wrong… or it activates itself whenever I panic… And it's always affected me as well as those around me. Komui said because of that… Sleep has affected my memory. It's also… affected my perception of time. It… takes me a bit to register some things… especially if those things are verbal."

Kanda paused slightly at that, then took his new uniform and walked into the bathroom.

Gracia sighed as he walked out and slumped down in her chair, pushing the flap back on her gloves and buttoning it out of the way so she could fiddle with Sleep.

Komui had said that Kanda's tightlipped nature would make the mission seem to go faster… He'd been wrong.


	17. REM Cycle: Record Tainted, AutoRedirect

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Dale found someone who agreed to take them out on the fjord, but it was evening by the time the Finder got back and they had to stay the night in the hotel.

Kanda pushed apart the large bed to make two (the bed having been comprised of two mattresses) and made the Finder sleep on the sofa, and that night… for the first time in a while… Gracia had a dream.

* * *

"_Gracia, dear, this will be your new home from today on."_

"_Ah… It's quite spacious…"_

_A chuckle. "Yes, I suppose it is… You will need a tour, won't you? We'll, we'll start here. This door leads to—"_

"_What about this one? It comes before tha—"_

_A sharp slap. "That room is off-limits."_

_Gracia rubbed her already reddening knuckles. "I-I see… M-My apologies."_

"_Oh, your hand… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to strike you that hard."_

_She squirmed slightly, uncomfortably, as he took her hand and kissed her knuckles, but did nothing to let her discomfort show._

"_Forget the tour for now… I'll show you to our room."_

_The insecurities she had all but forgotten rose._

_She had known, of course, what would be expected of her after she and **** were married, but that didn't make her any more prepared for it…_

_Their families hadn't exactly done the ceremony in an entirely orthodox way; after their 'I do's had been exchanged, yes, there had been a reception, but she hadn't gone home with him… A few things had needed to be finalized before that._

_This was her first time setting foot on his house…_

_Tonight would be her first time sleeping under the same roof as him…_

_Tonight would be her first time sharing a bed with a man…_

_Tonight, they would…_

_His quickness to slap her hand and the fact that he felt no remorse for it, that he had focused, instead, on the afterthought that he should have been lighter in how he struck her, flew from her mind as he led her into the master bedroom._

"_Gracia… from this moment on… this is where you will live."_

"…_Ah…"_

"_You are the lady of this house now. Every person working in this house will obey your every order. You may tell them what to cook for the morning, noon and night, what to plant in the gardens when the new seasons come, how to redecorate rooms you are allowed access to… For things that do not require my approval, you are allowed to make the rules."_

_She knew that._

_As a younger woman, her mother had taught her these things._

_But hearing it… made her feel small… and out of place._

"_However, you, yourself have rules you must adhere to. My rules."_

"…_Yes…"_

_She knew that, as well. And in that area, she felt much more prepared._

_After all, she'd been following her mother's rules her entire life…_

"_These are my rules for you. If a door is locked, you are not allowed inside under any circumstance."_

"_Yes…"_

"_When we have guests, you are the one who is to deliver the refreshments. You may join us, but when the conversation takes a more serious tone, you are to leave the room."_

"_Yes…"_

_No different than it had been at home._

"_Do not invite your friends over on days when I have mine over. Ask me ahead of time so that we may schedule things so they do not coincide with one another."_

"_Yes…"_

"_My office," He turned her away from the master bedroom, directing her to the door just across the hall, "Is where you will always find me if I am not out, with my colleagues, with you or not where I told you I would be. When I am home, it is always unlocked, but knock before you enter. If I do not answer, do not come in. If I am not here, the door will be locked. If I answer but tell you I am with a guest, you are to busy yourself outside, weather permitting. If the weather does not permit, the music room is downstairs, but we will cover that later."_

"_Yes…" By now, she had long since been looking at her hands and fiddling with a ruffle on her dress._

"_Look," He grabbed her chin roughly and tipped her head up, holding it in place, "At me when I speak to you, and do not talk into your breast."_

"_A-Ah, y-yes…!"_

_He let her chin go._

"_Good… Any rules we haven't covered will pop up later I am sure." He leaned in and kissed her forehead, "I assure you, once you pick up on the rules you will find life here pleasant."_

"_Y-Yes… I'm sure…"_

"_Now, I need to go inform the staff of a few things. Go into our room and acquaint yourself with whatever you need to. If there are any toiletries you need that are not present, tell me or any of the staff and the order will get to the right person."_

"_Alright… T-Thank you…" Her chin hurt…_

_He turned and made to walk away._

_A thought hit her, "Ah, ****, I forgot to ask. What sort of business do you d—"_

_He spun around and before she could register what had happened she was stumbling back, her hand pressing itself to her face as it first went numb, then slowly became pained._

_Confused as to what had happened, she looked back at him to see him staring at her evenly, his hand still held out._

_His hand…_

…_He had struck her…_

"_Asking about my business is taboo in this house." He murmured gently, stepping over to her and grabbing her face in both hands before she could flinch back. He kissed her forehead, "Remember, once you pick up on the rules, you will find life here to be quite pleasant…"_

_This time, she didn't answer._

_He stared at her, then turned and walked off._

_She stared after him, then turned and shakily walked into their bedroom, fiddling with the frill on her dress again to disguise her trembling hands._

_Stepping into the bathroom, she looked around to make sure it had everything she needed, only to stop and look in the mirror._

_Finger marks on her chin, finger marks on her cheek…_

…_She would need a darker makeup base than usual to cover this…_

_Gracia slowly reached out and touched the reflection of the marks on her face, and as soon as her skin touched the mirror the glass shattered, fragments cutting through the fabric of space as they rained down to reveal the black void between worlds, the void growing beyond its boundaries and swallowing her who—_

* * *

Gracia rolled right off the bed and onto the floor, smacking into something that toppled and fell on top of her with a semi-metallic clang.

The noise was enough to startle the person next to her awake, said person shooting into a sitting position and nearly falling on top of her (again) when they reached out to grope for something that wasn't in reach anymore.

The nightstand above her head rocked as the person set their hand on it to steady themselves, and Gracia flinched and curled in on herself slightly, looking up groggily into Kanda's heavily shadowed face, his hair hanging around his head and long enough to brush her face in his slouched position.

"What are you doing?" Kanda growled down at her.

"…Nightmare." Gracia murmured after a moment, even though she couldn't remember if she had had any nightmare, "Sorry…" She sat up slowly, flinching again when whatever had fallen on her slid off and clattered to the floor.

"Hand me Mugen." Kanda growled when she went to stand.

Gracia paused, then reached down and grabbed the thin, black sheath of the sword, offering it gingerly as she stood.

Kanda swiftly snatched the sword from her, unsheathing it quickly as if to make sure it hadn't broken, then sheathed it again just as quickly and silently and propped it up against the nightstand again as Gracia sat.

Having watched this process, Gracia stared at Kanda for a moment as he laid back down and turned away from her, pausing before asking slowly after a moment, "Its… name is Mugen?"

A pause, then a brief, affirmative grunt.

"And did you… name it yourself? Or did it tell you…?"

"…What are you getting at?" Kanda growled, sounding irate.

"Ah…" Gracia paused, then mumbled, "When… Lenalee uses her Dark Boots… she sometimes… has names for certain attacks… My… relationship with Sleep has been… changing lately… I just… want to make sure I'm doing this right…"

Her answer was met with silence.

Gracia waited for a bit, then sighed softly and laid back down, smoothing the blankets before closing her eyes.

"…Mugen's name was designated by the person who forged it."

Gracia opened her eyes.

"Specific attack names will come to you as your Innocence evolves. Changes in your… 'relationship' will develop as your synchronization rate changes."

Gracia stared at Kanda's silhouetted back in the darkness.

"…Thank you…"

"…Shut up and go to sleep."

* * *

Gracia cowered in the back of the boat, sitting underneath a small ledge with her legs drawn up to her chest and her arms covering her head.

"Woman, get over here!" Kanda barked.

Gracia only groaned in response.

Even though they were in a largely enclosed fjord, the water was just as choppy as it had been out on the open ocean, and the pains in her stomach that had finally faded were coming back in full swing.

Gracia couldn't stand, and if she dared to do so much as open her eyes she was going to lose her stomach.

Not even Sleep would be able to help; she knew if she fell asleep her control of her gag reflex would relax, parasympathetic reflexes would take over, she'd throw up and then she'd possibly drown in it, because no way in hell would Kanda save her from that sort of fate.

So Gracia stayed huddled in her corner, hiding from the queasy, rocking, cold and wet reality around her.

Kanda barked at her several more times throughout the day to come out of hiding and help, but Gracia eventually just blocked him out to preserve her own sanity.

It was only when the boat first settled, then rocked and fell still that she finally uncovered her head and looked up, blinking when she saw trees.

Kanda was just stepping off of the boat and Dale was about to go back for Gracia when a black blur shot past them both, Gracia landing in a heap on the rocky shore of the island they'd come to.

Kanda glared at her, twitching, then stormed off of the boat and up the incline.

Gracia laid on the rocks for a while, almost managing to fall asleep where she was. A hollow thunk, though, and the sound of a motor starting up made her lift her head slightly and glance back over her shoulder.

The captain of the vessel who had gotten them this far backed his boat away from the shore, turned around and sped off, leaving Dale holding a rope tied to an aluminum boat with a motor.

The Finder sighed after the boat, shaking his head, then walked a bit further up the shore, securing the rope in his hand to a rock.

Gracia continued lying lazily on the rocky shore, glancing up at Dale when he walked over to her, "Did we… just get abandoned…?"

"Unfortunately." Dale sighed, reaching down and grabbing her arms to drag her to her feet, "I only got him to take us this far because of our influence with the Church. He left the boat with us, and he'll come to check on us at the end of every week and bring provisions, but we'll be searching the bay on our own."

Standing on her own as the Finder began moving their baggage up to where Kanda had stormed off to, Gracia brushed herself off before following.

Dale set up a tarp between two rocks, with the steep side of a sudden incline that shot up into a cliff that ran the shore as the back, and explained the basic plan as he did.

"I'll stay up at night and keep an eye on the water while you two sleep." The Finder unpacked more tarps and laid them out beneath their shelter, stepping back when Kanda and Gracia moved in to unfold their sleeping bags, "During the days you both can head out on the boat and search the water."

"Fine." Kanda grumbled, tossing his suitcase down next to his bed. He then glanced at Gracia as she slowly opened her bag and rifled through it, "Support unit, do you know how to use a motorboat?"

Gracia blinked, "Aaahhh… I don't think so…"

"Learn." Kanda turned back to his things, "I'm the fighter, so if anything happens out on the water I'll need my hands free."

And that was how a still seasick Gracia found herself sitting in the back of the boat, Dale sitting next to her and the tiller of the boat's outboard motor between them.

They had to stop frequently for Gracia to put her head between her knees and apply pressure to her stomach so she didn't hurl, and she probably only retained about a third of what she was being taught about the more detailed things, but she did partially understand the general operation…

…Maybe…

They didn't have time to find out… With Iceland riding the Arctic Circle and Ísafjarðardjúp being far enough North to experience the polar nights and polar days, they had to be very careful about going to sleep at the time their bodies recognized to be night, otherwise the coming weeks would be extremely difficult.

Dale layered tarps over their shelter as Kanda and Gracia turned in, simulating a proper, dark night that they would, hopefully, be able to adapt to easily.

…Well… the only one this was a concern for was Kanda; Gracia was asleep as soon as her sleeping bag was zipped up.

It wasn't an easy sleep, though… Her recent bouts of recurring seasickness and the low nighttime temperatures had her tossing and turning the entire time she slept.

It was all too easy for Kanda to wake her the next morning, and Dale noticed when they both crawled out of the makeshift tent.

"Miss Gracia? You're… up?"

"Don't like Iceland…" Gracia mumbled weakly, standing slowly and flinching as her back and knees cracked, "Wanna go home…"

Dale blinked, then sighed and offered the two Exorcists a thick gruel breakfast.

Gracia blinked down at the bowl she was being offered, thinking about it slowly, very slowly, then shook her head and pushed it back towards Dale, mumbling when he frowned at her, "Not a good idea… 'll eat when we get back this evening…"

Had she known then how long this mission would drag out, she might have risked seasickness to at least have something more than two weeks worth of eating nothing but a small dinner on her stomach for what was to come when this mission was over.

* * *

Kanda and Gracia spent days out on the lake… Long, long days.

Painful days.

Long, painful days with Gracia slumped over the tiller of the motorboat, her face green, her body clammy and her temperature low from her sweat-slick skin being unable to retain body heat.

The only thing that saved her from catching some dire sickness was her uniform, Gracia realized after five days out on the water. No matter how much cold sweat her body poured out, her uniform always kept her body and limbs dry, soaking the sweat up, out to the surface and letting it evaporate before it had time to create a dangerous germ habitat between her skin and the cloth.

And with the heavy mists and occasional rains beading liquid all over her body, only to evaporate as the day went on, her clothes were more or less self-cleaning, though she knew when they got back to their hotel room that she would need an intense shower.

Of course, the only reason she had the freedom to let her mind dwell on such trivial things was the fact that they hadn't seen any sign of the mysterious phenomena that had gotten them sent to Iceland in the first place.

The waters were calm when they were expected to be, choppy when storms came and went, the tides coincided with the moon's location day in and out, and even though they watched the few ships that came in and out of the fjord to dock and depart from Ísafjörður intently, nothing happened.

And nothing would happen until the first day of their third week on the water…


	18. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XIII

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Ísafjörður locals had their own explanation for the disappearing ships; a sea monster they called The Trip.

There was only one Trip, and she was female; she lived deep down in the water and had green, algae-coated skin and hair because of it. Her hair was long… so long that she could cut off kilometers at a time and never have it be any shorter.

The Trip used this hair that she cut from her head to make giant nets; nets that, because of their color and the plants that grew off of them, looked like nothing more than beds of seaweed.

And in these nets, The Trip would catch ships. From personal fishing vessels to entire freight ships. And once she had caught these ships, she would drag them down under the water and glean from them the sustenance she needed to live; human flesh in the form of the crew of the ships she caught.

Though she'd seen Akuma, Gracia wasn't sure what to think insofar as to the validity of this story…

…That is… until she saw it happen firsthand.

The freight ship had coasted in through the mouth of the fjord with no complications; birds circling above it, crew moving around on the deck to prepare for docking, its wake sliding out from behind it to make gentle waves that splashed against the shores…

And then, in the largely silent fjord, a painful sound echoed across the water and crashed against the steep cliffs; the mechanical crashing, grinding, whirring, rattling sound of the freighter's engine straining.

Kanda and Gracia watched in shock as the large ship that had easily been moving twenty knots suddenly slowed before it shuddered and jerked to a quick stop, the engine cranking in protest and dangerous amounts of smoke pouring out of the smokestack.

Green tendrils snapped up out of the water and slapped against the sides of the ship, catching fast and refusing to let go.

The sounds of the crew shouting and the ships horn going off as it sent out a manual SOS, then the screaming of metal as the ship slowly, impossibly, started to bend in half and sink echoed across the water eerily.

Gracia jumped slightly when Kanda's hand suddenly slapped over hers, the younger Exorcist glaring ahead as he steered the boat towards the sinking vessel and twisted Gracia's hand over the tiller sharply to make the motor accelerate.

Gracia swallowed her nerves and huge gulps of air to keep from getting sick, hunching over as their boat sailed and skipped over the water, sometimes getting dangerously close to capsizing whenever they hit a wave caused by the sinking ship they were headed towards.

When they were a few meters away from the ship, Gracia noticed a deep, dark shadow in the water below.

Around her finger, Sleep flashed hotly and she jerked control of the tiller back from Kanda, turning the boat sharply just as the water beneath them burst and another of the green tendrils, so much larger up close, shot up, narrowly missing them as she steered the boat out of the way.

Seeing she had the boat under control, Kanda leapt to his feet and drew his sword, the blade black until he ran his fingers across the flat.

Gracia continued turning the boat, spinning it around the tendril as it started to fall.

"Netherworld Creature : Ichigen!"

Kanda's blade literally cut through the air, leaving a thin slice in the middle of space that lead to a dark void beyond. As the cut started to close, dozens of snake-like insects flew out, forming a line and cutting straight through the tendril, making it explode before they disappeared.

Gracia had to jerk the boat sharply to the side to avoid the top of the green tendril as it fell and crashed into the water, the darkened surface bubbling as the stump that was left over flailed before sinking back down.

"Slow that thing down!" Kanda shouted as he leaped from the boat and onto the sinking freighter, jumping from spot to spot and cutting more of the tendrils.

Gracia stared after him in wide-eyed confusion, completely missing the tendril that burst out of the water in front of her until it was too late.

Her boat crashed into it headlong, the aft end flying up out of the water and sending Gracia sailing through the air.

The shock of hitting the freezing water headfirst knocked her out, and the only thing she was able to comprehend was the painful cold and the cacophony of sounds, amplified by the water, as she sank beneath the surface.

* * *

Gracia was jerked back to life when her body realized it couldn't breathe.

Her eyes snapped wide open, exposing her tender eyeballs to the biting cold of the water, and she thrashed and gasped, flooding her lungs with liquid ice.

Her buoyant body naturally directing her to the surface, Gracia finally coordinated herself enough to kick and swing her arms to push her upwards. She breeched high, gasping and staring up into the blue twilight sky in shock, unable to register her golem flapping overhead and staring down at her with its one mechanical eye.

Gracia sank back into the water for a moment, then surfaced once again and treaded water numbly, gasping and jerking as she looked around in shock.

Not far away, the freighter was bent almost perfectly in half, but it was no longer sinking, and its crew hung from the railings, some screaming, most in silent shock, and others watching as a black blur jumped from here to there, slashing at tendrils.

It took Gracia a moment to realize that the blur was Kanda, and when she remembered what was going on she looked down at the water she was treading, panic gripping her when she saw the water was black.

And then she slowly started to sink.

Nothing was pulling her down, and she wasn't hooked on anything… She was still treading, and she even put more energy into it when her mouth was suddenly underwater, but she continued to sink.

Her head was fully underwater and she was clawing for the surface again before she finally realized what was going on; her arms and legs were heavy.

Too heavy.

And so was her back.

Her uniform was waterlogged, and the weight was pulling her down.

Gracia fumbled for the buttons of her coat, but she still had the flaps of her gloves on, and her fingers were numb. She couldn't feel anything.

So as she struggled, trying to worm out of her jacket, her pants, kick her boots off, do anything that would lighten her load, she continued to sink.

And in the shadowed water below her, something caught her attention.

Gracia wasn't able to keep from looking down…

Deep below in the shadowed by still clear water was a net, caught onto the edge of the boat, that met even further down at a tip, like an upside-down pyramid.

And holding onto that triangular pyramid… was a giant, anthromorphic form.

A female anthromorphic form; from the waist up she was a giant human, with long, 'slender' arms, each as thick as a tree, her stomach flat, her bare breasts perfectly rounded and her face sharp, angular, with glowing red eyes and a mouth full of long, sharp teeth that extended well past her lips.

From the waist down was a long, scaled tail, covered in interspersed areas with caudal fins and ending in a sharp, dangerous-looking, spine-laced heterocercal fin.

All her skin was green, as was her hair, which dragged out behind her, almost indistinguishable from the dark depths of the fjord.

As she started to pass out from lacking oxygen Gracia realized what she was looking at…

The Trip.

It was real.

* * *

It saw her.

When Gracia's thrashing increased as panic flooded her being upon seeing The Trip, it looked over and saw her.

She couldn't do anything about it when the creature reached over with one long arm, fingers as thick as Gracia's legs wrapping around the Exorcist and pulling her down towards The Trip quickly.

The pressure increase was too much, the movement of the water that flooded her nose, jerked her hair and her head back and pulled her mouth open was too much, the fingers curling and pressing against her chest, forcing what air she had left in her lungs was too much.

But just before she was about to pass out, Gracia saw it; the ceramic-looking, doll-like face in the center of The Trip's chest, and the large symbol, the Roman numeral for two painted above her right breast.

Akuma.

Yes, it was huge.

Yes, it wanted to eat her.

Yes, she couldn't stop it alone…

But it was an Akuma.

And Gracia was wired to react to Akuma.

'Innocence… Activate…'

As her eyes rolled back into her head, static filling her ears and the world going black, her numb body registered a sensation; Sleep flared hotly around her right middle finger; hot enough to boil the water around her hand.

Gracia passed out from Sleep before the lack of oxygen overtook her completely, and as she did Sleep pulsed around her finger, sending out a strong wave through the water.

The Trip's eyes widened as the wave washed over and ran through her, her body tensing before it relaxed.

Amplified strongly by the water, Sleep knocked The Trip out, the giant Akuma's eyes rolling back into its head as its grip on its net went lax and it slowly started to float to the surface.

* * *

Kanda's eyes widened in shock as the freighter suddenly shot skyward, the tendril net pulling it down rapidly going lax and the vessel's buoyancy making it rise.

The ship quickly came back down, though, and slowly started to fall over; it was everything the crew on that side could do to climb inward before the side of the ship they were on crashed into the water.

Kanda landed on the upward facing side of the boat, watching the water where the ship had previously been intently as it bubbled, something rising up from below.

As soon as the humanoid Akuma surfaced, Kanda lunged and landed on its chest, using Mugen to cut its head off.

He then leapt back onto the freighter as the Akuma's body melted into ash and sank down into the water, briefly turning the water black before it turned back to the same dark blue as the rest of the fjord.

Behind Kanda, the crew members of the freighter started to climb up onto the top of the vessel, working quickly to find useable lifeboats to get them to shore, but the young Exorcist ignored them and knelt on the edge, searching the surface of the water.

When he saw the destroyed remains of his and Gracia's motorboat, his eyes narrowed and he scowled slightly, his eyes darting around quicker.

Someone came up to him and spoke to him in Icelandic, but because he couldn't understand them he ignored them and continued searching.

The person behind him seemed to catch on after a moment, because he turned back to the other crewmembers and shouted something, and before long Kanda was joined by five others, all armed with large flashlights that they turned on and used to sweep the area.

With the additional help, it wasn't long before someone spotted Gracia's darkened form clinging to a broken piece of crate from part of the ship's lost cargo, and once two seafarers were rowing out to her on an inflatable raft, Kanda stood and turned, storming over to join the other members of the crew as they started to load themselves onto large, wooden lifeboats.

Almost an entire month for a thirty-minute battle.

'What a waste of time.'

* * *

"_Almost drowned? !_"

Kanda scowled slightly and pulled the phone away from his ear at Komui's yelping, "Shut up! I can hear you just fine if you don't yell!"

"_Sorry, sorry…_" Komui sighed, "_So, how is she now?_"

"Still unconscious." Kanda glanced over at Gracia's bed where the older woman lay prone on her back, blankets piled up on her body and her hair pulled over her shoulder and tied up messily, "Took the seamen a while to get her to cough up all the water in her lungs, and her Innocence is still glowing. It's keeping her more or less dead to the world." He paused, then growled, "What's her synchronization rate? That thing was huge; it should have taken someone with a higher synchronization rate to knock it out. With her apparent level of skill, the most she should have been able to do was slow it down."

"_It was probably because of the water._" Komui answered nonchalantly, "_Sleep knocks people and Akuma unconscious by sending out a well-controlled, fast-acting and unnamed chemical. My scientific guess would be that the water amplified it; diffused the chemical faster than air could without a breeze and, thus, made it faster and more potent._"

"Hn." Kanda grunted, closing his eyes, "What was a Level 2 of that caliber doing up here? There was no Innocence, the population is low…"

"_If I had to take a guess… I would say growing._" Komui sighed, "_You said it was difficult to locate but easy to defeat once you had, despite its size. Akuma evolve and get stronger by killing; it probably wasn't satisfied with its second level transformation and wanted to get more powerful._"

"…Whatever." Kanda sighed after a pause, "What's next?"

"_About that…_" Komui's voice turned grave, "_We have a problem. General Kevin Yeegar is dead._"

Kanda tensed and went silent at that, listening intently as Komui gave a general outline of what was going on: The Noah Family was killing powerful Exorcists in search of the Heart, and because of that the Generals were to be located and brought back to Headquarters.

"_You'll be meeting up with Marie and Daisya on mainland Europe to search for General Tiedoll._" Komui concluded, "_And Gracia will be accompanying you._"

"…Komui, the boat ride here almost killed her." Kanda scowled, "If I have to drag her back to Europe with me, I'll be slowed waiting for her to recover once we dock."

"_Then you'll be slowed._" Komui said simply, "_She's still going with you._"

"…Fine." Kanda hissed, "But if she takes longer than a day to recover when we reach Europe, I'm sending her back with the Finder."

"_No you wooo~_" Komui started to sing before Kanda slammed the phone back down onto the Finder's pack, hanging up on him.

Kanda… _hated_ that man.


	19. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XIV

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

It was not a pleasant thing to wake up to, being on a boat… But Gracia woke up there, anyway.

She stared at the metal walls and ceiling and the thick bolted joints that held them together around her slowly, hoping she was wrong… But when the ship swayed and her stomach lurched, she groaned and rolled over, hugging her gut and burying her face in her pillow.

"You lose your stomach in here, support unit, you'll be cleaning it up."

Gracia blinked slowly into her pillow, then lifted her head slightly and glanced across the room, blinking again when she saw Kanda glancing at her out of the corner of one narrowed eye.

"…What happened…?" She asked weakly after a moment, "We were searching the water… we found The Trip… you went off to fight it, then—"

"You crashed the boat, you uniform got waterlogged and you sank, and apparently while you were underwater you found the Akuma's main body and used your Anti-Akuma Weapon on it." Kanda summarized in a dull tone. "And now we're on our way back to Europe to track down General Tiedoll."

"Oh…" Gracia glanced around, blinking when she saw the room they were in only had their things in it, despite having four bunks, "…Where's Dale?"

"The Finder went back to Headquarters to finalize the report." Kanda answered, closing his eyes, "We'll be going alone."

"…" Gracia laid her head back down and covered it with a pillow, her stomach lurching up into her throat when the boat pitched. She ground her teeth and clamped her eyes and throat shut, blocking out the rest of the boat ride.

When Kanda hit her on the back of the head with the butt of Mugen some time later (several days, actually), she clambered out of her bed and tugged her clothes and hair straight, frowning when she finally noticed that she was still damp.

Apparently she hadn't been changed out of her uniform after she'd been fished out of the fjord…

When Kanda started checking his baggage, Gracia followed his example and stumbled over to her duffel bag, shocks of pain spiking through her stomach as she fell to her knees. Whether it was from the hunger pains or the seasickness, she couldn't tell… Either way, she checked to make sure she had everything, smiling slightly when she saw the slightly squashed box of coffee.

She'd managed to grab it in Ísafjörður before the exploratory part of the mission… And it didn't take her any time to remember why she'd gotten it. After all, she, personally, hated coffee.

But Komui loved it. Not to mention he needed it to stay alive during his shifts…

It seemed, though, that her mission was going to be a bit more extended than Komui had originally thought.

Sighing slightly, Gracia zipped her duffel bag shut again and stood, pressing her hand against her stomach and waiting for Kanda to walk out of the room before following.

As they left the ship and walked through the harbor, Gracia glanced at Kanda and mumbled, "So, where do we start looking for the General…? And will we be doing it alone…?"

Kanda glanced back at her, then looked ahead again and sighed, "We'll be meeting up with two others. They'll have a better idea of where to start looking."

"Alright…" The moment she stepped off of the wharf and onto solid ground, Gracia leaned forward and clutched at her stomach, her face turning green and her neck breaking out into a cold sweat.

Beyond her panting, she heard Kanda's boots squelch to a stop. "Tch… We're going to a hotel, first. Let's go."

Noticing Kanda was leaving her behind, Gracia stood up straight with a pained grunt and walked after him as quickly as she could, pain jolting through her body each time her heels touched the ground.

With English a bit more common in mainland Europe, Kanda spoke for them both when he stormed into the first hotel he came to, getting them a room quickly and practically dragging Gracia upstairs.

"Rest." Kanda growled as he pushed her into their room, "Bathe. Eat. Pass out for a few hours. Do whatever you need to to make yourself less of a burden. Komui may think I won't send you back, but I _will not_ drag you around France."

"…Okay." Gracia mumbled, nodding and stumbling into the bathroom.

Whether either of them knew it or not, Kanda and Gracia were actually a good team; Gracia did better in a structured environment where there was someone to breathe down her neck and bark directions at her, and Kanda was prone to barking out directions whenever people started slowing him down.

And considering Gracia was always slow, Kanda was always having to bark at her.

Of course, being forced to work with someone he would usually abandoned forced Kanda to be a smidgen more conscientious about the person he was traveling with, both because he did not want to wake up with his face in her breasts again and because he didn't want to have to lug her unconscious body around and get lectured by "that old bastard"(Tiedoll) when the General found out.

And so, where normally he would have stormed on and left the burden behind, Kanda found himself tossing Mugen onto one of the small beds in the room and flopping down in a chair, staring out the window as the shower started in the bathroom.

In the bathroom, Gracia bathed thoroughly, the pain in her stomach still so great she didn't need Sleep to keep her awake; the uncomfortable sensation of water sliding down her abdomen was enough to keep her from feeling sleepy.

After a thorough bath, she put on a pair of civilian clothes and ran a tub full of water, finding laundry soap underneath the bathroom sink and washing her uniform.

"Kanda…" She stuck her head out of the bathroom when her uniform was hanging in the shower to dry, "Do you want me to wash your uniform?"

Kanda glanced over from his brooding, staring at her for a moment, then stood and started taking off his uniform.

Gracia ducked back into the bathroom and waited, jumping slightly when Kanda's uniform was tossed around the corner and at her head. After giving Kanda's uniform the same treatment she had hers, Gracia stumbled back into the bedroom and collapsed on the bed closest to the bathroom, her nice, clean, warm, _dry_ clothes making her drowsy, pain in her stomach aside.

Well… at least until her stomach grumbled.

Kanda sighed loudly, then stood and stormed across the room.

Gracia lifted her head and glanced over her shoulder, blinking when she saw the younger Exorcist, now wearing a white dress shirt tucked into a pair of black pants with a thick, black belt, walking towards the door with an angry look on his face.

"Kanda?"

"It's pointless to try to make you go find anything." Kanda growled, "You'll get lost. Stay here." He then left, slamming the door behind himself.

Gracia blinked after him slowly, then pressed her face back into the mattress and fell asleep, ignoring her stomach.

Of course, she didn't get to sleep for very long; what seemed far too soon someone kicked the edge of her bed and Gracia turned her head and opened her eyes just as a plastic bowl with a plastic lid was dropped onto the bed in front of her face.

Gracia blinked slowly, then sat up when her face started to get warmed by the heat radiating from the bowl. Once sitting, she picked up the bowl and popped the top off, blinking at what she found inside.

"Soba?" She glanced up at Kanda slowly, "How did you manage to find soba in France…?"

Kanda ignored her and started eating his own soba.

Gracia sighed, broke her chopsticks (with some difficulty), and began eating.

Silence reigned in the room for a time, only to be disturbed after Gracia had finished her meal and shifted to lie back down, her stomach letting out a very unhealthy sounding grumble. The movement upset her still pained stomach, and Gracia was left with no choice but to stumble to her feet and into the bathroom, where she lost her lunch.

Kanda glanced at the still open bathroom door, making a face, then set his soba aside and crossed his arms over his stomach.

Eventually the sounds of sick faded, there were a few moments of running water, then a once again pale, clammy and faintly green Gracia stumbled out of the bathroom and collapsed on the bed, passing out.

Kanda glared at her.

He goes through the trouble of bringing her lunch and she went and…

Tch.

* * *

When Gracia woke up, she and Kanda weren't the only ones in the room.

There was also a very tall, mostly bald man sitting at the table with Kanda, the scant amount of hair he had pulled up on top of his head with a clamp and headphones over his ears, as well as a smaller man wearing a hood who had purple, triangular marks of makeup beneath both of his eyes and a large metal ball on the tail of his hood sitting on the bed next to hers and staring at her.

And judging by the uniforms they both were wearing, Gracia realized after a slow, sleepy moment, they both were fellow Exorcists.

The smaller man on the bed grinned at her when she looked up at him, "Hey, you'wake?"

"…Yes." Gracia replied softly, slowly, gaining the attention of Kanda and the large man as she sat up slowly, "Hello…"

The large man smiled at Gracia and stood, walking over and taking her hand in his, "Hello, Miss Gracia, I'm Noise Marie, but just call me Marie. And you've already met Daisya Barry…"

The smaller man grinned at her, saluting, "Hey."

"I hope Kanda hasn't been giving you too much trouble." Marie chuckled.

"Shut up, Marie." Kanda growled.

"Ah, hello…" Gracia smiled back, "Kanda? No, not at all… Traveling with him has been just fine."

"Well, it probably would be if you sleep through half of it." Daisya snickered, making Kanda throw him a withering glare.

"Kanda said you were ill." Marie frowned down at her, "If you—"

"I'm feeling better now…" Gracia spoke over him in a low voice after a moment, giving an assuring nod, "Whenever we're ready, I'm ready."

Marie stared at her for a moment, studying the sounds that were coming from her, then nodded, smiling slightly, "Alright. Before we go, you should be familiar with the Innocence of your party members. My Anti-Akuma Weapon is Noel Organon." He lifted his hands and showed the rings on each of his fingers.

"Mine's the Charity Bell." Daisya spoke up, lifting up the end of his hood and dangling the metal ball hanging on the end back and forth, "'nd you know Kanda's Mugen."

Gracia nodded, then lifted her hand and pulled her sleeve down, showing the ring on her middle finger, "This is Sleep… Please try to keep from startling me; Sleep tends to put up a protective sleep aura around me when I get startled."

Marie blinked, then nodded and threw Daisya a look, which made Kanda glare at the back of Daisya's head.

Daisya blinked, then pouted, "What?"

"You know." Marie answered simply. He then stood straight, "Well, if we're all ready, Kanda, Gracia, you two should get dressed."

Kanda huffed and threw Gracia a look, and she sighed and nodded, standing and walking into the bathroom.

"…Wait, she can already interpret your random noises and grunts?" Daisya blinked, quirking a brow at Kanda, "What the hell?"

"She pays attention." Kanda muttered, going back to staring out the window and ignoring Daisya when he twitched and threw what sounded like an insult at him in Turkish.

Marie shook his head and sighed, then stepped back when Kanda stood and stormed across the room as soon as Gracia stepped out of the bathroom.

Gracia jumped slightly when Kanda slammed the bathroom door, then sighed and sat on the end of her bed, glancing up at Marie, "Do you… team up with Kanda often…?"

"Often enough." Marie chuckled, "Daisya, Kanda and I were all trained by General Tiedoll. Officially, we're his standing unit, whenever the Order decides he needs us." The large man then asked, "Weren't you recruited by the General?"

"Yes." Gracia nodded, smiling slightly, "General Tiedoll found me in Hambleton, recognized Sleep for what it was, and sent me to Headquarters for assessment and training." She sighed sheepishly, "He said he would have trained me, himself… but Sleep was very touchy back then and went off at the smallest things… so it wasn't very safe."

"So…" Daisya leaned forward, "When you say 'go off,' you mean…?"

Gracia glanced at him, blinking, then lifted her right hand and pointed her finger at him.

Daisya blinked, then his eyes widened before they drooped, a wave of drowsiness washing over him.

Gracia deactivated Sleep before he collapsed, smiling at the younger Exorcist, "Like that… but much worse… and usually triggered by loud noises or sudden physical contact…"

Marie frowned, watching Daisya intently, "…That must have been quite difficult to deal with."

"Oh, I've gotten much better…" Gracia turned slowly to face Marie and smiled up at him tiredly, "I probably won't ever get over the constant drowsiness as long as I wear Sleep… but since my synchronization rate increased, my narcolepsy isn't quite as bad as it used to be. I can even remember the names of others, as well as where I am when I wake."

Marie and Daisya (who was slowly recovering) just stared at her in silence. That wasn't exactly a good thing to have happen to you in the first place…

Gracia didn't notice the staring, instead going back to brooding over how silent Sleep had become lately…

"We're going." Kanda snapped as soon as he stepped out of the bathroom, his uniform on and Mugen strapped to his side. He stormed across the room, shoved his civilian clothes into his suitcase, then slung it over his shoulder and started walking. "Now." He threw Gracia a steely look.

Gracia nodded and pushed herself to her feet as quickly as she could, grabbing her duffel bag and hanging it over her shoulder as she shuffled after Kanda dutifully.

Marie and Daisya stared after them, then chuckled a bit before following.

Outside, the group paused when they noticed the late evening streets were a bit… emptier than they should have been.

"…The last time the General checked in," Marie started slowly after a moment, speeding up a bit when attention turned to him, "He was in a small village in Alsace. We'll start there."

There were two nods of two different heads and an affirmative grunt, then the group started walking, navigating the empty, quiet streets slowly.

When Sleep heated around her finger slightly, Gracia shuddered, "Kanda…"

"Hn…?" Kanda glanced around sharply.

"Sleep isn't happy…" Gracia mumbled, fisting her hand and curling her thumb around her middle finger to rub the ring.

"Hnn…"

"Just keep walking." Marie rumbled, "Don't engage unless it's absolutely necessary."

They hurried out of the town in hushed silence, though once they were on the road their tenseness didn't fade.

Gracia hardly noticed she was veering slightly from the path the other three were following until Kanda snapped at her.

"Support unit! You're going the wrong way!"

Gracia paused and glanced over to her right, blinking when she saw Marie, Kanda and Daisya were all still on the main road and had stopped to stare at her.

She looked down at her feet, making sure there was a worn dirt path there, then looked back up and blinked at the three men, "No, you're going the wrong way."

Kanda twitched, a slightly murderous look crossing his face, but Marie spoke up before he could say anything, "I checked the maps before we left town, Gracia; this road leads to Alsace."

"I know it does." Gracia mumbled, "I've been wandering Europe for the better part of…" She trailed off, her eyes wandering skyward as she thought for a moment. When she finally looked back at the men, they were still waiting for her, Kanda and Daisya looking irritated, "I don't know… But trust me, I've wandered Europe a lot." She pointed down the path they were taking, "And you don't want to go that way… Not during this time of the year."

Kanda's brow twitched and he asked sardonically, "Do you even _know_ what time of the year it is?"

Gacia just blinked slowly, neither amused nor insulted by his question. "…Fine." She mumbled after a moment, facing down the path she was on, "I'll see you three in about two miles, when these paths merge again." She then started walking, leaving them.

Kanda snorted and continued walking down the main road, and Daisya was all too eager to follow him.

Marie stared after the two males blindly, turned to stare after Gracia, then sighed and shook his head, following Kanda and Daisya. Gracia seemed familiar with the area, she should be fine…

Gracia walked along the small, dirt path, trees soon blocking her view of the main road.

Shadows of recollections of walking through this part of France, on this road, rose up in her mind slowly like steam, and she smiled and relaxed at the familiarity of it all. She hadn't realized how much she had missed wandering the countryside of Europe until she was on her own again…

It didn't shock her, though. She always had liked wandering…

But after walking/shuffling/stumbling by herself for a while, the only sounds that accompanied her being foliage rustling in a soft breeze and the occasional call of an animal, Gracia realized something that _did_ shock her…

…She missed being in the accompaniment of others even more than she missed wandering on her own.

Ever since she had joined the Order, the only time she was alone was when she slept in her own bedroom. Other than that, there was almost always someone who knew her name at least ten feet away.

And suddenly being on her own again… was lonely… Even more lonely than it had been back when she had originally been wandering Europe.

It… was affecting her as much as the realization that her relationship with Sleep was changing had…

Upset by this, Gracia's mood sobered and she stood a bit straighter, walking at a faster pace down the path and no longer dragging her feet.

The path led her to an old log that had fallen across the river, the top nearly worn flat from use, and she crossed it easily and walked back over to the main road a ways to her left, where Kanda, Marie and Daisya had been stopped from crossing a bridge by a rough-looking group of men.

"Can't pay the toll?" The man addressing the three directly, a rugged but handsome man with long, dark hair peppered with gray and dark eyes, smirked at them roguishly, "Don't cross."

"We're members of the Church." Marie spoke to the man firmly, gesturing to the Rosy Cross on the chest of his uniform, "Even if this were an official toll bridge, we should be allowed free passage. All European governments, and even almost all others worldwide, know this."

"Well, it's a good thing I'm not a man from the government." The middle-aged man chuckled, "Otherwise I wouldn't get any money out of you, would I?"

Around him, his gang chuckled.

"Besides…" Here, the man sneered slightly, "I don't much care for the Church."

Gracia sighed and walked over, hardly blinking when one of the group noticed her and pointed, "Sir! Another one in the same uniform!"

The middle-aged man glanced over at Gracia sharply, then paused, his eyes widening slightly.

Gracia smiled at him sleepily and waved, "Hey, Bastian!"

The Exorcists looked between Bastian and Gracia quickly, Kanda putting his hand on the hilt of his sword, only to blink when the man laughed loudly.

"Gracia!" Bastian walked over to her and slung his arm around her shoulder, grinning down at her, "I was starting to think you were dead!"

"Well, I'm not…" Gracia smiled up at him, "My travel itinerary just… changed slightly."

"Gracia, you know him?"

Gracia looked over at Marie and nodded, smiling, "I don't remember how I met him, but I've known Bastian for a long, long time…"

"Taught this brat everything she knows about living a traveler's life." Bastian ruffled Gracia's hair, chuckling when she whined passively and lowered her head, "Though I don't know how much she retained with that poor memory of hers."

"Oh, I retained enough." Gracia lifted her head slightly, smiling, "I remembered not to cross the bridge…"

"True." Bastian chuckled, "Your friends didn't take your warning, then?"

"No, no they didn't." Gracia looked up at Bastian drowsily, giving him a weak pout, "Do they really have to pay? We usually just have everything billed to the Church, so we don't carry much on us… Hardly enough to cover your prices, even if they haven't inflated…"

"…You work for the Church, now?" Bastian quirked a brow down at her.

"Yeah…" Gracia nodded slowly.

"…'nd do all of the Church folk who work in your department wear those clothes?"

"Mmhmm." Gracia nodded again.

"…Fine." Bastian sighed heavily, removing his arm from her shoulders, "From now on, anyone dressed like you can pass for free. Wanderers have to have some sort of camaraderie if we're going to survive, after all."

"Thanks, Bastian…" Gracia mumbled as the older man looked over at the bridge and nodded, his gang backing off and letting Kanda, Marie and Daisya cross completely. "Oh, and we're looking for someone… Has an older man with a coat like ours, curly brown hair and an art palette crossed the bridge?"

"Froi Tiedoll?" Bastian nodded, "He's a regular. Last passed by about… three weeks ago. He didn't seem to be in too much of a hurry, but then again…" He chuckled, "That man seems to be able to zip all around the place even when he's not in a hurry."

"You know General Tiedoll?" Daisya blinked.

"Of course I do." Bastian glanced at him, "Like I said, he's a regular. Crosses a few of 'my' bridges four or five times a year. Not a bad man for a priest…"

"Thank you for this information." Marie smiled, "It's good to know we're on the right track."

Bastian grunted slightly and waved him off, then smiled at Gracia slightly and ruffled her hair again, making her duck slightly, hunch her shoulders and whine. "You're looking good, Gracia. Have you changed your mind about marrying me, yet?"

And now she remembered why she didn't want to cross the bridge, even though she knew Bastian would let her pass. "Oh, look at the time. We'll be on our way, now." She mumbled, turning and walking off as quickly as she could.

Bastian laughed loudly after her, calling out something that was lost to the air as she pulled up her hood to hide herself.

A few long strides saw Marie standing behind her, and he smiled down at her amusedly, "I see what you meant when you said we wouldn't want to cross the bridge…"

Gracia twitched and mumbled incoherently, and Daisya snickered and threw in a remark about her red face.

Kanda lingered in the back, silent.

"So," Marie chuckled, "Any other places you would like to avoid?"

"…Forget it." Gracia mumbled, lowering her head slightly, "We'll take the main road. Let's just… stick together from now on."

She decided that she didn't like being alone.


	20. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XV

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"The Generals will die!" The shattered Akuma beneath Kanda's feet cackled, "There's an army of Akuma and Noah after them! While you're dealing with us, another group could be killing them—"

The tip of Mugen pierced the Akuma's face, making it explode.

"Shut up." Kanda muttered.

Up the stairs that led out of the alley, between Marie and Daisya, Gracia watched him with a small, worried frown.

"Let's go, Kanda." Marie called back at the younger Exorcist, making Kanda twitch and walk back over to them as he sheathed Mugen.

"They just keep coming." Daisya muttered in irritation as Kanda took his suitcase back from Marie and slung it over his shoulder, "They're keeping us busy so we can't search."

"They want to slow us down." Kanda added.

"It may not be easy to get to the General." Marie sighed.

"Not with these circumstances…" Gracia mumbled, walking between Marie and Kanda as the started moving on. When Kanda snorted beside her, she glanced at him, blinking.

"Frustrated, Kanda?" Marie asked.

"No!" Kanda snapped, glancing away with narrowed eyes and a surly look on his face.

"But how long is it going to take us to get to him?" Daisya asked his teammates, glancing over at them, "General Tiedoll isn't even in this town anymore. Does he just move fast, or is he trying not to be found?"

"If the Akuma are speaking so freely of hunting the Generals, maybe he's aware of the situation and he's running…" Gracia offered in her slow, low voice.

Marie chuckled, shaking his head, "He's probably off drawing his pictures somewhere."

Daisya chortled in agreement, glancing at Kanda, "We sure have an odd Master, eh, Kanda?"

Gracia glanced at Kanda, blinking when his narrowed eyes narrowed further and his grumbled, "I can't stand that geezer."

Over Gracia's head, Marie and Daisya exchanged glances.

"…Well…" Daisya mumbled after a moment, "At least he's better than General Cross."

"General Cross…?" Gracia asked, wanting to switch the subject over to something that wouldn't make Kanda glare off into space like he was trying to blow something up with his eyes.

"Cross Marian." Marie spoke up quickly, picking up on the attempt at a subject change, "He's the only General who doesn't have an official standing unit…" He paused, then sighed, "And he hasn't checked into Headquarters in four years."

"Word is he's either dead or screwing around somewhere." Daisya snickered, waving his hand, "I hear he's a real womanizer who hates work, so I'm betting on the latter. Lucky bastard…"

The sexist implications of that remark didn't hit Gracia until a moment later, and by the time she'd thrown a glance Daisya's way he was already looking ahead nonchalantly with a vacant smirk on his face.

Daydreaming…

"If they managed to kill General Yeegar…" Gracia started after a pause, glancing up at Marie, "And General Cross hasn't been heard from in four years, how do we know he's not dead, as well?"

"The _Moyashi_…" Kanda grumbled, the sour look that had been fading returning, but with a slightly darker undertone.

Gracia blinked, clueless, "Eh…?" Icelandic she registered as just English (at least, she until she'd been told that she was listening to a different language; now she could differentiate), but she knew she didn't know Japanese.

When Kanda just twitched, Marie glanced at Gracia blindly, "Allen Walker, a new Exorcist who joined the Order not long before you did, is General Cross' only apprentice."

Gracia blinked again, brief recognition flashing through her mind, "Allen…"

Kanda threw her a withering glare when she said Allen's name, making Gracia shut her mouth and lower her head slightly.

Marie sighed. Gracia had slowly gotten more and more submissive towards Kanda as they had traveled, to the point where Kanda could throw her looks Marie and Daisya wouldn't understand but Gracia picked up on right away.

It wasn't exactly a healthy relationship, but it made them a more effective pair. Which was a good thing, really; Marie and Daisya were better at ranged attacks than Kanda, so Gracia made a good support unit for the younger male Exorcist.

Besides, even though she got along with Daisya and Marie better than Kanda (mainly because the only time Kanda really spoke to Gracia was to order her around), Kanda was better at fighting alongside Gracia; he managed to find ways to use her nonexistent technique to enhanced his swordplay. Whenever Daisya had tried to utilize her as a support unit, she had gotten left behind while he sped ahead to kick Charity Bell around, and Marie's Noel Organon defeated Akuma before Marie found Gracia necessary.

So, when she wasn't hanging back to make sure Akuma weren't sneaking up behind anyone, Gracia was obeying Kanda's snappish commands and delaying enemies here and there so he had time to fight them all when they ganged up on him.

"Hey." Kanda grumbled to Gracia as they walked into a hotel.

Gracia immediately (but still slowly, considering this is Gracia) turned her attention to Kanda, blinking slowly, "Yes?"

Marie and Daisya sighed slightly at Gracia answering to 'hey.'

"You're contacting the flippy-haired idiot tonight." Kanda grunted, walking off and leaving Marie to check them into rooms (as the older man usually did).

"Alright…" Gracia mumbled after him pointlessly, giving a slow nod to his retreating back before turning and walking over to the lobby's payphones.

After pulling the plug out of the hand piece of the phone and hooking it into the back of her golem, Gracia leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, murmuring, "Contact the European Branch Headquarters…"

The golem whirred, then let out a dial tone from an unseen speaker. The dial tone turned into a quick series of beeps, like numbers being dialed, and then there was a ringtone.

"_Communications Department_." Someone with a digitally disguised voice answered a moment later, "_How may I help you?_"

"This is Exorcist Gracia of General Tiedoll's unit." Gracia mumbled, "I'd like to speak to Supervisor Komui Lee…"

"_Please hold while we download the vocal confirmation your golem is compiling._"

Gracia stared at her ovoid golem as its eye flashed a few lights, then the person on the other end of the line spoke again, their voice no longer disguised.

"_Miss Gracia, it's wonderful to hear from the Tiedoll unit. I'll patch you through to Supervisor Lee immediately._"

"Thank you…" Gracia mumbled just before the golem started emitting soft beeps.

"_This is Komui…_" Komui's distracted-sounding voice came over the golem a moment later, "_And if you're calling to accuse me of something, it wasn't me._"

Gracia blinked, confused, then giggled after a moment, "I'm not calling to accuse you of anything, Supervisor. I'm calling to check in…"

"…_Gracia!_" Komui's voice suddenly became very undistracted and louder as he, likely, held the phone closer (now that he no longer had to worry about anyone screaming at him), "_Dale had made it sound like you were dying! How are you? Where are you? How's your team? Have you found General Tiedoll? Did you get my Icelandic coffee?_"

Gracia shuddered and closed her eyes, her head spinning and throbbing slightly, "Too many questions at once, Komui…"

"_Ah, sorry…_" Komui said sheepishly, "_We'll do this the easier way, then… Give me a general report._"

"Okay…" Gracia nodded slightly out of habit, "Kanda, Marie, Daisya and I are in Alsace, which is where General Tiedoll last contacted the Order from, right?"

"_Correct._"

"Okay… Well, he's not here." Gracia sighed at the same time as Komui, "And Marie doesn't think he'll be contacting anyone much while he keeps traveling… The Akuma are being very open about the fact that they're hunting the Generals."

"_Are they…?_" Komui's frown could be heard in his voice.

Gracia kept her eyes closed as Komui sighed.

"…_How's your seasickness?_" The Supervisor asked after a moment, his tone lightening as he changed the subject, "_Dale said it was quite… violent._"

Gracia groaned softly and sank to the floor, sitting on her heels and hugging her stomach as she muttered, "I don't want to remember it… And fortunately, I don't. Pain was too much. Mind blocked it out."

"_Ouch…_" Gracia's golem fluttered down to keep face level with her, "_I'll talk to the Science Department and we'll work on something. If your motion sickness is really that bad, it would be callous of us to make you keep traveling when you have to ride on boats, fly on airplanes, ride on trains—_"

"Actually, trains are okay…" Gracia smiled slightly, "And thank you…"

Of course, Gracia didn't know how dangerous it was to ingest something Komui had a hand in making, but for some reason knowing Komui was seriously considering doing something to alleviate her pain and discomfort made her feel…

…After several moments of careful consideration, she wasn't sure how it made her feel.

What she was feeling kinda felt like sleeping… A special kind of sleep, of course. She felt somewhat like she'd settled into a nest of thick blankets and furs on a cold night… Which she had actually done once and thoroughly enjoyed, the somewhat nasty smell of the animal furs aside.

…What in the world was happening to her lately? Awareness, quicker recognition, a slight distancing in her emotional relationship with Sleep, and now this… weird but nice feeling…

"I think you asked about your coffee, didn't you?" Gracia mumbled, unaware that she'd interrupted Komui babbling about something, "Yeah, I found some coffee for you… Though I'm not sure if you'll like it."

"_Why don't you just taste it and rate it for me while I wait to taste it, myself?_" Komui asked brightly, not minding the interruption.

"Don't like coffee…" Gracia mumbled, shrugging slightly.

"…" Komui chuckled, "_Somehow, I'm not surprised._"

Gracia smiled slightly, then asked, "How's Lenalee?"

"…_I'm not sure…_" Komui murmured, his voice suddenly very small, "_She's out on an extended mission, like you are, to find General Cross Marian… I haven't heard from her lately…_"

"…Komui, don't worry about her." Gracia mumbled, trying to think of something to say to make him sound less helpless. She didn't like that tone in his voice for some reason… "She's strong. Very strong. And the Akuma that have been assaulting my group's end of the search have all been jokes. And I'm saying that even though I have no offensive abilities…"

"_I know, I know._" Komui sighed softly, "_I just don't like it… I never have and I probably never will._"

Gracia didn't know what else to say after that.

Komui, though, kept talking (going into excruciating detail on one of his latest experiments so he could avoid going back to work, knowing full well she probably wasn't following).

When Gracia finally found something to talk about, Komui quickly closed his mouth and listened. "Sleep's… been acting weird…"

"_Weird how?_" Komui quickly asked, "_Kanda informed me that during your fight with the Akuma in Iceland you were able to render the Akuma completely unconscious when, by his guess, you should have only been able to slow it down. Do you mean something other than that?_"

"Yes…" Gracia mumbled, "But I have to ask… What's your take on that?"

"_Kanda didn't tell you…_" Komui sighed, not sounding surprised, "_The water amplified the chemical Sleep releases. Now, what were you talking about?_"

"…It's been… distant…" Gracia said reluctantly, her voice dropping low.

"…_Distant?_" Komui repeated, sounding confused.

Gracia frowned and sighed, reaching up to grab some of her hair and tugging at it lightly, "It… doesn't affect me like it used to… It doesn't make me nearly as exhausted. And I… I used to have dreams… dreams different from normal dreams. I… I know Sleep was affecting those dreams… but they've stopped…"

"…_Equipment type Exorcists find that, as their synchronization rate rises, their relationship with their Innocence changes._" Komui explained carefully after a moment, "_If the changes are drastic, it can also either mean that your Innocence needs its physical form altered, or that it's about to evolve. Be careful for the time being when you use it in battle; suddenly overloading when it's on the brink of change can lead to a transformation you may not be able to control._"

"…Okay." Gracia whispered softly, pressing the hand wearing Sleep to her chest.

"_Now, about these 'dreams'…_"

"I don't remember what they're about." Gracia mumbled, "And I'm not going to take Sleep off… not now. This all started happening when I took Sleep off before… I don't want to know what will happen if I do it again."

"…_Alright._" Komui said gently, "_You don't have to take it off. Just… be very, very careful, alright?_"

"Yes, sir…" Gracia lowered her head, "I'm sorry, Komui…"

"_Oh, that's just fine!_" Komui exclaimed brightly, a wide smile in his voice, "_You're not the first Exorcist who was afraid of removing an accessory-worn Innocence! We've had a few other Exorcists in much the same situation before who have expressed similar concerns._"

Knowing she wasn't the only one afraid to part from her Innocence… made Gracia feel better. She smiled, relaxing, "Thank you, Komui…"

"_Of course, Gracia._" Komui chuckled.

"_SUPERVISOR, GET OFF OF THE PHONE AND ENDORSE THESE ALREADY!_"

Gracia's eyes widened and she jumped at the new voice that exploded from her golem's speakers, her usually slow heart rate spiking and thumping in the back of her throat.

"_Neh, neh, Reever, watch your volume! Gracia's on the other end of the line and it sounds like you nearly gave her a heart attack!_"

Gracia clutched at her chest as Komui said this, her breathing strained.

"_Ah… Sorry, Gracia. And as for you—_"

Gracia blinked slowly when there were the sounds of banging, fluttering and Komui's screams coming out of the golem's speakers.

"…"

"_Sorry, Gracia._" Reever's voice came over after a moment, "_Komui needs to go now. Stay safe, alright?_"

Gracia stared at her golem as the line went dead. She then sighed softly and smiled, standing, disconnecting her golem and heading upstairs to take a nap.


	21. REM Cycle: Record Tainted, Compressed

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia realized how serious Komui had been about her Innocence evolving when the Tiedoll unit reached Cologne, Germany.

Finding definite proof that General Tiedoll had been in the city recently but none that he had left, they had split up to search, Marie and Daisya going off by themselves while Gracia accompanied Kanda.

Of course, any shred of hope they had about Tiedoll still being in Cologne died quickly; when night fell, Akuma swarmed the air, waterways and streets.

Kanda shoved Gracia into a short, dead-end alley and turned to face the river, cleaving the first Akuma that threw itself at him clean in half.

Gracia stumbled and fell, throwing her arms out in front of herself and flinching as she scraped her hands, a few loose rocks poking her stomach through her uniform but not getting far due to her jacket's thickness.

Her head spun and she almost passed out, the sudden movement nearly too much, but she quickly pushed herself back onto her feet and spun around, throwing her arm out and knocking out a huge Akuma that was soaring across the river and straight for Kanda.

The Akuma's flight teetered and it fell into the Rhine, waves rising up around it just before it crashed into the manmade shore and sending spray blowing past Kanda and into the alley.

"Netherworld Creature : Ichigen!"

Kanda's bug creatures tore out of the hole in space and sliced through the fallen Akuma, making it explode.

Gracia watched Kanda as he stood between her and the Akuma, her breathing labored. She then lunged forward and got closer to the younger Exorcist, still leaving enough room for him to move but staying close enough that she had a better view of what was going on outside of the alley.

Akuma seemed to pour in from everywhere, and while Kanda destroyed the smaller ones quickly, Gracia stuck with delaying the larger ones as best she could.

With Sleep's effects having to be spread out so far, though, by the time she put the fifth Akuma to sleep while four others were still asleep, the first two started stirring.

When one Akuma managed to swoop in behind her and smack her upside the head, Gracia fell with a cry and the five unconscious Akuma snapped awake, getting up slowly before shaking their heads and lunging.

"Tch!" Kanda spun around and stood over Gracia, his feet on either side of her waist as he cut down the Akuma that had attacked her, "Get up!"

Gasping and nodding, Gracia reached out and grabbed the brick wall in front of her face, scrambling to her feet as Kanda kept pressing closer and closer to her back.

"I want everything but me unconscious!" Kanda barked, his back pressed flat against hers and keeping her pressed flat against the wall, "Just for a moment, and even if it means knocking yourself out! I need time to do something!"

"R-Right!" Gracia nodded, closing her eyes and clenching her fist.

Sleep burned hotly, and Gracia felt herself losing consciousness and sliding down the wall as Kanda pulled away from her. She glanced over her shoulder weakly to make sure it was working, relief pooling in her chest when she saw all of the Akuma in a twenty-foot radius crashing to the ground, their eyes closed, and the others backing off in confusion.

"Nigentou!"

A second Mugen, this one seemingly made of light, formed in Kanda's left hand.

"Eight Flower Mantis!"

Gracia's eyes closed and she lost consciousness.

* * *

"_I'm sorry, sir, but I'm afraid it didn't take…"_

"_Again… Doctor, why does this keep happening?"_

"_Well, there are many factors that can cause this condition; does she smoke? Take any sort of drug regularly? Have any eating or weight disorders? I also have a list of chemicals that can cause—"_

"_What kind of fool do you take me for? I know full well what can cause general health risks; of course it isn't any of those! I've studied general medicine, for Christ's sake."_

"_My apologies, sir… Then it must be genetic. Perhaps something hereditary, or perhaps some sort of mutation. Pinpointing it would require more tests—"_

"_No, no more tests for now. She's been here for two months; it's time I took her home for a bit… In your opinion, what are the chances of us eventually managing to do this?"_

"_Considering this has occurred six times… Less than twenty percent. Sir… I would strongly suggest that you consider just… letting this go, if only for a few years. The psychological ramifications this can have on a young woman are—"_

"Thank you_, Doctor, but if you'll excuse me I have to get back to my wife now. Bring me the discharge sheet when you feel she's fit to leave."_

_She stared out the window quietly, giving no hint as her husband walked back into the room that she had heard their entire conversation._

_She had… been looking forward to this so much when they'd started…_

…_But now…_

…_She just wanted to be done with it._

* * *

Gracia's eyes snapped open and she gasped loudly, flailing, and looking around in confusion.

The alley was empty save the Akuma dust, and Kanda was gone.

A crippling mix of exhaustion, confusion and worry flooded her mind, and it took her five minutes to scramble back to her feet and run out of the alley, looking up and down the road in building panic.

She saw Kanda to her right and about thirty yards away, fighting off a still large swarm of Akuma with his two swords.

Her mind still slow from her nap and her worry for Kanda forefront, Gracia didn't have any time to comprehend several of the Akuma closest to her turning towards her and eyeballing her.

She was just lunging forward to run to Kanda's aid when something small, heavy and hot slammed into her chest, sending her fist flying back a ways, then skidding across the ground on her back.

Her hood protected the back of her head from getting torn and scraped, but the blow she received to it left her completely unable to feel relief for that fact, her mind blank and her eyes wide open as she stared at the evening sky above her numbly.

Awareness somewhat came back after a moment, but she was only able to comprehend sounds and sights; explosions, metal clanging, gears turning, sand being scraped, someone shouting… And then faces were looming above her, grinning, grinning, leaning in closely with teeth that sharpened and slimy breath that smelled of oil and blood.

Her heart pounded in her head as her injuries throbbed, and beside her she was vaguely aware of dirt getting under her fingernails as her hands scraped uselessly at the ground.

Then Sleep, the only thing she definitely remembered, got hot around her right middle finger.

Hotter…

Hotter…

Hotter…

Spreading…

Spreading!

It hurt, badly!

And not just her finger; her hand hurt! And now her wrist!

And now something strong was grabbing her wrist, tightening around her finger, her skin was bursting, bursting, bursting!

And then, words came to her.

Words she was barely able to mouth, but did, and with results.

"D-D-Drow Poison… C-Con…fu…sio…"

The thing burning her finger and wrist got even hotter, and above her the faces suddenly pulled back, eyes rolling and mouths foaming.

A shadow fell across her, someone grabbed her left wrist and jerked her to her feet, then the world was spinning and something was digging into her stomach and she was staring at the ground, watching a hem of black cloth flap out and getting an occasional glimpse of the back heels of boots against the ground.

After what seemed an eternity (or was it a second?) of staring at ground, cloth and boots, the world was spinning again and she found herself slammed back against a wall, her legs bent and stretched out straight in front of her as she sat and her head lolling forward.

More shouting, and someone was grabbing her head and tipping it back.

Gracia found herself blinking slowly and staring into the angry face of a longhaired young man, his mouth moving as he shouted but nothing making sense.

Her head was still throbbing, and she felt like she wasn't really in her body…

After a moment of the boy's nonsensical shouting, Gracia remembered her earlier worry and reached out, cupping the boy's face gently with her hand and slumping forward slightly when he jerked back a bit out of shock.

"Kan…da… safe… S-Safe…? K-Kan…"

The young man stared at her, then scowled and turned his attention to something black and flying that suddenly appeared by the side of his head. His fingers wrapped around her wrist as he spoke to it, and he jerked her hand away from his face sharply.

Gracia closed her eyes and leaned back against the wall, crying out when her head touched the stone but not moving.

Time passed slowly to her… and slowly her awareness increased.

The words of the boy, who she now remembered to be Kanda, started to make sense…

"—he south."

"_Looks like it's going to be a long night._"

"_I can hear the Akuma machines all over the place. Looks like we've run into a nest of them._"

"_Kanda, is Gracia coming to yet?_"

Now in her right mind, Gracia opened her eyes and nodded slightly, flinchingly, to Kanda when he looked at her.

"Yeah." Kanda nodded, "She's fine. Let's regroup. We can track each other by our golems in a six-mile radius."

"_Then Kanda, Gracia and I will head to Old Man Marie's location_." Daisya's voice came over the golem.

"_Time limit?_" Marie's voice came next.

"Dawn." Kanda answered gravely just before jumping to his feet and turning to face out of the new alley he and Gracia were in, the hem of his tattered coat and his hair flying as he set a hand on Mugen's hilt.

When she realized she couldn't feel her legs, Gracia scooted along the wall to get closer to where he was fighting, holding out her hand.

An unfamiliar clinking sound came from within her sleeve, but she ignored it and muttered, "Drow Poison : Confusio."

The flying Akuma her newly acquired ability hit jerked to a halt, then floated back twitchingly, awkwardly, before it started spinning around in circles and flailing its arms, hitting its fellow Akuma and destroying a few smaller ones in its confusion.

"Keep hitting the big ones!" Kanda barked, unfazed by her new skill as he threw himself at the floundering Akuma, killing it.

Gracia just continued casting her ability out in answer, managing to disable four Akuma before she started to feel like she was losing her grip on her Anti-Akuma Weapon's invocation.

The battle stretched on for hours, Kanda never relenting but Gracia having to take frequent breaks when her invocation almost slipped through her fingers or her head throbbed so fiercely she tasted blood.

When it was all over, she found herself thrown over Kanda's shoulder (again, she realized, having realized what had happened earlier) before he found and grabbed their bags, showing amazing strength and stamina as he jogged through Cologne as the sky started to go from blue to purple.

Both of their golems suddenly crackled, a voice echoing across both at the same time.

"_So—__**bzzt**__—uch fu—__**bzzt**__—o kill—__**bzzt**__—_"

Kanda stopped at that, glancing over at the golems, "…What? Did you say something?"

"_Daisya?_" Marie's voice asked, a slightly anxious emotion coloring his tone.

Gracia lifted her head from Kanda's back slightly to stare at the golems, only to go limp again when the younger Exorcist resumed running.

…That hadn't been Daisya's voice…

* * *

The small, black, bat-looking machine flapped its wings and fluttered above the brick walkway next to the arch.

Alone.

"…It's Daisya's golem."

Marie didn't turn back after he uttered this, facing outward from the town and away from the golem, and Kanda kept his head lowered, his bangs shadowing his eyes.

Gracia felt something… cold in her stomach as she held out her hand weakly, Daisya's golem fluttering over and settling down on her palm.

Its metallic surface and wings stained her hand with lines of red.

"…W-We don't leave him there, right…?" Gracia asked after a moment, her voice thin, "W-We… We go back… find him… and contact Headquarters…"

"…That's right." Marie gave a slight nod, "We need to find him… and the Charity Bell…"

Kanda remained silent.

"…Gracia, you stay here." Marie turned and started walking, "Kanda, keep an eye on her and don't let her go to sleep. I'll be back."

Gracia stared after Marie as he walked off, her head still spinning and her legs still so weak she had to lean against the wall next to Kanda.

She suddenly felt dizzy… and it was more than just the possible concussion.

Daisya… Daisya was dead…

…They'd heard his last moments over the communicators of the golems… and hadn't even realized it…

…In all of her memory, Gracia had never really… responded to death.

She'd woken up a few times in train storage cars to find a few of the elderly homeless people she'd been sharing the space with had passed away in their sleep or frozen to death, and though she'd left them where she knew someone would find them and give them a proper burial, she'd… never cried…

When Farron and Felicity had been presumed dead after they'd walked on the 'haunted' Tremmel Aqueduct and disappeared, Gracia had felt oddly detached from the whole situation and had simply left town not long after.

Whenever she'd stumbled across orphaned or injured animals on her path and tired to take care of them, every last one of them had died, but she'd never felt anything as she'd laid them to rest.

But for some reason… seeing Daisya's golem alone… seeing his blood on her hands… knowing she'd never again hear him insult Marie about his age or Kanda about his attitude…

…She found her vision blurred.

"Give that here." Kanda suddenly grabbed her shoulder, turning her around, "It'll have to be sent back to Headqua—"

Gracia stared into Kanda's blurry, slightly shocked face blankly as he stared back at her, his eyes widening slightly and his mouth pressing into a small line.

After a moment, she slowly lifted her free hand and pressed her fingers to her face, blinking slowly when she pulled them back and found them wet.

"…Am I crying…?" She asked softly.

After a pause, Kanda didn't answer, instead taking Daisya's bloody golem from her hand and muttering something to it.

They both lifted their heads and watched as the golem fluttered out of the short tunnel and into the sky, the same clinking from before coming from within Gracia's sleeve as she lowered her hand. But she found she didn't care.

She had a feeling she wouldn't care for a while.

* * *

_(TT . TT Mou… You all didn't die on me, did you?)_


	22. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XVI

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia stared down at her right hand in shock as she trailed along behind Kanda and Marie, blinking slowly.

"…Are you both sure that this is—"

"Yes, Gracia, it's still Sleep." Marie answered before she could finish.

"But wha—"

"Evolution." Kanda grumbled, "Now shut up about it."

Gracia squirmed slightly in her own skin and stared down at 'Sleep,' which was no longer a simple, thick silver ring.

The ring was still there, and where it had always been (on the middle finger of her right hand), but there was now also a thick, silver cuff around her wrist, as well as a fine silver chain that connected the ring to the cuff.

The cuff had no place where it broke or snapped, so Gracia had been unable to take it off when she'd initially seen Sleep's new form and panicked at the unfamiliar new items.

The slave bracelet was heavy and ice cold against her skin, but it never seemed to change the temperature of her hand she so she was always painfully aware of it.

She was also painfully _aware_, in general.

The constant, chilly presence on her hand had her eyes wide open and her reflexes better than ever before, though she was twitchy about the smallest things.

Mentally, though, she was as slow as ever, and the combination of the two was starting to make her very tired.

Marie and Kanda were aware of this, but insisted on pressing on, assuring her that she just needed time to acclimate to her Innocence's new form. Besides that, though neither of them would say it, her two male companions were anxious.

General Tiedoll was close, they were sure of it…

And they were right.

A day and a half outside of Cologne, Kanda suddenly stood a bit straighter and sped up.

Marie and Gracia paused, confused, but then Marie seemed to notice whatever Kanda had and walked after Kanda quickly.

Gracia was still confused and trotted after both of them, and when she saw a figure on the road a short ways ahead of them she realized what they were getting excited about.

"General!" Marie called out, making the person stop and glance back as he popped a bubblegum bubble.

General Froi Tiedoll was exactly as Gracia had remembered him; a bit ratty looking with his worn dress shirt and baggy pants underneath this tattered Exorcist jacket… Quit similar to how she used to be, actually… minus the jacket.

It was his similarities to her that had made her so willing to trust him back then; he'd obviously been on the road a lot, had obviously been through things similar to what she had… He wasn't one of those kindly but ignorant rich people who offered her ways out, not understanding that they were impossible for someone like her.

He had offered her reasonable options, and she'd gone with him… And here she was now a few months later, an Exorcist hunting her General down.

"Ho!" Tiedoll's scruffy face lit up when he saw Marie and Kanda, calling out to them in his light French accent, "It's been a long time! Noise! Yu, my boy! How have you two been?"

Kanda performed a full-body twitch at the use of his name, lowering his head slightly and grinding his teeth. Marie chuckled slightly and set a hand on his shoulder, but it didn't calm him down.

When Gracia caught up and moved up to stand beside the angered Kanda, Tiedoll's smile widened as he walked over to them.

"Gracia!" He wrapped his arms around Kanda and Gracia, pulling them into a tight, comfy hug, "So you made it to Headquarters after all!" He didn't seem to notice Kanda's hand twitching towards Mugen's hilt as he pulled away to hug Marie, next, "What are you three doing all the way out here? Ah, and if you two are here, Maire and Kanda," He pulled back again, looking back down the path with a smile, "Where's Daisya? He's not off tormenting animals again, is he?"

Gracia's happiness at being reunited with the General who had recruited her was suddenly overshadowed, and Kanda's hand fell from Mugen, both of them silent.

Tiedoll blinked, looking up at Marie, "Marie?"

Marie paused, then sighed and set a hand on his General's shoulder, "Sir… you should sit."

Tiedoll started to tear up even before Marie started explaining, the older man apparently having anticipated the news when he saw how grim his 'children' had become when he'd said Daisya's name.

He listened to the full story, though, and by the time it was over he was sobbing.

"Then… Daisya's gone…" He took off his glasses to wipe his eyes, hiccupping, "That's so sad… He used to tease me by breaking my glasses with his Charity Bell," He lowered his head, "He was such a good child."

Under any other circumstances, Gracia might have giggled a bit at that. But by that point she was crying with Tiedoll, albeit silently and without the runny nose.

"His body was sent to the Order yesterday…" Marie informed him gently.

"But his Charity Bell was gone." Kanda took over speaking, "General Tiedoll… please return to the Order with us."

Tiedoll slipped his glasses back on and lifted his head, staring at the three in front of him. "…Daisya was from Bodrum, wasn't he?" He asked suddenly, glancing at Marie.

Marie blinked, thrown by the random question, "Huh? Yes, he was."

Tiedoll nodded and lifted his canvas, picking up his charcoal and starting to sketch, "That's a beautiful city on the Aegean Sea."

Gracia blinked, and beside her Marie and Kanda were silent for a moment.

"General…" Kanda started after a moment, "The enemy is after the Innocence you carry."

"I'm drawing this from memory, so it may not be perfect." Tiedoll mumbled distractedly, his charcoal scraping across the canvas rapidly. He held out the picture after a moment, revealing a simple but beautiful sketch of a city built alongside a bay. The General stood and looked up at the sky, speaking sadly, "Daisya, I'm sorry it's just a drawing, but I'll send your home up to you. Rest in peace."

Gracia watched silently as the General took out a match and lit it, setting a corner of the picture on fire.

"…I'm not going back." Tiedoll murmured as the picture burned in his hands, "We're at war. I'm a general. My mission is important. Furthermore…" He held up his hands, a passing breeze catching the ash of the picture as it burned up completely and carried it skyward, "I need to find new Exorcists. If God hasn't forsaken us, he will send us new apostles."

Beside Gracia, Kanda lowered his head and sighed, shaking it.

Marie glanced down at him blindly, smiling slightly.

"Then we'll come with you…" Kanda muttered, "General Tiedoll."

The General turned to his unit and smiled.

* * *

"So, Gracia," Tiedoll smiled down at her as he walked alongside her, matching her slow pace and making Kanda and Marie ahead of them slow so they didn't leave the lingering two behind, "How's Sleep?"

"Well…" Gracia paused, then sighed softly and lifted her arm, pulling her sleeve back over her hand and showing her General her evolved Innocence.

Tiedoll's eyes widened slightly and he smiled, "Aaah…" He stopped walking and reached out, taking Gracia's wrist gently and holding it up to his face to inspect the slave bracelet. "So, Sleep evolved!"

"I guess…" Gracia mumbled, glancing at the accessory, as well. She still wasn't comfortable with it.

"…I take it it still doesn't feel right?" Tiedoll asked after a moment with a calm smile.

"It's heavy…" Gracia's naturally low voice went even lower, "And it's cold… it's always freezing cold… No matter how long I wear it… it doesn't warm…"

Marie and Kanda blinked slightly. She'd mentioned her body suddenly becoming more awake than her mind, but she'd never mentioned the Innocence causing her physical discomfort…

"That happens." Tiedoll gave her an assuring smile, nodding and letting her hand go, "This is probably going to be Sleep's form from now on, so it assuredly has a higher synchronization rate than before. The greater the power, the greater the burden. But don't worry, your body will get used to it."

"I suppose…" Gracia mumbled, flexing her hand a bit before fixing her sleeve and lowering it to her side again.

"General!" Kanda snapped, "Support unit!"

"Now, Yu-_kun_," Tiedoll tutted, shaking his head at Kanda while purposely using a Japanese honorific, "Use Gracia's name."

Kanda's eye twitched, a little vein on his temple throbbing as he barked, "Just hurry up already! If we stay still for too long the enemy will find us!"

Tiedoll sighed after Kanda, then smiled at Gracia and Marie, "Let's follow Yu, then. If we let him get too far ahead, he might get into trouble."

Gracia smiled, mildly and pleasantly stunned that the General seemed to have no problems using Kanda's first name.

'The General and Kanda must be very close…'

As the group traveled, it quickly became obvious to the three younger Exorcists that Tiedoll had absolutely no destination in mind; he jumped from town to town sporadically, sometimes saying he had one destination in mind only to get distracted by a nearby old tree, abandoned building or butterfly that 'needed' to be sketched.

Except for the sketching, Gracia was strongly reminded of how she used to travel and found the randomness very soothing.

Kanda and Marie had to bodily drag their General away from a field of wildflowers and into town one evening, leaving Gracia to contact Headquarters again to check in.

"_I'll connect you to the Supervisor right away. And Miss Gracia… could you talk to him? He's been very… upset ever since the deceased units were sent back, and there was mention that you managed to cheer him up somewhat during your last call._"

"…There were more than just Daisya?" Gracia asked the operator softly.

"_Six Exorcists and one hundred and forty-two Finders…_" The operator answered, her voice thin and choked with emotion.

"…Oh my God…" Gracia rasped, her hands shaking slightly after the click that followed.

"_This is Komui…_" He sounded terrible, his voice dull and slightly scratchy.

"Komui…" Gracia muttered, not even sure where to start. She'd cheered him up last time? How in the hell had she managed that?

"_Gracia…_" Komui heaved a heavy sigh, his voice skipping slightly after a light choke, "_Thank God…_"

"…I'm fine, Komui…" Gracia said in a low voice, slowly sitting on the floor and drawing her legs up to her chest, "Kanda, Marie and I found General Tiedoll… He's decided not to come back, so we're staying with him."

"_Don't separate from one another for a single moment._" Komui immediately commanded in a firm voice, "_I want your unit to stay close together. I don't want us losing—_" He stopped suddenly, going silent.

"…They died doing what they knew was right, Komui." Gracia whispered, "They died protecting you and the others… We… We should be thanking them and going on with our—" Gracia bit her lip as she gasped, lowering her head as her vision got blurry and wetness trailed down her face, dripping onto her clothes.

"_Gracia, pick up the phone._" Komui rasped.

Gracia immediately reached up and pulled the phone off of the cradle above her, pressing it to her ear and croaking into the mouthpiece, "What's wrong with me…? Why… Why am I crying over this…? I don't… I don't cry… I've never… for as long as I can remember…"

"_You lost someone you cared about._" He told her in a rough voice, "_We all… lost someone… But you're right. They did it protecting us…_" He paused, then muttered, "_But this is no time to get sentimental…_"

Gracia blinked at that. He sounded like he was… "…Komui, don't force yourself…" She murmured, "W-We're not working right now… No one's watching…"

The other end of the line was silent for a moment, then Komui heaved a long, shuddering sigh.

"…I don't know how the Order was run in the past…" Gracia started slowly after a moment, closing her eyes and thinking about everyone back at the Order, "But I've seen how it's run now… W-We're a family, Komui…" She stumbled over her wording slightly, still new to the idea of having people to care for, "And I… I think it's okay to cry… when family dies… Even… Even if you're the head of the family…"

Komui laughed weakly, and Gracia paused.

"…_How do you do that…?_"

"…Do what, Komui?"

"_Say such sad things…_" Komui chuckled slightly, "_Say things it's obviously so awkward for you to talk about because you're still so unused to the idea… But still manage to make me feel better…?_"

"…Maybe I was a psychologist in my previous life?" Gracia blinked, being entirely serious without realizing how funny her blunt answer-in-the-form-of-a-question sounded.

Komui laughed again, a bit harder, and Gracia smiled.

"It does feel very awkward… but I just try hard… because I don't like hearing you sound sad." Gracia mumbled when he'd calmed down a bit, hugging her legs tighter against her chest with one arm, "You aren't the kind of person who should sound sad… You don't wear melancholy well."

"…_Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?_"

Gracia relaxed, happy.

He had a slight smile in his voice.

* * *

"_So, will you be the one calling me next time?_" Komui asked as Gracia's general report wound to a close.

"Eh…?" She blinked, "I dunno… Probably. The General is always busy with some piece of art or another, Kanda doesn't seem too fond of the idea of talking to you, and Marie likes to hang around the General and Kanda to make sure the General doesn't wander off or Kanda doesn't try to kill him…"

"_I see…_" Komui chuckled, "_Well, if one of the others tries to call next time… why don't you volunteer to do it, instead?_"

"…" Gracia blinked again, "Why?"

"…_O-Of course, you d-don't _have_ to._" Komui suddenly started stuttering, pausing and coughing slightly before going on, "_It's just… ah…_" He paused, then finished, "_Your reports… always… take a while… so I can… avoid work for a bit…_" Was it her imagination, or did Komui sound unhappy with his own reply…?

"…Alright, Supervisor." Gracia smiled slightly, "If the opportunity presents itself, I'll make sure I'm the one calling you next time."

"_Alright…_" The smile returned to Komui's voice, "_It's a date, then._"

Gracia blinked.

"…_I-I-I mean a meeting! A rendezvous! A-A—_"

"An engagement…?" Gracia supplied, trying to be helpful but only making Komui stutter more.

"_Supervisor, stop stalling and get back to work!_"

"_Right away, Reever!_" For once, Komui actually sounded happy for the opportunity to get back to work, "_Good luck, Gracia! Stay safe!_"

Click.

Gracia pulled the phone away from her ear and stared down at it, blinking in confusion.

…Men were weird.


	23. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XVII

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"Drow Poison : Sopor!" Gracia called from behind Tiedoll, the massive Akuma above them shuddering before its eyes rolled back into its head and it slowly collapsed.

Tiedoll wrapped his arm around Gracia's waist as the creaking, groaning mass of Akuma flesh and metal skeleton above them fell right towards them, leaping out of the way before setting her down and grabbing his Innocence with both hands, "Art!"

Gracia flinched slightly and ducked down as Tiedoll's great doll, one of the abilities of his Maker of Eden, grew out of a tree that burst up around them, its roots surrounding the two protectively.

"_GRACIA!_"

Gracia jumped straight up with wide eyes when Kanda's commanding voice barked loudly in her ear. It took her a moment to realize the voice had come from her golem, and once she had she ran out of the Maker of Eden's Art form's shadow to find him.

Kanda was some way behind Tiedoll, protecting the General's rear and engaged in battle with two Level 2's and four Level 1's because of it.

Gracia hadn't tried using Sopor on several targets at once, but Confusio was easy.

"Drow Poison : Confusio!"

Two of the Level 1's ganging up on Kanda suddenly lost their coordination and swerved towards one another, both crashing into one of the Level 2's that had been between them.

The other Level 2, which seemed to favor throwing spikes of ice, suddenly found itself unable to keep those ice spikes solid, the ice melting in its hand and the water splashing to the ground every time it grabbed them. The rest of the Level 1's lost their abilities to fire Blood Bullets and spun around at dizzying speeds.

The odds now shifted drastically in his favor, Kanda zipped through the Akuma in a blur and came to an abrupt halt on the other side, the Akuma breaking down into pieces before exploding a moment later.

Gracia turned quickly and searched for Marie, her eyes widening slightly when she saw his wires wrapped around a huge Akuma while a Level 1 snuck up behind him.

"Drow Poison : Sopor!"

The Level 1 let out a metallic groan and collapsed.

By the time Marie turned to it, the huge Akuma behind him now broken own into sections and falling to the ground heavily, the fallen Level 1 had veins of silver snaking out across its body before the skin in between the silver veins turned silver, as well.

The Level 1 then burst into a fine powder.

Gracia blinked, stunned, but to her left the huge Akuma she had cast Sopor on was also turning silver, albeit at a much slower pace.

The Maker of Eden's Art form punched the huge Akuma through its head, and the entire Akuma burst into a silvery cloud.

In seconds the countryside went from a clamorous battlefield to being almost completely silent, save the strained panting of the Exorcists and the sounds of Anti-Akuma Weapons being deactivated.

"It seems Sopor does more than just render Akuma unconscious." Tiedoll smiled as he, Marie and Kanda walked towards Gracia, who had been sticking to the center of their formation so she could support all of them, "It also purifies them with its chemical poison when they start to awaken."

"…Is that so…" Gracia mumbled, Sleep going from hot to ice-cold as it deactivated.

"That is what I would conclude, yes." Tiedoll nodded, "The only two Akuma you cast Sopor on died in the exact same way. Confusio just disoriented them and kept them from using their base and special abilities."

Gracia sighed softly and ran a hand through her hair, passively grateful someone was studying her new abilities. The specifics of Sleep were getting too complicated for her exhausted mind to follow…

As she looked around at the fields she hadn't previously gotten a chance to study, Gracia was hit with a wave of something she hadn't felt often…

…Nostalgia.

She… recognized this area… Though she was sure she hadn't traveled through it before.

But something about the unique shape of the mountains… the small clumps of trees… the fields of tall, alternating colored green and gold fields of grass… and the beginnings of the town a ways off to her right, towards the mountains…

Gracia recognized it all from somewhere.

It… prodded at something deep in her mind… Something deep down beyond her usual inability to remember. Something… underneath Sleep…

"…Gracia?" Marie frowned, "Your heart rate is slower than usual…"

"…That's not good…" Gracia muttered, rubbing her forehead, closing her eyes and running her fingers through her bangs. She suddenly found it hard to breathe…

"No, it's not…" Tiedoll agreed slowly. "…Gracia, you're swaying."

Gasping at that point, Gracia pressed her hand to her chest, painful pinches starting underneath her left breast, the right side of her ribs, her sternum, then spreading out along her ribs. "C-Can't… air…!"

She closed her eyes as the world started tipping, and when she managed to peel them open again Tiedoll and Marie were hovering over her, their mouths moving but no sounds coming out.

Gracia closed her eyes once more, the sun overhead burning brightly against her eyelids and making her see red and her ears plugging up so she could hear her own struggling breathing and her slow, slow heartbeat, scratching and thumping in her head.

The pain in her chest became too great, the world got cold, she couldn't even feel Sleep anymore…

Gracia passed out.

* * *

Kanda pushed his way roughly though the loiterers and staff of the small, countryside hospital, Tiedoll apologizing quickly to everyone Kanda shoved and Marie bringing up the rear with an unconscious, gasping and ashen Gracia.

As soon as one of the doctors saw her, he grabbed Marie by the elbow and directed him towards the emergency room quickly.

"Put her on the bed now!" The doctor commanded seriously, stepping up when Marie set Gracia down and slipping the buds of his stethoscope into his ears. "Nurse, get these people out of the room."

"Like hell." Kanda growled darkly, throwing a young nurse who stepped towards them a withering glare and making her step back and swallow.

"No, Yu, we'll step out." Tiedoll muttered, setting a hand on Kanda's back and directing him over to the door.

Before they made it, the door burst open and an elderly woman wearing a long, white dress, pinafore and a nurses cap rushed in, "Rachelle told me—" The woman's eyes widened when she saw Gracia, "Lady Gracia!"

The Tiedoll unit froze at that, turning and watching as the older woman flew across the room and pushed the doctor aside, cupping Gracia's face with her liver spotted hands.

"You know this patient, Nurse Runge?" The young doctor asked with a frown.

"She was my patient when I worked in her family's house." The old woman explained quickly, looking at him and crying out frantically, "I need three milligrams of atropine immediately!"

The doctor nodded and ran over to one of the glass cabinets in the room as Nurse Runge turned her attention back to Gracia.

"Gracia, sweetheart, can you hear me?" When Gracia's eyes fluttered and she gasped again, the nurse nodded, "Okay, just hold on a minute, alright? We'll give you your dose of atropine and start working on your breathing exercises."

"Bradycardia?" The doctor asked as he walked back over to the nurse, a syringe in his hand partially filled with a clear liquid.

"She's suffered from it since she was young." The nurse muttered, taking the syringe and popping the cap off, "Her jacket, Doctor, and hold off at her elbow."

The doctor nodded and ran around to the other side of the table, easing Gracia up into his arms and quickly shedding her jacket. He then rolled the sleeve of her right arm up, both medical technicians pausing to stare at Sleep before they went back to work, the doctor grabbing her arm at the elbow and pressing his thumb down deep into the soft skin of her underarm.

The Tiedoll unit watched silently as Nurse Runge quickly slid the needle underneath Gracia's skin and into an obvious blue vein, pulled back the plunger slightly to let blood flow into the syringe, then slowly pressed down as the doctor gently released pressure on Gracia's elbow.

The drug acted quickly, and soon Gracia's eyes snapped open and her breathing changed.

Once the liquid in the syringe was gone, the nurse set it aside quickly and cupped Gracia's face in her hands again while the doctor pressed his thumb onto the bead of blood that formed on her arm at the injection site.

"It's okay, Gracia…" The nurse nodded, smiling down at her gently, "Now, breathe in time with me."

Gracia stared up at the elderly woman with glassy eyes as she started breathing with her mouth open. After a moment, Gracia synchronized her breathing with the nurse's, her tense body slowly relaxing and a bit of color coming back to her face.

The doctor slowly, gently set Gracia back down, and Nurse Runge kept her eyes locked with Gracia's as they continue breathing together.

After watching for a moment to make sure everything was under control, the doctor walked around the table and waved the other nurse, who was still terrified of Kanda, off as he nodded to the Tiedoll unit, "Let's step outside and let Nurse Runge do her job."

* * *

"Bradycardia?" Tiedoll frowned.

"It's a type of cardiac dysrhythmia." The doctor explained, elaborating further when Kanda scowled at him, "It's a heart condition. When people, at any point in time, have a heart rate of less than sixty beats per minute, they're said to have bradycardia, though symptoms usually only manifest when the heart rate gets lower than fifty beats per minute. Bradycardia attacks can happen to anyone, sometimes sporadically in otherwise perfectly healthy adults, sometimes chronically in individuals with health problems. Judging from Nurse Runge's words, Miss Gracia's case seems to be the latter."

"Is there nothing you can do for it?" Marie asked.

"…There is no permanent cure for bradycardia." The doctor shook his head, "It's not an illness I can treat or a defunct organ I can remove. It's a problem with the electrical conduction system of the heart. It can, however, be controlled with drugs."

"And would you diagnose her as needing these drugs?" Tiedoll asked.

"I would have to speak with Nurse Runge for a better idea of Miss Gracia's medical history." The doctor danced around giving a definite answer, "If you'll stay here for a moment, I'll go speak to her."

Kanda waited until the doctor left the room to growl, "Why in the hell didn't someone at Headquarters notice this?"

"Now, Kanda…" Tiedoll murmured, "It seems like this isn't something you can do blood tests for. If the symptoms never arose, they had no way of knowing."

Kanda looked away, sneering.

Marie sighed, shaking his head.

The door opened again after a moment and the elderly Nurse Runge walked in, taking a seat and staring at the three seriously.

"I have many, many questions for you." She said seriously, speaking directly to Tiedoll, "And you three will not be leaving with Lady Gracia until they are answered, or I will call the authorities."

Tiedoll blinked, then smiled and held up his hands, "Ma'am, there's no need to do that; there must be some misundersta—"

"Lady Gracia Amberley Solidor has been missing for four years." Nurse Runge hissed, her eyes narrowing, "I served her family for ten years taking care of her and practically raised that child. I will not accept excuses."

"…Very well, then." Tiedoll nodded, "Four months ago I found Gracia wandering the streets of Hambleton, North Yorkshire. She had absolutely no memory of her past but was in possession of something that was of great interest to the Roman Catholic Church, so I sent her to one of our branches. There, she agreed to join our cause, and has been working for us ever since. I cannot tell you what happened to her after her 'disappearance' up until that day four months ago, but I can tell you that since then she has slowly been recovering from severe mental degradation and, up until this point, has been in monumentally better shape that the state she was in when I found her."

Nurse Runge stared at Tiedoll evenly for some time, and Kanda and Marie were completely silent as the two old people stared one another down.

"…I believe you, Father." Nurse Runge murmured after a moment, "But… did you mention… memory loss?"

"Near complete memory loss." Tiedoll nodded, "As well as questionable short-term memory. Now, will you tell us more about Gracia? Having to work with a blank slate has made paperwork quite difficult."

"…Miss Gracia is the only child of the current matriarchal head of House Solidor." Nurse Runge answered after a moment, "Her family had a house just outside of town where they lived for the first ten years of Miss Gracia's life before they moved elsewhere. I have heard little about her since then, save the incident four years ago when agents sent by her family came to question me in regards to her whereabouts."

"And how old is she now?"

"Twenty-nine."

"I have a few more questions…"

Nurse Runge nodded, "If she will be traveling with you, I will answer, if only so you may take care of her. And I have more questions for you, as well."

* * *

"I see…" The old woman sighed, rubbing her forehead, "So, once she started to recognize the area, she went into respiratory distress and her bradycardia acted up… Something must have happened to her that caused her to forget everything."

"And remembering causes her great mental and physical distress…" Tiedoll murmured, "Borderline life threatening…"

"…This changes things." Nurse Runge stood, bowing, "I appreciate the care you gave Lady Gracia, but I must ask that you not tell her what you have learned about her today."

"We'll report to our superiors before anything like that occurs." Tiedoll nodded.

The nurse nodded back, "Very well…" She paused, then walked over to a sink, counter and cabinet compound on the side of the room and opened the cabinet, shifting through things. She pulled out a small, orange bag a moment later, then turned to Tiedoll and stepped over, holding it out, "These are atropine autoinjectors. Should this happen again, pop the cap off, press the tip to the inside of her elbow, and press the button on the other end to release the needle and the dosage."

"We will." Tiedoll nodded, taking the orange bag and slipping it into his pocket.

"Good…" Nurse Runge nodded, "Lady Gracia should be awake. I'll take you to her."

* * *

"Myrna…" Gracia smiled at the elderly nurse as soon as she walked through the door.

Nurse Runge paused, then hurried over to Gracia's side and embraced her as the Exorcist sat up.

Kanda and Marie waited outside of the room while Tiedoll stepped in, smiling.

"You… remember me?" Nurse Runge asked carefully, pulling back after a moment and looking down at Gracia.

"…I know your name." Gracia smiled slowly, "And I know I feel happy seeing you again… That's enough."

"…Yes." Nurse Runge smiled after a moment, tearing slightly, "Yes, it is."

Gracia's smile widened and she hugged the nurse again.

Even though she'd never much cared for remembering her past… Gracia didn't mind being reunited with this part of it.

* * *

_(Quick Latin lesson:_

_Confusio: Noun_

_cōnfūsiō (genitive cōnfūsiōnis); f, third declension_

_1. mingling, mixing, blending; mixture, union_

_2. **confounding, confusion, disorder**_

_3. trouble_

_Sopor: Noun_

_sopor (genitive sopōris); m, third declension_

_1. **A deep sleep, sopor; sleep (in general); catalepsy.**_

_2. The sleep of death; death._

_3. (figuratively) Stupefaction; lethargy, stupor; drowsiness_

_4. (figuratively) Laziness, indifference._

_5. (figuratively) Opium._

_6. (figuratively) A sleeping potion or draught; opiate._

_7. (figuratively) The temple (of the head)._

_More to come…)_


	24. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XVIII

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"_Supervisor, you have a call from the Tiedoll unit._"

Komui jumped slightly in his seat, staring at the phone with sleepy, slightly bloodshot eyes, then scrambled to weave through the stacks of papers on his desk and grabbed the handset, picking it up and pulling it over to himself while slapping his other hand over the mouthpiece.

He paused before lifting it to his ear, squirming slightly in his seat and feeling slightly anxious.

Would Gracia really be on the other end?

Would this be a more personal and less professional conversation?

Why had he asked her to call?

…Why was his face warm? !

Komui took a few breaths, then pressed the phone to his ear with a wide smile on his face, "Komui here!"

"_Aaah, hello, Komui!_"

"Ah… General Tiedoll?" Komui deflated, accidentally letting his voice relay his disappointment.

"_I'm sorry, Supervisor_." Tiedoll chuckled amusedly, "_Were you expecting someone else?_"

"No." Yes. "Did something happen? It hasn't been long since I last received a report from your team…"

"_Actually, yes, something did happen._" Tiedoll's voice turned slightly grave, "_You'll need Gracia's file… We found someone who knows her real identity._"

Komui's mouth dried, but he automatically found himself spinning around and skimming through the books and binders behind himself, finally finding the binder he wanted after a few tense moments.

After pulling the binder down, he turned back to his desk and flipped it open, turning to Gracia's file and picking up a pen.

"Go ahead…"

"_Gracia Amberley Solidor._"

Komui's fingers twitched, "…Can you spell that?" Why did he know the name 'Solidor'?

Tiedoll spelled it for him, then went on, "_Age twenty-nine, blood type O negative, born September seventh, father Silas Solidor, deceased, mother Mathilda Solidor, current head of the Solidor House—_"

"Solidor 'house'?" Komui asked, quirking a brow.

"Yes. Apparently the Solidor family is nobility."

Now Komui was even more convinced that he'd heard the name 'Solidor' before. "I see… Go on."

"_Current medical complications; bradycardia._"

Komui tensed slightly, "…Do I even want to know why that came up?"

"_She had a panic attack when she recognized the area we were in, her heart rated dropped dramatically and we had to rush her to the hospital. We were found by a nurse who used to work for her family as her caregiver, and she had Gracia stabilized in moments._"

"…I see…" Komui murmured, staring down at the file in front of him, "…How is she now?"

"_Resting._" Tiedoll assured calmly, "_She was born in Cologne, Germany, but she's a citizen of Britain, even though she spent the first ten years of her life in the country town we're currently in. Though she was never officially reported missing, four years ago her family sent agents here to question her nursemaid and search for her._"

"I suppose we'll have to contact them, then…" Komui muttered, frowning slightly as he wrote, "Though should we…? Personal information is not supposed to be released after induction into the Order, and even if she's been missing for four years, Gracia was twenty-five at the time, and she joined us well into her legal adult years…"

"_I can't help you much there, Komui._" Tiedoll sighed, "_You would have to talk to someone in Central about that._"

Komui sighed heavily, setting his pen down and pinching the bridge of his nose, "There's a phone call I'd like to avoid making… Still, you're right…"

"…_Have you heard from Winters, Klaud and Cross?_" Tiedoll asked, changing the subject.

"Generals Socalo an Nine are already here." Komui answered, "As for Cross Marian…" Komui's eyebrow twitched and he couldn't keep the slight edge out of his tone.

"_He still hasn't returned._" Tiedoll chuckled.

"No…" Komui adjusted his glasses, huffing slightly, "And now he has his unit gallivanting across Asia to find him."

"_Ah._" Tiedoll chuckled again, "_So, Lenalee is with them._"

"…Eh?"

"_You wouldn't care as much about how far his unit would have to chase him if she weren't_."

Komui huffed and pouted.

"_So, you said they were headed towards Asia? Do you suppose they'll stop by Asian Branch…?_"

"I don't know." Komui sighed, "It's been a while since I heard from them."

"…_You don't suppose Cross is in Japan…?_"

The thought had crossed Komui's mind once or twice, but hearing someone else suggest it made him tense.

Japan was an isolate country; they didn't trade often with outside countries, they didn't make treaties or, at points, even communicate with the outside world… _Sakoku_, they called it.

'Locked country.'

Foreigners could not enter and then leave without fear of a death penalty.

Attempts to end Japan's seclusion when the Earl had resurged… had not come soon enough.

Because of that, the country was fraught with Akuma and God knew what else.

If Cross really _was_ there, then is unit…

…Would no doubt go after him.

Komui sighed heavily. That was just the kind of group of children they were… Stubborn, determined and loyal. They had orders, and they'd follow through with them, no matter what.

"_Then I suppose I'll just have to go after Cross and his unit._"

"…What? !" Komui squeaked, snapping out of his thoughts to lean forward in his seat, "No, no, no, General Tiedoll, you are _not_ to go to Japan! You are to come back to Headquarters _immediately_!"

"_My apologies, Komui, but I cannot._" Tiedoll said with a smile in his voice, not sounding very sorry at all, "_I have a duty to find and protect Accommodators. I've been needing a reason to cross Eurasia, and this is it._"

"General Tiedoll!"

"_My team and I will contact you again when we reach Asian Branch._"

"Froi—"

Click.

Komui sat there in stunned silence, then pulled the phone away from his ear and stared down at it, his mouth going dry.

Again.

He was losing control of the situation again.

Again, he was losing Exorcists.

Komui hung the phone up and lowered his head, his beret falling to the floor as he clutched at his hair.

…Screw it if Reever killed him later; he needed a nap.

* * *

"Asian Branch?" Gracia blinked.

"Yes." Tiedoll nodded, smiling at his 'children' fondly as they sat around him in their hotel room, listening to the briefing of their new mission, "General Cross' unit is on their way to a very dangerous location in Asia to retrieve him, and we will be following to provide backup support, least dragging him back bodily prove too much for them to handle alone."

"General, I must protest…" Marie started.

"It's stupid." Kanda grumbled, "We're only in Poland. From here to China, it's…" Kanda trailed off.

"About eight thousand kilometers…" Gracia filled in softly.

"Eight thousand kilometers." Kanda finished in his angry growl, immediately after Gracia finished speaking. He then twitched and threw her a wide-eyed look, a deep scowl setting on his face when she nodded in confirmation.

"I know none of you will agree with my decision," Tiedoll said seriously, "But I know this is something that must be done. Something… colossal is approaching…" He sighed softly, "If you wish to head ba—"

"Don't even start with that, Old Man." Kanda snarled, standing quickly and gripping Mugen's hilt tightly, making its tie strain against his side, "We said we're gong with you. Woman, we're securing the perimeter before we head out."

Gracia stood slowly but promptly, obeying Kanda's not so subtle command and following him out the door.

Tiedoll smiled after them happily, "It's so good to see Yu developing his social skills."

Marie shook his head, chuckling.

* * *

Kanda glanced at Gracia out of the corner of his eye as they wandered the streets of the small Polish town they were in, his face blank as she looked around the city with a vacant stare.

Screw the smile on her face; she was always smiling, and he knew it didn't mean anything.

Her eyes held less emotion than usual, which was a feat considering she was usually in too much of a sleep-drunken stupor to register too much of anything.

What could be the harm, he wondered, in telling her the truth?

If she became useless every time they ran into something that reminded her of a past she'd sooner forget, why not just make her completely useless right now and have her get over it?

Letting her hide in some Innocence-empowered delusion just seemed stupid.

Besides, the repercussions were nothing some drug couldn't take care of.

Frankly, though… he didn't care what she was trying to hide from, or what medical complications would arise from making her remember. If she passed out, like she had earlier when she'd recognized the area they were in, in the middle of a battle…?

No. Kanda wouldn't stand for that kind of shit from a support unit he found he could actually use.

…Briefly, Kanda's own skeletons flashed though his mind and he twitched.

…He had his own past he'd sooner forget, he supposed. He didn't know what hers was, but… Gracia didn't strike him as a weak person. Maybe a spineless one who didn't know how to stand up to people, but certainly not weak.

Where others argued with him to the point of ineffectiveness, she bent in response to his anger and didn't break, and she did what she had to on the battlefield.

Whatever happened in her past… it must have been bad.

Kanda looked ahead as he and Gracia walked through the small town slowly.

Bad enough for her Innocence to wipe her mind blank, and actively continue to wipe it blank every time she got too close to remembering.

And if he were in that kind of situation and someone made him remember against his will… he'd be pissed.

And so Kanda was back to the situation being none of his damned business.

As with others, if she fell behind because of her own problems, he'd leave her. Yeah, it would be a pain in the ass if he'd built an offense around her defense for that particular battle, but he'd stuck it out through worse.

Besides, it wasn't like he actually needed her; she was just convenient.

He didn't need anyone.

Kanda twitched slightly when a familiar warmth brushed across his consciousness, his eyes flickering over to Gracia and narrowing in annoyance when he found her dull gray gaze already turned on him.

"Sorry…" She muttered halfheartedly, "I can practically feel your anger, and Sleep's recognizing it from before… Can't really hold it back."

Remembering immediately what "from before" alluded to, Kanda pursed his lips and glared ahead again, but allowed his mind to go blank and his anger to deflate. The last thing he wanted was to pass out and fall on her again…

And so, the usually angry shell of an aura Kanda released constantly around himself to keep others away was softened for one person.

…But only because he didn't want to use her goddamned chest as pillow again.

"Kanda, are you okay? Your face is red…"

"Shut up!"


	25. REM Cycle: Record Tainted, AudioBleed

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"What is this… feeling…?" Gracia rasped, her chest tight and the air painful to breathe.

Beside her, Kanda gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on the hilt of Mugen.

"Kanda, Marie, Gracia, hold your positions…" Tiedoll said calmly, "It's nighttime… People will be sleeping in the buildings around us."

"Don't worry about him unless he attacks…" Marie murmured from behind them, "We're surrounded by Akuma…"

Gracia swallowed harshly, forcing herself to turn away from the hulking figure in the alley and stand a bit closer to Kanda as he drew his sword.

All throughout their fight, the man in the shadows in the alley just stood there, watching, barely moving.

And then, when the fight was over, he disappeared.

Gracia stared at the now empty alley as Kanda and Marie went around making sure they hadn't missed any Akuma, Tiedoll behind her working on a sketch he'd been starting before they'd been attacked.

"…The Akuma didn't attack him." Gracia mumbled slowly, "He… left of his own accord…"

"Hmm…" Tiedoll hummed, his charcoal scraping gently across the canvas hanging from his neck, "I suspect he was a Noah. It would be unusual for an Akuma to stand by and scout the situation while its fellows fought… And I think we're a tad overdue for meeting up with a member of the Noah Family."

"But he left…" Gracia shifted slightly, grabbing Sleep's bracelet and fiddling with it, "When he should be hunting you… So… he'll be back…"

"Without a doubt. He's probably still here somewhere, lurking."

"…We should leave, then." Gracia mumbled, turning to her General and tugging at his sleeve. She didn't like the way the air around that person had felt. It had… hurt to breathe… she had almost felt something… sparking in her lungs.

"Yes…" Tiedoll murmured distractedly, charcoal scraping a bit more against canvas as Kanda and Marie walked back over.

The two males stared at their General silently, Gracia still holding onto Tiedoll's sleeve, and all three of the students moved to follow when the General turned his attention away from his art and started walking.

Outside of the town, the air got painful again and Gracia twitched, stopping and glancing back.

Kanda noticed she had before Marie and Tiedoll and glanced back, as well, tensing and narrowing his eyes when he saw what she had noticed; that same hulking figure with slouched shoulders standing on the main street, staring and watching them walk away.

Snarling, Kanda grabbed Gracia's wrist and jerked her back into walking, ignoring her when she nearly tripped over her own feet trying to keep up as he stormed up behind Tiedoll and gave the man a shove between his shoulder blades.

Used to Kanda's brusque nature, Tiedoll simply glanced back and took note of the figure before he complied and sped up, shaking his head and smiling slightly when Kanda stormed past him, the younger Exorcist still dragging Gracia.

Kanda seemed to have silently elected his decisions to be the ones the group would be following, because when they next passed a town, he marched right by it.

When Gracia, who he had long let go of and had drifted apart from, automatically started to veer towards the settlement, dazed, confused and almost asleep on her feet from walking all night, she jumped and actually shrieked when someone grabbed her by the back of her jacket, their nails actually digging into her skin and making dull lines of pain, she didn't have time to turn before she was being dragged away from the town.

"We're not stopping." Kanda growled harshly next to her head before he abruptly let her go, going back to leading the group at his angry pace.

And that was how Gracia all too soon found herself practically dead on her feet, Kanda setting a breakneck pace with General Tiedoll occasionally calling out to him to alter his course.

And unlike her teammates, Gracia couldn't keep up.

The first night without sleep found her nodding off as she walked.

The fourth night? Her eyes were open, and she was staring ahead, but the bags underneath her eyes were heavy, the gray of her irises were indistinguishable from whatever sickly color her sclera had turned, and Marie was a constant presence at her side, Tiedoll right behind her.

The General was hardly able to focus on his sketching…

Of course, this paled in comparison to Gracia; Gracia's ability to focus was completely shot. She'd been staring at Kanda's back for so long that even if her eyes drifted away, his silhouette was still burned in her retinas, as if she'd stared at the sun or a computer screen for too long.

And Kanda was the only thing she was able to focus on; her other senses had long since dulled, stubbornly refusing to stay awake with her. She didn't even respond anymore when Kanda threatened her life if she didn't speed up… so Kanda had just stopped trying.

They managed to avoid Akuma like this, but on the fifth night… Well… Such vicious cycles can't last forever.

Having been expecting it, Marie turned on Gracia the instant her body crumpled, catching her quickly and carefully easing her to the ground.

"Yu, we're taking a break." Tiedoll said with such finality Kanda twitched to a stop, then reluctantly set his suitcase down and unclipped Mugen from his side, taking a seat on a nearby rock as Marie carefully lifted Gracia and moved her off of the road to lie on the grass.

Tiedoll nodded at his 'children,' then walked over to the other side of the road and sat, staring off into the picturesque, star-strewn night sky in the distance as he blindly but skillfully started sketching.

Marie sighed softly, then turned his attention to Gracia with a frown, carefully nudging her onto her back and easing her duffel bag under her head. He pushed her hair aside and looked her over, pressing a hand to her forehead and frowning.

Her temperature was low and she was coated in a cold sweat…

Still, she had a low heart rate, so she certainly had poor circulation… Rest would likely see her back on her feet.

Marie sighed, then sat back and closed his eyes, focusing on the sounds of the world around them.

Unfortunately, even though they had been walking nonstop the past week, it wasn't long before Marie was tensing, muttering loudly, "Akuma machinery…"

Kanda was behind the older Exorcist in a flash, Mugen drawn as he ran his fingers across the flat of the blade to activate it.

Tiedoll sighed, pushing his canvas aside as he stood and reached into his worn jacket, grabbing the pieces of his Innocence and pulling them out calmly as he walked over to his 'children.' A thick band of light formed and danced around him.

"I don't suppose Gracia can be woken…?" The General asked as he, Marie and Kanda surrounded the still unconscious female.

"She can hardly be woken when she sleeps regularly…" Marie sighed as Akuma began to meld out of the night, "She may as well be comatose at the moment…"

Tiedoll sighed softly, then muttered "Art" as the Akuma surged.

* * *

"_Your friends will be coming by this afternoon, so you should freshen up… Your new cosmetics arrived today; you'll find them in your bathroom."_

_A hint._

"_Thank you…" She murmured, keeping her eyes locked on the blankets laid across her lap._

_A rustle of clothes, then a hand cupped her jaw gently and tipped her head up, thin but soft lips pressing to hers._

_She tensed slightly from her lower back down but kissed back, her eyes darting to the side and focusing on something else. Their room had such lovely carpeting…_

_He pulled back, pausing slightly, then kissed her forehead before walking over to his closet and disappearing inside._

_Gracia glanced after him, then pushed the blankets aside and stood, brushing her nightgown until it hung straight and shuffling to the bathroom quickly. As he had said, new cosmetics lined either side of her sink, and she inspected them to make sure they would do the job._

_Gracia then looked at her reflection to find what would need work._

_Right cheek, left temple, chin, a small section on her neck…_

_She began mixing foundations to make a slightly darker palette. She then began to coat her skin to make sure everything was the same color._

_It was difficult, but she managed to blend the shades without making her skin look much darker than usual._

_Applying make-up was one of the few things she was genuinely good at; her mother had approved of her taking as much time as she needed to practice, and for propriety's sake she never had anyone hovering over her, so she'd gotten good at it to avoid being around people._

_As she worked, the process calming, she felt her spirits lift._

_She would have company today…_

_True, they were only 'friends' because they were the only women it was 'appropriate' for her to consort with, but she hadn't seen anyone other her husband and their servants since she had moved in; she was looking forward to the visit._

_After she had finished disguising the newly obtained discolorations to her skin, she quickly shuffled back into her room where a maid was waiting to help her dress, **** already gone._

_Corset drawn tight, greenish-gray satin covering her skin, shoes strapped into place, a bit of lip stain and it was already noon._

"_Rhea… Lulu…"_

"_Gracia, darling!"_

"_Hello…"_

_Hugs, greetings, and Gracia retreated with the two females to the drawing room._

_A giggle. "How are you enjoying married life?"_

"_Ah… it's very… enjoyable…"_

"_I can tell… Hehe, why are you wearing all of that make up? To cover the marks of passion?"_

_She felt her face heat. "R-Rhea!"_

"_Now, Rhea, don't tease Gracia. You'll only make her ill."_

"_Th-Thank you, Lulu, but you don't have to worry about me… I've… been doing much better."_

"_I'm sure, dear, but you still don't look well. You still have your medicine nearby, correct?"_

_She blushed and lowered her eyes as the woman, Lulu, reached out and cupped her jaw gently._

_And then, Lulu's eyes flashed gold when Gracia flinched._

_She blinked, then shook her head slightly. A trick of the light…_

"_Of course, Lulu. Please, don't worry about me… **** has been taking good care of me."_

"_He had best be…" Lulu murmured, drawing back._

"_Ah, Lulu, Gracia, would you mind excusing me? I need to visit the powder room."_

_Gracia smiled slightly after Rhea, avoiding meeting Lulu's now searching eyes._

"_How did you get hurt, Gracia?"_

"_I… slipped… while adjusting my harp the other day…"_

_A pause, then a sigh._

"_Really, Gracia, you know you have no gift for the harp. You only hurt yourself when you try; stick to the piano."_

"_But… Mother—"_

"_You're a grown and married woman now. Your mother has no right to tell you what to do, especially not under your own roof and when it causes you harm."_

_She had always looked up to Lulu… The woman was so strong-willed._

"_You have to stay healthy, Gracia… You're so frail."_

A sudden banging.

_Gracia jolted slightly, but Lulu didn't seem to notice it._

"_Y-Yes… I know…"_

Another banging.

She felt like her closed eyelids were flickering, but… they weren't closed, were they?

_This time, even Lulu seemed to notice the noise. She glanced towards the stairs when Gracia did, both blinking when there was what sounded like a muffled and then quickly stifled giggle._

More banging, and shouts.

Who in the hell was shouting?

"_Gracia… Will you show me around the gardens? Rhea will just have to find us when she's… done."_

"_Ah… Yes… Right this way, Lulu."_

The jarring sound of something crashing, and Gracia found herself somehow irritated.

"_Aah… Lulu… how are things at your home?"_

"_Well. The Ea—"_

* * *

Gracia's eyes snapped open when something exploded right over her head, bits and pieces of debris raining down on her.

And now… she was pissed.

To hell with never having remembered actually ever being pissed; she knew she was, and she was damned well going to do something about it.

Her previously numb body suddenly awake, alive, flooding with sensation, Gracia pushed herself to her feet without stumbling, turning slowly and looking out across the moonlit, grassy field with narrowed and twitching eyes.

Tiedoll, Marie and Kanda were fighting Akuma.

"…Who in the hell fights at this ungodly hour?" She growled, slowly starting to become uncharacteristically _furious_.

Who in the hell _fights_ when they should be _sleeping_? !

Rational? No.

But Gracia was exhausted and angry; she didn't much care for being rational.

Movement to her immediate right caught her attention, and she glanced over slowly, glaring harshly at the tall, grotesquely humanoid creature that was staring at her, its masked, black head tipped in curiosity.

"Finally awake? Good. Time to join in the FUN." The Akuma lunged at her.

"Gracia!"

In no mood, Gracia only narrowed her eyes and growled dangerously, "You. Woke. Me. Up."

A strong, hot pulse ran through the air and the Akuma in front of her, a Level 3, froze. In a fifty-foot radius around her, the rest of the Akuma froze right after it, their heads lolling forward and their eyes closing.

The rest of the Tiedoll unit paused when they noticed the Akuma they had been fighting fell asleep, Kanda being the first to glance over at Gracia and blink slowly. She was… angry? She could actually _get_ angry?

Gracia walked over to the Level 3 slowly and pressed her right hand to its forehead, growling, "_No one_ interrupts my nap."

An icy finger of intimidation crept down the spines of the rest of the Tiedoll unit in what would have, in any other setting, been an amusing situation. Gracia wasn't pulling off looking exhausted and furious well, and it would have been cause for humor during the day… but it was nighttime, and the shadows playing across her face and the deep, bruise-colored bags under her eyes made her look eerie.

Words came to Gracia's mind, and she immediately grabbed at them.

Around her wrist and finger, Sleep went from icy cold to hot in an instant, the silver flashing brightly.

"Drow Poison : Alucinari."

Beneath her Innocence-laced hand, the Level 3 twitched, its many small, beady eyes starting to flicker back and forth underneath thin lids.

In the next moment, it had flashed away from her and was burying its fist in the gut of another Akuma, this one a Level 2. The Level 3 was screaming in fear as its fist burst out the other side of the Level 2's abdomen, and even as the Level 2 started to break apart, the Level 3 was moving on and tearing the next Akuma it came across in half.

Kanda watched with a quirked brow, his grip on Mugen relaxing slightly as the Level 3 continued tearing through its fellow Akuma, Gracia lying back down as it did.

"Honestly, waking people up… So fucking rude." She curled up tightly, nuzzling her duffel bag and hugging her coat around herself tightly.

By the time the Level 3 was done shredding the other Akuma, Gracia was already asleep again, and Marie, Kanda and Tiedoll had their Anti-Akuma Weapons deactivated.

The three males watched silently as the Level 3 grabbed its head and threw itself back and forth, stumbling and screaming. It then turned silver from where Gracia had touched it on its head and down through its body, and once it was completely consumed it burst into a fine silver powder.

Silence settled over the area.

"…What the fuck was that?" Kanda asked calmly after a pause.

"…Alucinari. Present active infinitive of 'alucinor,' the origin of the word 'hallucinate'." Tiedoll answered slowly, thinking, "In its original Latin form, it's another word for 'dream'." The General paused, then smiled, "I believe she just killed the Akuma with a nightmare."

"…Yes, I think we'll be letting her have her nap, now." Marie sighed, "The prospects of her new ability aren't entirely… pleasant, and it seems Gracia does, indeed, have a finite number of straws that can be pulled before she gets angry."

Kanda twitched, not about to argue as he walked over with Tiedoll and Marie and sat.

She'd said once before that Sleep didn't control subconscious actions… and she'd been right then.

Now, however, she could control subconscious actions. And now she could get angry. And now she controlled subconscious actions while she was angry.

'…Son of a bitch.'

* * *

One. Two. Three. Four.

One. Two. Three. Four.

One… Two… Three… Four…

Which one did he pick? Which one, which one…

The one with the sword was under the impression he could fight, the one with the wires, frankly, seemed a tad boring, the one that could summon giant dolls _was_ a general, so he would likely prove to be entertaining, and the one that… put things to sleep…

He couldn't decide.

Which one did he want to fight first?

Which one did he want to kill first?

Why did humans make decisions so difficult?

…He needed a goddamned lollypop.

* * *

_(Quick Latin lesson part 2:_

_Alucinari: Verb_

_ālūcinārī_

_present active infinitive of ālūcinor_

_Alucinor: Verb_

_present active ālūcinor, present infinitive ālūcinārī, perfect active ālūcinātus sum. (deponent)_

_The stem alucin- can also be written allucin- or hallucin-. Hence the modern English hallucinate / hallucination._

_1. **wander in mind, talk idly, prate, dream.**_

_XD Alright, so EmpressSaix's review yesterday was too funny to pass up… Here's just part of it:_

_"__Poor Komui, his life is becoming so stressful. Hopefully Gracia can help with __that (not in the sense your thinking of!)."_

_Do I come off as perverted? Well… I probably do, considering my mental process went something like this:_

_"Daw… Do people really think I'm perverted? Well… maybe EmpressSaix has read some of my more mature stories… Wait… How _would_ Gracia relieve Komui's stress in 'the sense I'm thinking of' when he's in England and she's in Poland? I mean, the only way they've been communicating is by pho— …Oh dear lord… PHONE SMEX!"_

_XDD So, yes… It seems I am perverted.)_


	26. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XIX

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

A now happily, sleepily refreshed Gracia shuffled along the road, dragging her feet slightly as her hands sat heavily in her pockets and her shoulders slumped forward slightly, her usual slightly blank smile on her face.

Beside her, Kanda was back to being moody and slapping her upside the head when she got too slow or threatened to veer off of the path because of her sleepy, short attention span.

Behind both of them, Tiedoll watched amusedly, Marie chuckling every time Kanda slapped the older woman.

"Kanda, Sleep is starting to act up…" Gracia started slowly, a slight lilt in her voice indicating she might have been passively teasing.

Kanda, though, took it seriously and quickly stormed ahead of her.

Gracia giggled, then sighed as her eyelids slipped down heavily and started humming softly, listening to Sleep's chain tinkle in sleeve.

"La-la la lalala… La-la LA lalaLa…"

Suddenly, more of the tune came back to her, and she continued humming it, her eyes slowly opening again. She didn't remember the words, but…

…It was strange. She'd been humming this song for years as she traveled, but she was just now remembering how more of it went…

"Shut up." Kanda growled, breaking Gracia's train of thought and making her forget her newly recalled section of the song.

Gracia blinked as the memory slipped through her fingers, then sighed softly, pouting. That had been something she actually wanted to remember…

Suddenly, it crossed her mind that the scenery had changed…

…Actually, now that she thought about it, the scenery had long since changed; she just hadn't registered it. It probably had something to do with that train ride they'd taken the day after she'd learned Alucinari so they could travel and rest at the same time; they'd gone from the lightly forested Northeastern European lands to the chilly airs of Russia…

The area of Russia they were in still had the broadleaf forests that Poland and Belarus had, but being even slightly more northward had seen a drop in the temperature.

But when the broadleaf trees began to give way to pines…

Gracia stopped, frowning.

Tiedoll stopped beside her, blinking, "Gracia?"

"…We're getting into the taiga." Gracia mumbled, "We're too far north."

Tiedoll blinked again, then looked around with a small frown as, ahead of them, Marie and Kanda stopped to look back, "Are you sure?"

"Nnn." Gracia nodded, sighing softly, slowly, "I've been up in Russia a few times, and it was… harsh enough for me to remember… that traveling through the taiga at this late in the year… is a bad… bad idea…" She then glanced up at Tiedoll, murmuring, "We need to swing southeast, and fast. If we're just stepping out of the temperate lands and into this… we'll have a dangerous amount of taiga that'll need to be crossed before we get back into warmer forests or the grasslands…"

Tiedoll stared at her for a moment, looking mildly shocked, then glanced ahead and nodded to Marie and Kanda, "We're changing our course."

Gracia shuddered slightly and kept close to Tiedoll's side as they continued down their path a bit longer to look for a different road, crossing her arms over her stomach and looking back and forth in long, searching sweeps as they went.

It hadn't really hit her until that moment that they would be traveling through parts of Russia… She couldn't remember the specifics of how her lasts visits to the chilly northern regions had gone, but she knew they hadn't been pleasant.

And it was more than just the fact that she didn't speak Russian… She might have been hazy on the details of how many languages she spoke, but she _knew_ she didn't speak Russian.

It was the fact that traveling through Russia alone was dangerous. Very, _very_ dangerous.

The countryside, forests and everything else was gorgeous, but settlements were few and far between, and if you went the wrong way you could end up going for days without running into anything manmade…

And the wildlife… bears and wolves were the greatest threats, and they weren't an uncommon occurrence.

No, Gracia didn't remember the specifics of her few trips to Russia, but she had learned the hard way that Russia was no place for someone as mentally slow as her to be.

The other members of the Tiedoll unit noticed how ill at ease Gracia had become once she realized where they were… and it wasn't exactly encouraging. They were all well aware of the fact that Gracia had spent at least several years before joining the Black Order wandering Europe and its borderlands, and they hadn't passed through any countries yet that had incited this much negative emotion from her (save Germany, where she had briefly had a panic attack at being in her childhood village).

Then again, they had been seeing more emotion from her lately…

Especially when it concerned the mysterious figure that was stalking them.

They were just starting to observe more broadleaf trees than pines when Gracia suddenly froze up again, her eyes widening and the hazy look fleeing them briefly.

Marie immediately turned back towards her, frowning, "Gracia, your heart rate…"

"My lungs…" She rasped, pressing a hand to her chest, "My lungs… they hurt again…" She glanced back slowly towards the pines they had just emerged from, her eyes widening slightly.

The mysterious figure was back again, standing between two tall pines behind them with his hulking form, his shoulders slouched and his long coat opened to bare his naked, umber and very muscled upper body, from his chest down to his stomach. He was standing in just the right amount of light to show a maniacal grin…

Quickly, Gracia's world was spinning and something hard was digging into her stomach painfully, and she was staring down at the ground in dazed, breathless confusion as the backs of someone's heels moved quickly as they ran, their cloak flaring out.

"We need to get onto another transport!" Marie called next to her ear, making her numbly realize she was being carried, "He catches up too quickly when we're on foot!"

"Then we'll… have to forego looking for more Apostles!" Tiedoll's call answered, sounding a bit reluctant.

The rest of the conversation was lost to her as she got lightheaded from hanging upside down, and Gracia had to close her eyes as her ears started ringing and her vision flashed gray.

Gracia drifted in and out of consciousness, and even when they reached town Marie had to carry her onto the train, her stomach in too much pain from having Marie's muscular shoulder digging into it for heavens know how long for her to walk properly.

Opening her eyes with a soft groan as she slumped back in the seat, her stomach a sheet of pain, Gracia looked between the three male members of the Tiedoll unit, disoriented.

"This train won't take us far…" Tiedoll sighed softly, "At least, not in the direction we need to head."

"Why don't we just fight the bastard?" Kanda growled.

"Our priority is reaching Asian Branch; we don't have time to get caught up in a fight with the Noah and the Akuma. Besides, the Noah were able to kill General Yeegar… Testing their power after being on the move for so long isn't wise."

The train jolted suddenly and pain bloomed like a flower in Gracia's stomach, making her grind her teeth and close her eyes with a long hiss.

"Gracia…" She felt Marie's heavy, warm hand drop on her shoulder carefully, "I'm sorry, but we needed to get out of there quickly."

"'s fine…" Gracia mumbled, "Couldn't breathe around him anyway… Air's too electric."

"Hmm, yes, I noticed what you were talking about…" Tiedoll agreed slowly, a frown in his voice, "And Sleep would have done something by now if he was an Akuma… so he really must have been a Noah."

"What the fuck _is_ a Noah?" Kanda demanded, "Komui only told me they're some organized family that's in league with the Akuma…"

Tiedoll sighed, "Apparently we're just now finding out more information about them… Komui explained it to me the last time we spoke; the Noah Family is more than just 'in league' with the Noah. The Noah Family _controls_ the Akuma; they seem to be direct human relatives of the Millennium Earl, and, like him, they have incredible power, including the ability to command Akuma."

"…And where in the hell are we getting this information from?" Kanda growled, sounding like he already had an idea.

"The Bookmen; Bookman and your friend, Lavi."

"…I'll kill that fucking rabbit for not telling me this."

"Now, Yu," Tiedoll chuckled, "You know the Bookmen follow their own covenant that is as sacred to them as serving the Black Order is to us. The Bookmen are under no obligation to divulge their knowledge unless they choose to."

"Besides," Gracia opened her eyes, frowning slightly, "You don't want to know everything the Bookmen do… It's not always pretty."

Kanda glanced at Gracia sharply with a questioning scowl, only to have his scowl deepen when he saw she already had her eyes closed again.

"…That's enough talking for now." Tiedoll said gently, "This train won't get us all the way to our destination, but it will turn what would be several weeks of travel on foot to only a few days. Let's take advantage of this and rest…"

The only one who hadn't heard him was Gracia; she was already one step ahead of him and well into her first REM cycle.

* * *

"We can't ignore him this time, General…" Gracia rasped as she struggled to breathe, the air around of the hulking, Noah stalker in front of them actually _sparkling_ with… electricity or glitter, she couldn't tell which.

Beside her, Kanda seemed to agree with her conclusion, Mugen drawn as he ran his fingers down the blade to make the Anti-Akuma Weapon activate.

They had gotten off of the train a safe, uneventful seventy-two hours later, only to step out of whatever town they were in (Gracia had long given up on trying to read Russian) to find their Noah stalker waiting for him.

And today, it seemed he had finally chosen to show his hand; he was flanked by several dozen Akuma, and he now had a… glowing yellow aura.

Gracia clutched Sleep to her chest, activating it and flinching slightly as the metal went from ice cold to boiling hot before it either… settled or she just didn't notice the temperature anymore, it was hard to tell which.

"We don't have time for this…" Tiedoll sighed, reaching for the pieces of the Maker of Eden, "We have to get to Asian Branch before Cross' unit reaches Japan and gets themselves killed…"

Gracia felt a numbing shock run through her body at that.

Lenalee was part of the Cross unit.

And Lenalee was… the kind of person to… She would…

…Oh god, the girl would get herself killed doing something stupidly gallant.

Gracia felt a spike of worry she was slowly becoming accustomed to stab her in the chest, and she bit her lip hard as she absently watched Marie's Noel Organon string up Akuma like puppets.

Though the Noah loomed behind the Akuma silently, watching them get killed as his electric aura sparked around him, his presence was more threatening than those of any of the Akuma who were actually fighting.

…This would be a long battle, especially if the Noah decided to intervene. And how quickly would they be able to travel even if they won, with their bodies bruised and tattered?

Tiedoll was right… they couldn't afford this setback… not right now…

"WOMAN!"

Gracia snapped out of her thoughts, her eyes wide, then threw her arm forward and sent out a strong pulse of Confusio, biting her lip before she dashed up to Kanda's side.

"Kanda!"

The young Japanese Exorcist stopped slaying the confounded Akuma and turned on Gracia angrily, snapping, "What? !"

"Get the General out of here!"

Kanda twitched and actually stopped at that, pinning her with a critical look and asking in a quieter but no less angry voice, "What?"

"Y-You and Marie… get Tiedoll out of here…" She mumbled, slowly glancing over at the Noah, "I'll… stay behind… and slow them down…"

Kanda set his jaw and continued eyeing her, though now it was just his usual, blank angry glare.

"It's what I'm good at, right…?" She smiled at him weakly, "You said it yourself… I'm just support. The ones who'll actually be need in Japan to help Cross' unit and save Lenalee… are you, Marie and the General. It's just my job to make sure you get there as whole as possible right? So you can do the actual fighting. Well… if I let you fight here… you won't he able to do much by the time you get there. That guy…" She shuddered, glancing at the Noah again quickly, "He's not a fight… you bounce back from after you've won."

"…Fine."

Absently, Gracia knew this was why she'd gone directly to Kanda for this. Because he was the only one in their group who wouldn't try to talk her out of it.

"But if you _don't_ slow them down," Kanda was glaring at her again, "I'll gut you."

"Right." Gracia nodded, smiling at him, "You take care of yourself, too, Yu."

Kanda twitched, glaring at her harshly and grinding his teeth, then turned and ran off towards Marie.

Gracia turned to face the confounded Akuma, who were slowly recovering, and raised her hand and snapped her fingers, Sleep's chain making a soft noise as she did.

"Drow Poison : Alucinari."

She didn't have time to think about whether or not the decision she made was stupid; thinking over the pros and cons of the situation was something that could easily take her five minutes, and that was if she didn't have any distractions.

It was the downside of still being as mentally slow as she was.

What she did know was Lenalee was in danger, and that… terrified her.

And doing this was… the first thing that came to mind; slowing people down was all she was good at. She slowed down herself, friends, allies… and this time around, she would be able to slow down the enemy.

And she was going to use Sleep like she never had before.

Gracia vaguely thought she heard Tiedoll call her name, but she was too busy focusing on Akuma, using Confusio for the ones that were too large for her to use Alucinari on and saving Sopor for when she started to get surrounded.

When the Akuma were either attacking one another out of nightmares, stumbling around in confusion or unconscious and slowly turning silver, Gracia turned and started running towards the hulking Noah.

He commanded the Akuma, right? So if she could slow him down, then—

"Drow Poison…!"


	27. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XX

Before I start this chapter, I'd like to thank Inuyoshie for her help with the Chinese that I used here. *doom voice* All of you, bow down to Inuyoshie and Inuyoshie's knowledge of Standard Mandarin Chinese! Bow, I say!

^ . ^ Now, moving on…

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"你在醒?"

"安静! 她受伤严重 了!"

Gracia twitched and groaned softly, saying the first thing that came to mind, "I need a doctor…" Though the way the words rolled off of her tongue… She realized she wasn't speaking English. After all, "I" wasn't pronounced as "wo" in English…

There were a few more murmurs around her, then a voice asked slowly, carefully so her throbbing mind had time to translate it, "Can you understand what I am saying?"

"Yeah…" Gracia mumble, "Not… used to some of the inflections… but yeah…"

"Do not move, okay? You've been burned badly… Alright, you've seen her! Now go get the doctor!"

Gracia frowned. What language was it again that pronounced "doctor" as "yi sheng"…? And why was she burned…?

…Wait… burned…?

What…?

"How does your bracelet come off?"

"…Bracelet…?" Gracia croaked, shuddering and trying to sit up.

Someone cried out in the language she was still trying to put her finger on and palms pressed against her shoulders, pushing her back down with accidental roughness in their hurry to get her down.

And now she could feel the burns; her skin all over the front of her body, in splotchy, connecting patterns from her neck down to the tops of her thighs was hot and tight, moving felt like she was trying to split skin and relaxing left her feeling like her skin was… scaly… as if it had lost it elasticity.

And she felt warm all over… even the parts that weren't burned… as if she'd been sunburned and even what hadn't been touched by the sun was still red and enflamed.

And she hadn't even opened her eyes yet…

"Miss, can you hear me?"

"…nnn…"

"What happened to you?"

What happened… She rolled the question around in her mouth in both English and whatever language she and the woman were still speaking in (which she was slowly starting to recognize more and more without actually remembering the name).

What had happened…? What was the last thing she remembered…?

…Nothing…

No faces, names of people or locations… no pertinent proper nouns whatsoever.

She didn't feel nearly as scared as she suspected she probably should be by this revelation, though; for some reason, _not_ knowing things seemed… familiar and acceptable.

"Dunno…" She finally answered softly, tiredly.

The person hovering over her sighed, "What about your name?"

"…Gracia… I think…"

"And your bracelet…? You have bad burns on your arm…"

"Dunno about that, either…" Gracia mumbled, wanting to drift off. If she wasn't panicking about anything and she was being taken care of, what was the point in staying awake…?

There was a faint click and echo…

"Oh, doctor, you're here!"

"Yes, you said someone was badly burned? Who—" The new voice murmured a curse she couldn't make out.

"Doctor?"

"That badge on her chest… Is she a member of the Black Order? !"

Ah… Black Order…

…She recognized that…

And now she wanted to stay awake… but it was too late.

Sleep had already gripped Gracia's mind.

* * *

The next time she woke, Gracia actually opened her eyes and looked at the dim, beige roof overhead.

It took her a moment to remember the last thing that had happened… and once she had she focused on the only part of that incident that she felt held any significance; the mention of the Black Order.

Why did she know that name…?

Hadn't the doctor mentioned… something about a badge on her coat…?

It took her a moment to get her reluctant body to respond, but when she did Gracia sat up slowly and looked down at herself, blinking.

She wasn't wearing a jacket… She was wearing a pair of loose pants and nothing but bandages from her stomach up.

Someone… must have undressed her…

Sighing softly, she glanced around the room, standing when she didn't see anything that… looked like it might have been what the doctor was talking about. The room was small and fairly bare; with just a bed, a nightstand near the bed with a robe draped over it, and a window at the foot of her bed.

Gracia grabbed the robe and slipped it on, relaxing slightly once she had. Good, it was made of a material that breathed well… the air was humid, and she didn't really care for the idea of having clothes cling to her.

…Not that she was in any position to be picky; someone had gone out of their way to take her in and care for her.

It wasn't something Gracia was foreign to, and courtesy was something that was engrained in her and crossed over well in most cultures.

Gracia tied the robe into place, then turned to the door and walked over to it slowly, the strange, soft shoes that had been put on her feet by whoever it was who had been taking care of her scraping across the floor softly.

She opened the door to step out, only to twitch and freeze awkwardly in mid-step, gripping the doorframe to avoid tripping over the small figure who was also frozen in place, their small, dark head pressed to her stomach.

Two pairs of eyes slowly traveled to meet, one downwards and the other up, and the small girl Gracia had bumped into smiled up at her widely.

"You're up!"

Gracia blinked down at her slowly, then just as slowly smiled back, "Yes, it seems I am…"

"Auntie will be happy! C'mon, let's go see her!" The girl took Gracia's thin hand in her small one and started pulling her down the hall, her dark, bobbed hair bouncing happily as she managed to skip and run.

Gracia kept them both as a fairly slow pace by just walking, her hand limp in the girl's and her eyes traveling around dazedly.

Something on the hand the girl was holding tinkled softly, making her glance at it, and she blinked when she saw the slave bracelet-like accessory there; a thick, silver cuff around her wrist, a similar ring on her middle finger, and a thin, delicate chain made of the same dark silver metal linking the two.

…Hadn't that been the hand she wore Sleep on…?

"…Sleep?" Gracia murmured softly.

The bracelet, which she had just noticed was ice cold, flashed briefly, warmly.

"Eh?"

Gracia looked up slightly to meet the girl's eyes, the girl blinking at her cutely.

"Did you say something?"

"Ah…" Gracia smiled slightly and shook her head, "No… Just… thinking out loud…"

"Oh…" The girl looked ahead again as they walked into another room, smiling widely at the woman standing over some sort of stove, "Auntie! She woke up!"

The woman turned around quickly, her eyes widening as she rushed over to Gracia, "You shouldn't be up! Your wounds…!"

"I'm not in any pain…" Gracia smiled sheepishly as the woman fretted over her before leading her over to a padded mat at a low table, "I promise…"

"Well, then I suppose the doctor got to you in time…" The woman sighed, her thin but strong hands keeping a steady grip on Gracia's arms until she was sitting, "The doctor did say much of it was just superficial and that it was already peeling off, but…" She shuddered slightly.

"…Auntie was scared." The little girl, who had taken a seat beside Gracia, mumbled softly, "You looked really bad…"

"Ah…" Gracia looked between the two slowly, then smiled down at the girl and set a hand on her head, "Thank you so much for taking care of me… And I'm sorry I caused so much distress…"

For some reason, she absently noted, she had this effect on people; they saw her suffering even mildly, she'd take a nap, and when she woke up again she was in someone's house… Again, it wasn't anything new.

Unlike previous times when she had apologized, though, this time she actually felt… a stab of guilt… for knowing these people had worried over her.

…When had _that_ started happening?

Gracia accidentally phased out for a moment, closing her eyes when she suddenly felt lightheaded, and when it had passed and she had opened her eyes again a black coat was laid out on the section of the table directly in front of her, the young girl still sitting beside her and her aunt across from Gracia, both eating quietly and watching her closely.

Gracia blinked down at the jacket for a moment, then reached out and picked it up, rubbing her thumb over the burnt section that had been right there when she touched it.

Something glittery caught her attention and she looked at the left breast of the jacket, blinking at the silver metal badge that was pinned in place there.

"…The doctor said that badge means you're from the Black Order." The woman murmured to Gracia as she reached out and tapped the nail of her forefinger against the badge, "Do you remember that?"

"…Vaguely…" Gracia muttered back. Then, something came to her and she looked up at the woman, blinking, "Did I have a… metal bat with me?"

"Your pet bat?" The girl suddenly perked, smiling widely, "Yeah!"

The girl jumped up from her padded mat and ran over to the counter beside the stove, scooping something up and rushing it back over.

"I don't think it works anymore, though…" The girl suddenly sounded a bit sad as she set the black ovoid down in front of Gracia, taking her seat again.

Gracia frowned down at the metal bat. A golem, she was sure it was called…

Its delicate little wings, thin and as metal as the rest of it, were sprawled around its body limply, and the space where Gracia was… absently sure there was supposed to be a red light of some sort was dim…

…Her little golem was dead.

Even though she… somehow knew it was just a machine… something about that made her sad.

…Something about it having been given to her by someone she…?

Someone she what? She wasn't sure.

All she was sure of was her golem wasn't working, and that that fact upset her because it had been given to her by someone… important, she could only assume.

Still, it didn't seem to have anything physically wrong with it; other than its metal surface having a few crusty, black smudges that looked an awful lot like score marks metal got when it was improperly heated, it was in one piece.

Maybe something was just wrong with its tiny insides…

Draping her jacket across her lap, Gracia picked up the golem gently and flipped it over, studying its little back closely and looking for anything that might… pop off or unscrew.

"What's the Black Order again?" She asked softly, distractedly, as she prodded at the metal bat-thing gently.

"…I'm not sure." The woman frowned, "The doctor wouldn't say much… Don't you remember?"

Gracia shrugged slightly, "I'm a bit… slow at times…" She paused, then looked up and smiled sheepishly, amending, "Most of the time… I'm not… mentally ill or anything like that… My perception of time and memory are just a bit… shot."

"I see…" The woman paused, then smiled at Gracia gently, "Well, you can stay with us until you remember. If worse comes to worst, we can always contact the government offices in the capitol for information. They should certainly know more about the Black Order…"

"Thank you… so much." Gracia smiled at the woman, "I'll try to remember quickly… and not be a burden for too long."

The woman continued smiling at Gracia and nodded, then gestured to the food that had been laid out on the table while Gracia's mind was elsewhere before she began making a plate for Gracia, "Eat. We'll look at your injuries when you're done…"

Gracia nodded and set her golem aside, hardly noticing when her table manners automatically switched over to obey the etiquette of a culture she had subconsciously recognized.

As always, asking pertinent questions never crossed her mind…

* * *

Gracia sat on the edge of the bed her hosts had provided her with as she poked and prodded at her golem, trying to figure out how to open the small, slick metal thing.

The only thing she'd managed to do so far, though, was clean the burn scorches off with all of her groping and prodding.

As she worked at it, she was slowly starting to remember just why this thing was so important to her…

Someone dressed in white.

Someone dressed in white had given it to her… and that person was… important in some way… so having something given to her by that person break…

It wasn't nearly as upsetting as it had been when she'd initially figured out it was broken, but it still… annoyed her to a level.

Which was odd; when did she start feeling emotions like annoyance…?

Wracking her brain for answers as to what had happened to her never really crossed her mind; she was used to forgetting things and sometimes waking up injured, so why should this incident be any different?

Somehow, though, it was.

Something important had been going on for at least the last few… months?… of her life, and, somehow, she knew that if she remembered what it was and that if she knew she had forgotten she would be irritated with herself…

…The logic of that thought, though, confused her, so she continued focusing on trying to open the back of her golem.

She wasn't sure how much time she spent working at it (sometimes she would open her eyes to find herself lying on her side and the blankets drawn up), but after quite a bit of time working at it… One day the back of the golem popped open.

Gracia blinked slowly and stared down at it to make sure she wasn't seeing things… Then pried the tiny panel open and held the golem up to her face, frowning down at the machinery inside.

Embarrassingly, it hadn't crossed her mind until that moment that she had no idea what she was doing.

…At least… she thought she didn't… but for some reason, some of the wires, chips and other tidbits looked familiar… But those feelings of familiarity were far, far older than the feelings of familiarity she felt for the person who had given her the golem.

Trying to understand wouldn't get her anywhere (she knew, even if she couldn't remember, that it rarely did), so she used those faint flickerings of remembrance to study the wiring closely…

And, actually managing to surprise herself, she found the issue.

Scorches on the inside hinted that the golem might have been… electrocuted, and a small, small, very small toggle and wire had been tripped by the force. Some sort of… built-in, backup off switch had been turned off.

Actually feeling… excited, Gracia stumbled to her feet and out the door, hurrying to the kitchen/dining area (the only other room in the house she was actually familiar with).

Fortunately, the woman (whose name she _still_ hadn't thought of asking) was there, and she turned to Gracia as soon as she stumbled into the room.

Gracia smiled at the woman widely, "I figured out what's wrong with my golem! Do you have a telephone?"

* * *

Gracia's hands shook slightly as she connected her golem to the plug she'd taken out of the back of the phone in front of her.

The golem's speakers crackled as soon as it was plugged in and it immediately began dialing, its wings twitching oddly as a sign of some obvious issues with the device. It connected and rang all the same, though, so she sat back on her feet and waited.

Behind her, the little girl and her aunt waited with baited breath.

After several tense moments of waiting, there was a click and someone breathed over the speaker.

"_Communications Department_." Someone with a digitally disguised voice started, "_How may I help you?_"

Gracia perked, smiling, and for the first time in several days, a name came to her, "This is Gracia… I'd like to speak to Komui."


	28. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XXI

^ . ^' Alright, so I know a few of you are upset that I didn't elaborate on Gracia's fight with Skinn… But there's a reason I didn't; had I, it would have overshadowed the humor in this chapter. Don't worry, there will be plenty of fights in the future (the Lulu Bell and the Level 4's attack on HQ took up several chapters), but before things get depressing enjoy the humor and fluff, ne? And oooh, yes… There will be fluff. Fluff, a blushing Komui and an amusingly oblivious Gracia.

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"Suuuuuuuperviiiiiisooor!"

Komui glanced over from debriefing the Generals in front of him, blinking when Johnny Gill came barreling into his office and frowning. "Johnny? Wha—"

"Gracia just called the Communications Department to check in! She's asking for you!" The bespectacled young man exclaimed, a wide grin breaking out across his face.

Cross Marian quirked a brow, the brow going up even higher when, beside him, Froi Tiedoll suddenly slumped in his seat, the older man covering his eyes with his hand as he started blubbering softly.

"Oh, thank God." The scruffy General murmured.

Concluding that 'Gracia' could only be the missing member from Tiedoll's unit that had been mentioned earlier (Froi cried easily when such matters involved his apprentices), Cross looked back at Komui, his quirked brow quickly joined by the other when he saw the look of shock on the Supervisor's face.

When Komui went to pick up his phone, looking out of it, Johnny interrupted him with an amused, sheepish smile, "She somehow managed to turn the visual option on her golem, so you'll have to go to the surveillance room to talk to her…"

Komui and Tiedoll were out of their seats in an instant, the debriefing forgotten as they rushed to follow Johnny out of Komui's office and two floors down.

Cross, Klaud Nine and Winters Socalo exchanged glances, then stood and followed, their curiosities now perked.

Komui burst into the surveillance room and looked over at the glowing, holographic screens in the middle of the room as his pulse raced in his throat. He felt a wave of relief flood his body when he saw Tup sitting in front of the screen, grinning and talking to Gracia animatedly while she, as usual, smiled tiredly and nodded.

With the events where the Cross unit, Yu Kanda and a few others had fallen into Noah's Ark, there hadn't been time to do a complete head check.

When Froi Tiedoll had come back missing a person from his unit, though, and Komui had realized that that person was Gracia…

…Suffice it to say he had to immerse his mind with the good news of Lenalee's return to keep himself from seeming ungrateful at the safe return of so many of the Black Order's Exorcists.

The only one of the Lee siblings who had shown any real emotion to news of Gracia's disappearance was Lenalee, who had gasped and covered her mouth in horror as Tiedoll explained what had happened.

When Kanda had explained her reasoning as to why she had stayed behind, Lenalee had covered her eyes with her hands, lowered her head and cried softly.

Komui had kept a blank face as he listened, his jaw clenching slightly when Kanda mentioned that Gracia had mentioned Lenalee's safety, specifically.

He'd felt some guilt… Ever since he had mentioned to Gracia, during her first mission with Lenalee, that he wanted her to keep an eye on his sister, Gracia had been passively fixated on keeping his sister safe.

If she had stayed behind because of what he had said…

Kanda had been surprisingly angered by Gracia's decision, Komui had noticed, the young man refusing to talk about Gracia further after his report had been delivered. When Lavi had asked Kanda what kind of person she was, Kanda had clenched his jaw, grumbled a curse in Japanese at the Bookman's apprentice, and stormed, willingly, back to the medical ward.

Absently, he wondered if he shouldn't send someone to tell Lenalee and Kanda that they were back in contact with Gracia, but when Johnny and Tup suddenly ran past him and out of the room, he knew word would get around soon enough.

The Supervisor quickly made his way over and occupied Tup's spot on the sofa in front of the holographic monitor, swallowing to relieve the dryness in his throat as he gave Gracia a quick once-over.

No missing limbs, no heavy bandaging, sitting upright on her own…

Komui heaved a shuddering, relieved sigh.

"…_Tup_?" Gracia blinked, then whined slightly, "_Jooohnny? You didn't leave me sitting here, did you…? I need to talk to Komuuui!_"

Komui chuckled, shaking his head. They had a visual on her, but golems only had audio functions. She couldn't see him… "I'm here, Gracia…"

Gracia blinked again and perked, smiling, "_Komui! I remembered to call!_"

"I can see that." Komui chuckled again, unable to keep himself from feeling amused where he had just been feeling worried and anxious, "How many days did _that_ take you?"

"…_Not too many._" Gracia smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head, "_Just… I dunno…_" She glanced behind her, as if silently asking for someone to prompt her.

Komui heard some voices in the background speaking in what he was surprised to hear was Mandarin, his brows shooting up and his shock increasing when he listened to Gracia answer in like.

"_Three days._" The other voice had said in Mandarin.

"_Really?_" Gracia asked in Mandarin, blinking, "_Didn't think it was _that_ long…_"

"_It was, Gracia,_" The other voice, female, Komui noticed, answered patiently, "_It was._"

"…Gracia?" Komui questioned.

"_Yes?_" Gracia turned to face her golem again, blinking questioningly and still speaking in Mandarin Chinese.

"…Where are y—" Before Komui could finish his sentence, the door burst open and he glanced over quickly, blinking when he saw the Generals were in the room with him. Had they followed…?

Lenalee ran into the room, dragging Kanda and looking breathless. Her eyes widened when she saw Gracia, and she let go of Kanda quickly to run over beside her brother, crying out, "Gracia!"

Gracia blinked, "_Lenalee…?_" She then quickly relaxed, her shoulders slouching forward and a soft, wide smile spreading across her face, "_Lenalee…_"

Lenalee smiled back as her eyes watered and she slumped down to sit next to her brother, covering her face with her hands, "You're alive… you're alive…"

"_Of course I am._" Gracia continued smiling, "_You said you'd be quite cross with me if I died, didn't you? Besides, if I died, then I wouldn't have been able to slow that Noah down very well, and Kanda made it very clear that he would gut me if I didn't slow him down…_" She sighed, shaking her head, "_And no one wants to get gutted by Kanda._"

Over by Tiedoll, Kanda twitched and ground his teeth, lowering his head and crossing his arms over his chest tightly as he hugged the loose, white cotton jacket he was wearing close.

"Inquiries can be saved for later, can't they?" Cross suddenly interceded, making Gracia blink and tip her head, "Where are you?"

"_Uhhh…_" Gracia blinked, then glanced back at the person behind her for more prompting.

There was a soft answer that most in the room wouldn't have been able to understand anyway, the woman in the background still speaking Mandarin, but they all learned the answer when Gracia turned back to the camera of her golem and smiled, opening her mouth.

"_I'm in Singapore!_"

Her answer… was met with a long, awkward silence.

"…How in the hell…" Kanda suddenly spoke, grinding out, "Did you end up in _Singapore_… when we left you in _Russia_?"

"_Kanda?_" Gracia blinked, then shrugged, "_Eh, it happens to me every now and then… Though I will admit, going from Russia to Singapore is _definitely_ one of the longer trips I've made in the wrong direction._" She then perked and snapped her fingers, "_Oh, I've been speaking Mandarin Chinese this entire time! I knew I recognized it…_"

Infuriated, Kanda stormed over to the hologram and started screaming at Gracia, making Komui feel the need to clap his hands over Lenalee's ears so she didn't hear the obscenities with her 'virgin ears.'

Tiedoll quickly hurried over and tried to calm Kanda down, all the while Gracia sat calmly and smiled, used to Kanda's short fuse.

"_I'm happy that you're okay, too, Yu._"

Kanda bore his teeth and ground them again, shaking violently and looking like he wanted to jump at Gracia through the screen and tear her throat out.

Tiedoll just chuckled, wished Gracia well, and led Kanda out of the room.

"Alright, Gracia," Komui sighed, letting Lenalee's ears go when Kanda was gone and leaning forward with a contemplative frown on his face, "I need to talk with the person who's been taking care of you…"

* * *

Gracia shook out her Exorcist's uniform and pulled it on gingerly, being careful to not jostle her bandages too much. The wounds were superficial, but they still hurt and oozed, and they still needed to be bound.

Once her shirt and pants were on, Gracia pulled her singed jacket on, relaxing into it with a soft smile. She remembered how comfortable it was now, the smell of burnt fabric and the slight crunchiness in places aside.

Her golem flew erratically beside her head, twitching and nearly falling out of the air every now and then but still working. She tried to reach for it a few times and encourage it to ride on her shoulder, but it had taken to dodging her attempts at comfort…

Slowly, what had happened was coming back to her.

Her team had engaged in a conflict with a Noah and its Akuma followers, she had told Kanda to get Marie so they could get Tiedoll out of the area, she'd used Sleep on the Akuma, she'd run at the Noah headlong…

…After that, everything was blank.

She had absolutely no idea how she'd ended up in Singapore, and if she were to press her last recollections all she would remember was a bright, bright flash of light and pain. Lot… and lots of pain.

But that… wasn't relevant.

She had… bigger things on her mind at the moment.

…She had remembered them.

The people who were most important in her life at the moment… she'd remembered them all.

She had actually… felt a thick, relieving sort of pain in her chest when she'd heard Lenalee's tearful voice over the golem.

That pained had worsened in a… positive but less tearful way when she'd heard Kanda curse her stupidity and Tiedoll amusedly try to calm his 'son' down.

And… Komui…

When she suddenly felt… uncomfortably warm under her collar, Gracia blinked and pressed a hand to her forehead, blinking again. Her temperature had suddenly spiked…

…Actually, now that she thought about it, recently it had taken to doing that when she thought about Komui Lee.

And, she hadn't realized it until she'd talked to him after remembering who to call, but she'd… missed calling him.

'…_I'll have to call him again when I reach Asian Branch…_'

Of course, considering she'd be using some kind of 'Ark' as soon as she got to Asian Branch to 'transport' back to European Branch, it would probably be pointless…

But she… still found herself wanting to…

Gracia frowned as she pulled her gloves on.

These… emotions or whatever they were… they were weird. Certainly weirder than the other emotions she had become less numb to.

…Komui's weirdness had better not be contagious.

Remembering the annoyance she had felt towards Komui at the Komlin II incident, Gracia twitched and glared at the wrist of her glove, snapping it into place.

If Komui's weirdness was contagious, she was going to do him one better than letting him experience Sleep firsthand.

She'd use Alucinari on him.

Gracia was snapped out of her borderline murderous thoughts when a small knock echoed through the guest room she'd been using. She glanced over at the door, blinking when it opened and the little girl (whose name she _still_ hadn't asked for) poked her head in.

"Hey…" Gracia smiled.

The girl shifted at the door, hiding half of her face behind it, then threw the door open the rest of the way and lunged, hugging Gracia's leg tightly.

Gracia blinked and crouched down slowly, hugging the girl back.

She hadn't noticed it before, but did people… really make bonds this quickly…?

"You work for… really important people, don't you?" The girl asked softly.

"…I do." Gracia nodded slightly, "But not just for them… I work for you and Auntie, too. I work to keep you safe…"

"…So you definitely have to go…" The girl drooped against her slightly.

Gracia just nodded silently. She wasn't a stranger to these situations; she knew, in the past, there had been children and families who had hosted her for short periods of time who had gotten… attached to her.

Of course, she was just now realizing that it was emotional attachment. Before she'd never been sure what to make of it, but now she knew.

People in the Black Order like Lenalee, Johnny and Tup had made sure she now understood, even if they hadn't meant to.

Gracia stood slowly, carrying the girl out of the room and down the hall when she refused to let go.

When they reached the kitchen, Auntie (whose name Gracia _also_ had yet to remember to ask for) blinked at them, then sighed softly and walked over, taking the girl from the Exorcist.

"Are you ready?" Auntie asked, smiling at Gracia gently.

"Mm." Gracia nodded, smiling back and absentmindedly fiddling with Sleep, "I can't begin to thank you fo—"

A sudden knock at the door caught their attention and Auntie turned and walked over to it, opening the door slowly. Two men in Finder's jackets stood on the other side, both bowing simultaneously when the door had opened.

Gracia walked over, picking up her bag from beside the door and slinging it over her shoulder.

When Auntie turned to her and hugged her, the little girl shifting against Auntie's chest to do the same, Gracia paused, her lips twitching into a frown.

There had to be something… she could do…

"Ah!" Gracia perked, making Auntie jump back slightly as the Exorcist turned to her bag and unzipped a flap, digging around inside. Finding what she was looking for, she pulled out a small, two-page booklet (one of several she had) and turned to Auntie, smiling widely and holding it out, "There are instructions and an address in here… Basically, what you do is fill out a mini report and… send it to your local government offices, right?" She glanced at the Finders for confirmation.

The two men smiled slightly and nodded.

"Right," Gracia nodded back, turning back to Auntie with a smile, "Send it to your local government offices… they'll forward it to the address… and in a few weeks or so you'll get compensation for taking care of me!"

Auntie's eyes widened slightly and she quickly shook her head, reaching out and pushing the booklet back to Gracia's chest, "You really don't have to…"

"I want to." Gracia insisted with a happy smile, pushing back.

"No, really…"

"It's okay." Gracia continued to insist, knowing better. She was pretty sure there was some social etiquette rule about initially declining an offer, even if you didn't mind taking it…

"But—"

"Please," Gracia's smile softened slightly, "This is the only way I can properly express my gratitude… I don't know if you've noticed it, but I'm a bit emotionally defunct. I want to thank you… so badly…"

Auntie paused, then finally took the booklet, bowing her head low to Gracia before straightening and hugging her again, "Stay safe."

"Stay happy…" Gracia murmured in response, nuzzling the little girl's head briefly before following the Finders outside.

As they walked away, she glanced back and smiled, waving when she saw them standing outside of the door, seeing her off.

They waved back, smiling widely.

Gracia… would later cry when she realized she had never remembered to ask for their names.

* * *

_(I know Singaporean Mandarin is actually the dialect of Mandarin that is used in Singapore, but Inuyoshie is the only translator I trust (bite me, Google Translate; you don't know Chinese from Japanese), so Standard Mandarin it is!_

_Oh… And I'm pretty sure that, on and off again, I have some Singaporean readers out there, so… *bows head* I'm sorry if I mess up anything culturally. I tried to do research from various websites and be as vague as possible in my descriptions so I didn't make too much of an ass out of myself, so I hope my caution paid off._

_Oh, and also, if any of you try to review, can't, and don't know why, it's because F F .net is doing several service upgrades to the review system today. TT . TT So if you can't review now… please don't forget to come back and do it later, ne? I try really, really hard not to ask for reviews, because knowing that you all are reading is good enough for me, but it does get a bit depressing when my usual reviewers suddenly poof…)_


	29. N REM Cycle: Record Subjugated

^ . ^' Since I can see that this might confuse people, I'm going to quote an author's note I left in the second chapter:

"_Aaah, I forgot to mention in the last chapter… Some of the romanizations of names I will be using may not be ones you, yourselves, use. This is because I have the official DGM -Gray Ark- Fanbook, which provides me with Hoshino's English spellings of character names._

_Well… for the most part. The most recent characters aren't in it, so when I don't have official Fanbook romaizations, I use Viz. Yes, they did a sucky job on translating DGM, and yes, I do read every new release on MangaStream, but Viz has a contract with Hoshino's people and I like to respect my mangaka, even if they should have gone with a better international publisher… (And don't call me out on my name usages on my BLEACH fics, ne? ^ . ^' I don't buy BLEACH manga.)_"

So, basically, what you may spell as Tap Dopp, I spell as Tup Dop.

Fou/Fo is For, Jerry is Jeryy, Lo(u) F(w)a is Rohfa, Renee Epstein is Renny Epstain, Malcom C. Rouverlier is Malcolm C. Lvellie, and a whole laundry list of other names.

I know they're not the ones readily available to the general English public, but these are the names I'm going to be using. If you see a name spelled differently, keep in mind it's either from the Fanbook or from VIZ (if that character isn't in the Fanbook). I do not use scanlator translations, save for the most recent chapters for characters whose names VIZ hasn't translated yet.

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"Who in the hell are—"

Gracia hadn't been expecting someone to _literally_ pop out of the door to greet them.

So, when an orange-haired girl in purple and white had melted out of the large, multicolored door in front of them, she'd panicked, Sleep had heated up, and she and the Finders who had accompanied her from Singapore back to Asian Branch passed out.

After that, For learned to be very… very careful when approaching Gracia. She wasn't affected by Sleep, being a complex combination of spells and programming, but she would get in trouble if Gracia shut down an entire floor because of her.

When Gracia woke, she was lying in bed…

That alone was nearly enough to put her back to sleep, but when she remembered where she was supposed to be, she sat up slowly and looked around. The lights had been dimmed to help her sleep, but the door was still opened and people were rushing around outside.

She stood slowly, absently noticing that the somewhat tight, new bandages under the loose medical gown and pants she had been changed into made moving difficult, but she still managed to stand and shuffle to the door.

As soon as she reached the doorway, though, it was blocked by a tall man with strange hair and shadowed eyes wearing robes. He seemed to blink down at her, then wailed out in joy and dropped the tray he was carrying, sweeping her up into a comfy hug.

Gracia blinked, then relaxed. She didn't know who he was, but his hugs made her sleepy…

He seemed to be sobbing and wailing something, and it took Gracia a moment to figure it out. Once she had, she smiled slightly and patted his back.

"No, no, For, did you say her name was…? She didn't hurt me. Sleep's just… touchy… I'm not going to tell Supervisor Komui and get anyone in trouble, least of all… Master Bak…?"

The large man calmed down and sheepishly set Gracia back on her feet, smiling down at her and bowing slightly, "I'm Branch Chief Bak's assistant, Sammo Han Won."

"Gracia…" She bowed back slightly, but not so deep that she toppled forward. That had actually happened before… She had bad balance when she was tired.

Sammo Han stood straight and smiled down at her, "The Chief wanted to see you when you were awake."

"Okay…" Gracia nodded, standing straight, as well. She followed the very tall man down the hall, shuddering slightly and the coolness of the air and glancing around slowly in wonder.

The roof was made of… seemingly natural uneven stone… Were they underground?

"Of course I get to experiment with it; I'm _me_!"

Gracia looked ahead, blinking when she saw a young, blonde man wearing a shorter version of what looked like Komui's jacket arguing with several scientists (if their lab coats were any indication) as they stood in front of several tall, glowing plates that seemed to be hovering in mid-air, one of the upper ones occupied by a large number 2.

"What kind of excuse is that? !" One of the scientists wailed back, "We _all_ want to investigate it, but Supervisor Komui said _no one_ could without his permission! Stop playing around or we'll tell!"

"Who are _you_ to order the _Great Me_ around? !" The blonde demanded, crossing his arms angrily over his chest, "You'll 'tell' on me? ! Quit being childish! I get to overturn Komui's decisions simple because I'm _me_! Besides, I'll be getting promoted soon!"

This proclamation made several other scientists in the room roll their eyes and grumble.

Exasperation was not lost on Gracia…

"Chief Bak, Chief Bak!" Sammo Han called from beside her, waving his arm enthusiastically, "Miss Gracia woke up!"

The blonde immediately turned to face them, and then he seemed to flash over to them so quickly Gracia twitched slightly and leaned back, blinking.

Bak, though, leaned forward as she leaned back, looking down at her with narrowed eyes and a contemplative frown as he held out his hand slowly, "Branch Chief Bak Chang…"

"…Gracia…" Gracia mumbled back slowly, taking his hand even though neither of them shook.

"…What _does_ Lenalee see in you…?" Bak muttered, in Mandarin, Gracia absently noted.

She quirked a brow slightly, "'See in me'? What do you mean?"

A moment of silence.

Then, Bak's eyes widened and his neck started to get a bit red and splotchy, "Y-Y-Y-You understand—? !"

"M-Master Baaak!" Sammo Han suddenly wailed, "Your hiiiives!"

Gracia stood back silently, her lips pressing into a thin line as Sammo Han proceeded to fawn over Bak extravagantly as the redness and splotchy-ness on Bak's neck only worsened (likely due to all of the attention, ironically).

All the more, she found herself missing Komui's brand of over-the-top quirkiness; seeing so many people acting so strangely so close together was making the annoyance within her stir, and she had no one to direct it at… At least with Komui she could focus…

"…Hey!" She called out suddenly, actually raising her voice.

Sammo Han, Bak and a few scientists froze, all looking at her.

Gracia sighed, frowning and twitching slightly, then looked at them tiredly, "Not that I don't… like… want to stay and watch you all be weird or anything…" (Bak sputtered in indignation and Sammo Han seemed to droop.) "But I really… _really_ wanna get home…"

"…Right." Bak struggled to get out of the futon Sammo Han had, seemingly, pulled out of thin air for him, suddenly serious as he crossed his arms and frowned at Gracia, "We'll be sending you back through Noah's Ark. Have you been briefed on what that is?"

Gracia shook her head.

"Alright… Well, basically, it's a space-time warp that seems to operate outside the boundaries of Euclidian space, dividing—"

Gracia twitched as he rambled, finding herself becoming… irritated… She didn't know why, but listening to him go on and on annoyed her, much in the same way Komui annoyed her when his antics threatened to get people blown up by one of his robots.

"So basically," She seethed when she couldn't stand listening to him anymore, "It's a device that is being used to minimize spatial travel; time perception isn't affected, but it shortens the distance between two points. A wormhole."

"…Yeah…" Bak nodded slowly.

"Fantastic. Can I go through it, now?" She didn't have the energy to deal with any more of this farce. On any other day, she'd probably love this place, but for right now… she wanted to be back in Europe.

Bak sighed, then glanced at Sammo Han, "Her things?"

"Over by the Ark door, Chief."

Gracia walked past both of them and over to the large, glowing panels, picking up her duffel bag as soon as she saw it and slinging it over her shoulder. When she started to walk up the steps, Bak stopped her.

"Do you even know what door to go through when you get there?" He called out, clambering up the steps after her.

Gracia paused, then glanced back at him, relaxing and smiling sheepishly, "No… I don't."

"And you're still in your hospital clothes." Bak sighed, taking her arm, "C'mon, we've made a uniform upgrade for you. And traveling through the Ark for the first time can be a bit disconcerting; you should eat before you go."

She paused again, then ceded with a soft sigh, letting him lead her back down the metal staircase and through the lab quickly.

After she'd been fed, Gracia tried on her new uniform, a bit confused by all of the zippers but overall approving. Asian Branch seemed to have been in contact with the European Branch for design ideas; the new cloth was even plusher than the last, and her new coat managed to be comfortably heavy without being overbearing in either the back or the hood.

Finally, Gracia walked through the main glowing panel of the Ark, Bak right behind her.

She glanced around briefly once inside, a bit thrown by the Mediterranean-style buildings within the empty, time-warp town, but followed Bak when he walked past her, perking when he walked up to and through a door.

As soon as she stepped through, Gracia had to stop and close her eyes, inhaling deeply.

Something smelled… different between Asian Branch and the European Branch… she wasn't sure what it was but…

European Branch smelled like home.

"GRACIA!"

She opened her eyes and stopped as she stepped down from the short metal staircase, dropping her bag and wrapping her arms around Lenalee as the girl threw herself into the older Exorcist's chest.

Gracia stared down at Lenalee for a moment, at a loss, then shuddered and closed her eyes when they started to dampen, tightening her grip on the girl and hugging her close.

"Never again…" Lenalee rasped, digging her fingers into Gracia's back as she clutched at her tightly, "Don't you dare… _ever_ again…"

She didn't say anything, just holding Lenalee tighter in response.

Briefly, she wondered if it was all just a dream; the last few days had been such a blur she was still feeling tired, even after having rested at Asian Branch.

Was she really back? The slight pain in her back from Lenalee's fingernails said yes, but she was almost afraid to believe it…

…She didn't want to wake to the disappointment of this not being real…

Her doubts became less important when she seemed to… sense something, and she opened her eyes and looked up, smiling widely, tiredly, when she saw Komui standing with several others, including Reever, Johnny and Tup, the Supervisor giving her and his sister a warm smile that didn't see him acting screwy.

His beret was missing, his face was relaxed and his eyes were lidded slightly, his glasses were sliding down the bridge of his nose a bit and he looked a bit tired… slightly tired, but happy.

It… made him look…

…Again, as it had taken to doing recently, Gracia felt her temperature rise slightly as she thought about, looked at Komui, making her neck and face heat up a bit.

And, with that, her doubts became even less important.

Because even if it was a dream… it was definitely one of the best she'd ever had.

"…I'm home, Lenalee…" She looked back down at the girl, smiling and running a hand through her shorter hair. ('What had happened to it…?') "I'm home…"

Through her shirt, she felt Lenalee smile.

"…And I'm tired."

…

Lenalee and several others, including Komui, tensed slightly.

Gracia looked back up at Komui, smiling sheepishly as Sleep got hot, "I'm home, and I'm suddenly very… very tired, and Sleep is getting warm… So… uh…"

Several people were already scrambling for the doors.

Gracia smiled, her eyelids drooping heavily.

Yeah… it didn't matter if this was a dream or not…

It was one of the best she'd ever had.

Gracia closed her eyes completely as she collapsed.

Around her wrist and finger, Sleep's heat was comforting.

* * *

_What must have started as sleepwalking turned into semi-lucid movement as Gracia stumbled out of her room and down the hall, a box in her hand._

_The typically very long walk from her room to Komui's office, several floors down, seemed to pass in a blur, possibly helped by how her trek was, oddly, uninterrupted by anyone._

_When she got there, she walked into the Supervisor's office without bothering to knock, pleased to find him still awake, still working and alone._

_Komui looked up from his work, blinking at her, "Gracia? What are you doing out of bed at this hour?"_

"_Dunno… what're you doin' actually working…?"_

_Komui blinked again, then chuckled and smiled at her, "Are you sleepwalking?"_

"…_I think I might be…" She smiled and tipped her head, "Halfway, at least."_

_Komui chuckled again, "If anyone else gave me that answer, I'd say they were just being sarcastic. Considering this is _you_, though…"_

_Gracia just continued smiling at him dazedly, then perked slightly and walked over, setting the box in her hand on his desk, "Oh, I remember now… I wanted to give this to you before I forgot. I've been carrying it for so long, I'm surprised I remembered as it is…"_

"_My Icelandic coffee!" Komui perked, reaching out and taking the box. He then laughed, shaking his head and looking it over, "Well, I'm just as surprised as you are that you managed to remember this…" He looked the ingredients over, nodding approvingly, "Ooo, looks like you got a good kind, too…"_

"…_I missed you…"_

"…" _Komui looked up at her, blinking slightly, "Pardon?" His cheeks turned a bit red…_

"…_At least, I think that's what it is." Gracia smiled at him, "I don't know… I'm not good with… emotions."_

"…_I missed you, too, Gracia." Komui said in a low voice, "…We all did."_

"…_If I had meant it like that, do you think I would have bothered to say it?"_

_Komui's cheeks reddened a bit more, and he muttered unintelligibly as she walked around his desk slowly, her feet scraping across the perpetual sea of paperwork that littered the floor._

_Her arms reached out and wrapped around his shoulders, slowly drawing him over into her chest as she bowed her head and pressed her nose to his beret, hugging him._

_Komui was frozen in place, the box of coffee beans in his hands deforming slightly as he clenched, his arms shaking a bit._

"…_You're warm."_

"_Gracia, I think you're very… very tired."_

"_I agree… But that doesn't change the fact that I missed you."_

"_I… I-I…"_

"_Hmm…?"_

_The ground below her feet slowly got closer and closer as Komui continued to stumble over the word, and even as she thought she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist she fell, face first, through the pile of paperwork at his feet, spiraling off slowly into the black abyss beyond and leaving him behind._


	30. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XXII

TT . TT My loyal readers and friends, today I must deliver the news you have been waiting for since Chapter 11…

When I first started to do the daily updates, starting with the announcement in Chapter 10, I made it clear (in the same announcement) that the daily updates would only be temporary. I have to keep myself paced, both because I don't want to run out of chapters to post, and because I don't want to have to start going on extended hiatus' to wait for Hoshino to release the monthly chapter.

Well… thirty seems like a nice, round number to start at.

And so, starting today, I'm going to have to switch back to the every other day updating schedule. This means you won't be looking for Chapter 31 on Monday; you'll be looking for it Tuesday, and 32 will come Thursday and so forth…

TT . TT Please don't be mad at me! I'm doing this for you! I don't _want_ to be irresponsible and end up having to make you wait for monthly updates, or to make you read crappy filler arcs! I love this story, and I love reading what you think of it; I don't want things to nosedive straight into the crapper…

*sighs, drooping* And so, hoping I have your understanding, I give you the disclaimer and the following Chapter 30… Enjoy… if you don't want to gut me…

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Reever sighed as he walked up to Gracia's room, frowning and wondering what she was doing.

She knew she had an appointment with Hevlaska to check on Sleep… They'd given her the previous day to sleep all she wanted. While she was generally sleeping when she wasn't being forced to do anything, even after she'd rested well, she had… two basic types of sleeping she did: Sleeping out of exhaustion and sleeping out of… well… everything else.

The latter she was much easier to wake from, and as long as someone reminded her that she needed to wake up for something, she would manage to drag herself out of bed for it.

Today, though… she was two hours late for her physical and Innocence exams.

And Komui, who had for some reason been too flustered by the idea of going to check on her, had sent Reever, instead. Even though Reever had enough on his plate as it was studying the Akuma Egg.

Reever sighed, knocking on Gracia's door, "Gracia, it's time to get up! The Supervisor is waiting for you in Hevlaska's chamber!"

He received no answer.

Reever twitched slightly, starting to feel an annoyance similar to what he usually felt when matters involved Komui, then sighed and opened the door, stepping inside.

As he had expected, there was a Gracia-sized lump on her bed, buried deep underneath a pile of blankets.

Sighing, Reever walked over and grabbed the blankets, jerking at them.

The blankets stayed firm and the Gracia-sized lump curled up tighter.

Reever sighed again and ran a hand through his hair, pursing his lips.

When Komui was like this, he was easy; a simple mention of Lenalee and 'dating/marriage/boyfriend/beau/any other related word' in the same sentence had him awake in seconds.

Gracia, though, was what the scientists had unofficially taken to calling the "Sleeper Exorcist." Sleeping was what she _did_; thanks to Sleep, it was, literally, in her blood, and without the removal of Sleep, which she was strongly opposed to, it wasn't a situation that was likely to change.

Not to mention if she were put under a violent, physical shock like having water splashed on her, Sleep would activate and Reever would be as unconscious as she…

How do you wake a person like that?

…Reever, who had gotten used to waking Komui up in a particular way over the years, wasn't one to initially deviate from a method of it proved effective.

Maybe he could wake her up in a same way, only using a different wording.

So, what was Gracia afraid of…?

…Now that he thought about it… Lenalee _had_ said that on her first mission with Gracia, she'd said…

Reever stared down at the Gracia-shaped lump, then leaned in slightly and murmured, "Komui is going to perform an exam on Sleep…"

Reever had to jump back when Gracia shot out of bed.

Gracia fled to a corner of the room, looking around quickly but dazedly and with glassy eyes as she hugged her right hand to her chest, shielding Sleep from any potential Komui-related threats.

When she didn't see anything, she looked up at Reever and pouted, whining, "Reeeever… that was mean…!"

"…You've been hanging around the Supervisor too much." Reever muttered, shaking his head before raising his voice, "You have an appointment with Hevlaska."

Gracia blinked slowly, confused, then remembrance flickered across her face briefly and she stood straight, nodding, "Oh, right… Sorry." She smiled sheepishly, rubbing her wrist, "Komui gave me an electric blanket, and it was so warm…"

"I see…" Reever sighed and relaxed, chuckling as he nodded, "Well, keep it on a timed setting and not just constant, alright? Otherwise we'll never be able to wake you up."

"Right…" Gracia nodded, "Sorry… Am I late?"

"Two hours." Reever nodded, walking over to the door, "Get dressed and meet them down at the lift."

Gracia nodded after Reever as he walked out, then eyed her bed mournfully.

As he had promised, Komui had gotten her an electric blanket… And it was certainly more high-tech than any electric blanket she had ever seen. It actually had a _heat control dial_ and an _optional timer_. Most heated blankets in their day and age were just a blanket that was heated from below by a not-so-safe heating pad.

This blanket, however, had the heating elements… _inside_ of it. She could actually lie under it and wrap it around herself!

Were she anywhere else, Gracia would have gladly curled up with that blanket and never woken up again.

Of course, she couldn't… the blanket was just a balm; something to keep her happy when she had her time off.

And right now, she was on the clock.

Gracia turned off the electric blanket and dressed, wearing civilian clothes in the form of a baggy, turtleneck sweater and a pair of pants and just as she went to walk out of her room… she remembered the coffee beans from Iceland.

Since she was going to see Komui, anyway, she went back to her back and dug around inside, frowning when she couldn't find it.

She had to give up after several minutes of searching and started to head down the many floors to Hevlaska's chamber, frowning as she went. What _had_ she done with that coffee…?

As it tended to do, the monotonous process of going down one step at a time, left foot first, right second, then left, right, left, right… It started to make her sleepy.

Gracia's eyelids started to drop and she leaned forward as she continued stumbling down the staircases, her center of gravity slooowly becoming skewed without her even noticing…

When she finally noticed that she had tripped and was falling, it was too late to do anything about it.

Tripping wasn't anything new to her, so she just sighed and waited to crash…

…But the pain never came.

Instead, she found herself pressed up against something broad, muscular and very, very warm…

Gracia blinked her eyes open slowly, tiredly, and looked up into the face bearing the roguish grin framed in the fiery red mane that belonged to the man who had caught her.

"Well…" The man purred, chuckling and tightening his hold of her waist, "I think this is the first time a woman has literally fallen head over heels for me."

"…But I didn't flip around." Gracia blinked slowly, dense, "I just fell forward."

The man chuckled again, then stood straight and adjusted his grip on Gracia's waist, keeping her chest pressed against his and her feet from touching the ground, "Details, dear, details. Now…" He lifted his free hand and ran his forefinger along the underside of her jaw, smiling down at her smoothly and arching a well-groomed brow, "Who might you be, my red-haired beauty, and why haven't I met you?"

"It's auburn." She muttered, blinking slowly up at him, "Mistaking auburn for red is all-too common a misconception. And I'm Gracia…" She frowned slightly, "Who're you?"

"You mean you don't remember me?" The man chuckled, "I'm Cross Marian. I was in the room the other day when you called from Singapore."

Frankly, no, Gracia didn't remember him; unlike them, she hadn't had a visual display of who was in the room, and though she vaguely remembered talking to someone briefly whose voice she hadn't recognized, it hadn't been significant enough to leave an impression.

She did, though, know his name. "Oh… so you're the 'pinhead' who had Lenalee chasing him all across China." At least, that was what Komui had called him…

The man's smile never faltered, though his brow did twitch slightly, "You're going to be a tough one." He then chuckled and leaned his face in a bit closer to hers, breathing into her ear, "But that's alright. I like challenges."

"You smell like booze." Gracia grumbled, making a face and squirming against him, "Lemme go. I have to get to a meeting with Komui."

"Oh, so you're the one that poor bastard's been waiting for for the past two hours." Cross chuckled, his flirtatious air dissipating a bit, "Where did you start from? Your room? And you're already falling asleep only two floors down? C'mon, I'll take you the rest of the way."

Though Gracia got the… distinct impression that the man was only helping her out so he could have a reason to touch her (and do something else, but she wasn't quite sure what it was…), she couldn't exactly tell him to buzz off; the man was very forceful, and before she had time to process his offer he'd already scooped her up and was cradling her against his chest as he turned on his booted heel and continued to the next staircase.

Gracia frowned up at him, confused.

What in the hell was this guy playing at? Was he always so… touchy an invasive of other people's space?

…And was there something on her chest? He kept staring at it…

Gracia looked down at her chest to see if she'd bloodied herself or something similar falling down the stairs, but there was nothing there… just the loose, thick material of her sweater draping over her bosom and creasing slightly where her left and right breasts met.

…Huh. Maybe he liked the color of her shirt…? But that couldn't be right… the color it was now wasn't even its original color; that color had long since faded.

…Eh, he was weird.

Satisfied with that conclusion, Gracia sighed and closed her eyes in defeat, letting her head loll back. Why not relax? She was getting a free ride and he seemed perfectly content staring at her chest as pa— Wait a minute…

"You pervert." Gracia opened her eyes and scowled at Cross.

He just smirked in return, "You really are a bit slow, aren't you?"

Gracia sighed heavily and closed her eyes again. As long as he didn't touch her any more than necessary, it didn't matter.

"Ah, Cross, what can I— Cross, get your hands off of her!"

Gracia's eyes snapped open and she jolted at the yelling, flailing around slightly and looking back and forth, startled.

Cross' grip never loosened and he sighed, rolling his eyes, "Honestly, Komui, I didn't do anything to her. _She_ fell on top of _me_."

Groggy, Gracia looked over at Komui quickly, blinking and absently wrapping an arm around Cross' neck, "Much's I know he's a perv… he's not lying. I fell… he caught and carried me here so I wouldn't hurt myself…" She then gave the redhead a sidelong glance, pursing her lips, "Though I'm pretty sure that was just an excuse."

Cross just shrugged, grinning, and set Gracia down on her feet. "Say what you want, beautiful women get away with anything around me."

"You're creepy." Gracia informed him flatly as she stumbled slightly, grabbing his arm to keep from falling.

"Oh, now you're just trying to hurt." Cross sighed as he put a stabling hand on the small of her back, his other pressing against his chest as a fake hurt look crossed his face.

Gracia huffed slightly, then turned her attention back to Komui, blinking when she saw the horrified look on his face.

"…Komui?"

"Y-You two!" Komui pointed between Gracia and Cross quickly, "When did you get so… buddy-buddy? !"

Gracia blinked again, "…Huh?"

"Buddy-buddy?" Cross quirked a brow, "You just watched her insult me three times in the last minute and a half. Now, as much as I have nothing against her, I don't think _she_ considers us very 'buddy-buddy'." Cross paused, then smirked, "Unless, of course, you have a _reason_ to worry about us being buddy-buddy, Komui."

Komui tensed and flushed slightly, his eye twitching, "W-What are you insinuating, General?"

"Nothing at all… Except maybe that I didn't expect you to be so _childish_ about these sorts of matters."

"Peh… nnng…"

"…Men are annoying and confusing." Gracia grumbled, rubbing her forehead as she walked forward and past Komui, "Can we just go down and see Hevlaska now?"

Once she was on the lift, Gracia crouched in a corner and pressed her forehead against the bar there, closing her eyes and grabbing the railing above her head.

When the lift shuddered and started to descend, she groaned and pressed her forehead against the bar harder, burying her stomach in her legs and clamping her eyes shut tightly.

"Hey, she alright?"

"Because of Sleep, she's prone to various forms of motion sickness. She'll get over it slightly when we stop."

"Ah… It's not too often you hear of an Innocence having that kind of affect on its Accommodator."

"Sleep isn't exactly a standard equipment type Anti-Akuma Weapon; it utilizes chemicals, not a large-scale physical, metaphysical or spiritual force. It makes sense some spillage would occur, especially considering that, up until a few months ago, she had no idea how to handle Sleep."

"Can we not talk about me like I won't hear you?" Gracia groaned softly, shuddering when the lift jerked to a stop.

"Welcome back… Gracia…" Hevlaska murmured softly somewhere near her, her glowing aura lighting up the area as her tendrils slipped over to wrap around Gracia gently and help her stand upright, "How have things been…?"

"Evolution…" Gracia mumbled, relaxing back into Hevlaska's grip and keeping her eyes closed as her sweater was gently peeled back over her arm, "Three new abilities… Drow Poison… Sopor… Confusio and Alucinari…"

"Yes, I see that…" Hevlaska smiled, "You've made… fantastic progress."

"Has her synchronization rate increased?" Komui asked.

"Indeed it has… Cross, you may have company soon. Gracia's standing synchronization rate has risen to ninety-five percent."

A numb rush of shock jolted through Gracia's body and her eyes snapped open, her right hand twitching and Sleep's metal jangling softly.

"…Are you sure, Hevlaska?" Komui asked, sounding like he was also slightly shocked.

"I am. It seems the recent changes with Gracia's relationship with Sleep you have been reporting to me, Komui, were, indeed, prelude to evolutionary changes…" Hevlaska answered calmly, turning Gracia around to face Komui and Cross and setting her down, "And Sleep, it seems, has a very small gap between its second level evolution and the surpassing of the one hundred percent marker."

"This is fantastic…!" Komui perked, smiling between Hevlaska and Gracia encouragingly, "We could well have another General soon!"

"Yes…" Hevlaska nudged Gracia into facing her gently, leaning forward so their faces were level as she went on in a slightly grave tone, "However… Gracia, you must proceed with caution. The more you rely on Sleep in an attempt to draw more power from it, the quicker you will progress… And using your power after the initial surpassing of the one hundred percent limit will be far more stressful than Sleep's first evolution."

"…Sleep's going to change…" Gracia mumbled softly, reaching down and clasping her hand over Sleep, "Again…?"

"…Yes, Gracia," Hevlaska murmured gently, her tendril-like hands lifting and brushing against Gracia's face soothingly, "Innocence evolves, often so it can better serve its Accommodator. I know you do not like change, but it will still be Sleep…"

"…The dreams have been changing."

"…Dreams?" Hevlaska frowned slightly.

"The dreams… The more Sleep changes, the more they change…" Gracia shuddered, hugging herself, "It used to be only a few… and I'd never remember them… but now there are more… And what happens in them… it's starting to come back to me…" She looked up at Hevlaska desperately, "I don't _want_ to remember it… Any of it!"

"…Perhaps you should give Sleep back to me for the time being, then." One of Hevlaska's hands wrapped around Gracia's wrist, "Having these emotions and thoughts when you're so close to reaching a new level of synchronization… isn't safe."

As she always did, Gracia tensed slightly a the thought of taking Sleep off, but at the same time… the… emotions… the feelings of wanting others around her to be safe… They spoke up, not wanting her to carry Sleep if it was going to endanger those around her she… cared about…

And she found that these two things conflicted with one another; she couldn't wear Sleep without endangering others, and she couldn't keep others safe without taking Sleep off.

She just… didn't…

"Gracia…"

She tensed slightly and glanced back at Komui as he set his hand on her shoulder, looking down at her with a soft, sympathetic expression.

"Sleep will always be here when you want it back or need it again." Komui said gently, "But for now… maybe it is best that you take it off…"

Gracia stared up at him, opening and closing her mouth slowly as a brief flash of panic, fear and dread shot through her body.

"…It will be okay."

…And, again, Gracia's body temperature acted funny, spiking when it clearly shouldn't have had to. It wasn't like she was doing anything strenuous…

But… still… Komui's assurance made her… feel better…

"…Okay…" Gracia ceded softly, turning to face Hevlaska again, "You can… take Sleep…"

Hevlaska nodded, and her hand tightened around Gracia's wrist.

When Gracia felt Sleep's weight leave her, a void opened in her chest. She shuddered and leaned back against Komui slightly, lowering her head.

Komui tensed slightly, but relaxed after a moment and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.


	31. REM Cycle: Record Tainted, AutoRecover

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"Oh, Komui, that reminds me…" Gracia frowned at Komui as she knelt beside the control panel of the lift, hugging her legs to her chest, "I'm sorry, but I seem to have misplaced that coffee I promised to bring you…"

Komui, who had smiled down at her calmly, tensed and twitched, flushing slightly, "A-Actually, you didn't… I have it. You… gave it to me."

"…I did?" Gracia blinked up at him, "When did I do that?"

"R-Recently." Komui looked away, coughing into his hand and busying himself with a clipboard he seemed to pull out of nowhere.

"Oh… Well," Gracia perked, smiling, "Thank you for the electric blanket! You really went all out on it…"

"Well, I did make a promise, didn't I?" Komui chuckled, though he didn't look up from his clipboard. "Don't worry about it."

Gracia frowned slightly at him, then sighed and lowered her head, pressing her eyes to her knees.

Komui glanced at her briefly, guiltily, then got back to his paperwork.

Cross watched their interaction silently and amusedly. Nerds were funny when put in awkward social situations.

"…Gracia…" Komui suddenly turned his attention back to her, frowning slightly, "About those… dreams you mentioned…"

"I don't want to talk about it." Gracia suddenly got defensive, standing as soon as the lift stopped and walking off.

Cross and Komui blinked after her, the former with his eyebrow quirked and the latter with a stunned look on his face.

"…Komui, just what is going on with that woman?"

"…" Komui sighed, adjusting his glasses and muttering, "She's a noblewoman who's forgotten all of the pertinent points of her past because of Sleep."

"…Noble?" Cross glanced at Komui, frowning, "What house?"

"…Solidor." Komui glanced at Cross, "Do you recognize that name?" He froze, not needing an answer. The look on Cross' face told him that yes, Cross knew that name.

"Lvellie's still around, isn't he?" Cross growled, suddenly scowling and storming off of the lift, "We have to keep them from meeting."

Komui scowled and hurried after Cross.

Great, the Solidor family had something to do with the Lvellie family? This was not going to end well…

* * *

Gracia squeaked and stumbled when someone swung around the corner and straight into her chest, wrapping her arms around them impulsively as they fell.

She laid sprawled out on her back, blinking at the ceiling slowly, dazedly, her body taking a moment to register that there was an additional weight on her legs, waist, stomach…

Chest.

"Hi there." The person mumbled into her chest.

Gracia glanced down at the top of the red head that was firmly planted in her chest. "…Why does this keep happening?" She sighed and let her head fall back onto the ground, closing her eyes.

"Because you keep running into some really lucky guys?" The boy on top of her, for he couldn't be much older than eighteen, answered cheekily, giving her a thumbs up while never removing his face from her chest.

"_Baka usagi_…" A familiar voice growled from above both of them.

Gracia opened her eyes slightly and looked up at Kanda, blinking at the withering glare he was giving the redhead, "Get off of my team's support unit."

"Baka usagi" barely dodged Mugen with a squeak, Gracia lying perfectly still when the blade pierced the ground next to her ribs, narrowly missing her.

Kanda snorted down at her, then turned his glare back on "baka usagi" growling, "Now, give my hair tie back."

"Baka usagi" just grinned cheekily and held up his hand, a length of braided cloth pinched between his thumb and forefingers.

"Lavi, really!" A voice it took Gracia a moment to remember belonged to Allen Walker called out as the boy and Lenalee trotted over, "We're still recovering from our injuries here! Can we not get hurt again?"

"C'mon, Allen, it's not like we're horsing around!" "Baka usagi", or Lavi, laughed, taking a step back down the hall and further away from Kanda, "We're training!"

Gracia tipped her head back, watching him, and when Kanda ground his teeth and jerked Mugen out of the stone floor, the blade starting to glow, she heaved a sigh and pushed herself to her feet, stumbling a bit as she turned around and walked over to Lavi calmly.

Lavi stared at her, quirking a brow.

Gracia gave him a disarming smile.

Lavi blinked, then smiled back, his eye closing as he did.

Gracia's hand shot out and she snatched Kanda's hair tie away from him, absently holding it back in offering as Lavi blinked, realized what had happened and sputtered and whined.

The hair tie was jerked out of Gracia's hand harshly and Kanda walked by both her and Lavi, tying his hair back while barking, "Let's go, support unit!"

By now used to Kanda's commands, Gracia trotted after him without a second thought, even though she didn't know where he was going.

Lavi's brows shot up into his bandana and he and Allen exchanged glances before they followed.

Lenalee rolled her eyes before following, as well. Boys…

They didn't make it very far before two prim, proper figures emerged from a hallway perpendicular to the one they were walking through, the shorter, obviously younger one sporting a blonde braid and the older with a… terrifyingly severe look on his face, both wearing the same suited uniform.

"How could you lose him? !" The older one snapped at the younger, gloved hands clenched at his sides as he stormed.

"We were separated in the lunch li—WALKER!"

Gracia jerked to a stop before Kanda did, blinking when the two males turned to face their group and glare at Allen.

The braided blonde stormed towards Allen, shouting at him, while Allen shouted back (something about him needing to learn to keep up with Allen's stomach), but it was lost on Gracia… as soon as the older man locked eyes with her, they both tensed, their eyes widening.

A very, very strong pulse of recognition raced through Gracia's veins, and the brief flash of unintelligible memories it brought left her feeling like her heart and stomach were suddenly made of ice.

Absently, she noticed Komui and Cross suddenly ran into the hall, but before anything could be said by them, the severe man called out to her.

"Lady Solidor?"

Gracia's entire body seized up, all of the previous glassiness that had almost always been present in her eyes clearing away as her head and heart pounded, her voice a dry croak, "Mal… colm…?"

"Inspector Lvellie, no!" Komui shouted.

His cry came too late.

Gracia's body seized up again, her hands flying to her head and digging into her messy hair as she clutched at her head, her legs water beneath her as she fell to her knees.

She—

* * *

_She stood by her mother silently as the coffin was lowered into the ground, biting her lip harshly and squeezing her eyes shut to keep tears from spilling, her body jerking periodically with small, held-in gasps._

"_Silence, you stupid girl!" Her mother hissed so lowly she was just shy of being silent._

_But Gracia heard her. She always did._

_Gracia drew in a shuddering breath, her arms shaking slightly._

"_You wear a veil to hide your tears, but it's useless if you show your emotions with your entire body! You're a Solidor woman! Mourn so silently no one can tell you're crying!"_

_Gracia adjusted her teeth's grip on her lip and bit again, clasping her hands in front of her and raising her head slightly as her father, Silas, was lowered into the earth._

_What would she do now…?_

_They had been one another's escape from the demands that came with being members of the family they had been born into._

_Though his wife, Gracia's mother, Mathilda hated it, Silas was a brilliant scientist and mechanist. He even did a bit of 'side work' for a certain organization that their family was already allied to, calling it a hobby so his wife would have less reason to be angry with him._

_And when he had found his daughter shared his interests and skills, he had welcomed her into his world, happy to have another person in the family he could talk about such things to._

_Shallow reasons, yes, but the bond they had formed through it was just as strong as any father-daughter relationship formed for all of the right reasons._

_He had expanded her horizons further than any 'proper' young girl of her time should have had, and she had given him an eager mind to fill, impress upon, be himself around…_

_They had been one another's escape from Mathilda._

_And now… now he was gone. The only one of her parents she had any connection to… was gone…_

"_Your reeducation begins tomorrow." Mathilda said as they stood alone, staring down at Silas' now filled grave. "I let your father corrupt you for far too long. It's time you learned to be a proper Solidor woman."_

_And she let it happen._

_Because, with her father gone, her mother was all she had left._

_And with her mother being all she had left, her mother's world would soon become her own._

_She would marry a nobleman, live the life of a noblewoman, and never… ever be able to entertain such thoughts as the ones her father had encouraged…_

_And there was nothing she could do about it._

_Because, while the Solidor family was patriarchal on the outside, everyone on the inside knew… it was the matriarch who ran the family._

* * *

"GRACIA!" Lenalee ran to Gracia's side as the woman collapsed, having a seizure just like she had that one time on the train.

This time, though… it didn't leave as quickly as it had come.

It stayed.

And then, she saw blood in Gracia's mouth.

Lenalee froze up, stuttering, "K-Komui…"

Her brother was by her side in an instant, jerking his coat off and rolling it up as he pulled Gracia onto her side. He shoved his jacket under Gracia's head before he turned to Lenalee and jerked her back when she tried to reach out for the still seizing woman.

It lasted three harrowing, silent minutes, the young male Exorcists watching in silent shock, Lenalee clinging to her brother and Lvellie frozen where he had been when Gracia had collapsed after saying his name.

Then it was suddenly over and Gracia went limp, her body still trembling on and off and her breathing labored.

When Lenalee slowly, hesitantly reached out for her, Komui not stopping her this time, Gracia's eyes opened and she sat up, looking around slowly.

She then flinched and covered her mouth with her hand, whining softly and pulling her hand back. She pouted when she saw the blood on her hand, "Damn it, did I fall asleep standing up again and bite my tongue…?" She flinched and hissed at the pain that came with talking with a bitten tongue, drooping, "Definitely bit my tongue…"

There was nothing but silence as Gracia groaned softly and stood, casting Kanda a glance, "Sorry, Kanda, but I'm gonna go to my room now… Sleepy."

Kanda paused, then jerked his head in a barely passable nod.

Gracia sighed, then blinked, smiling and waving when she saw Lvellie, "Hey, Malcolm."

"…Gracia…" Lenalee whimpered as the older woman turned and stumbled off.

Gracia, though, didn't hear her, dragging her feet right past Allen and Lavi before turning and walking out of sight.

"…Lee… Marian…" Lvellie started in a dangerous hiss after a moment, clenching his hands at his sides tightly and glaring when the men glanced at him, "Explain."

* * *

"The Solidor family has been a major supporter of the Black Order for the last seventy years." Lvellie explained to Komui grimly, "During that time, their monetary contributions have accounted for one quarter of the Black Order's collective funds. No other noble family that is tied to the Vatican has donated as much. The Solidor family has made it their purpose to raise money through entrepreneurial and marriage ventures to donate to the Order; they take very, _very_ good care of their daughters." He narrowed his eyes slightly, "She could not have simply run away; if she had, the Solidor family wouldn't be so secretive that even the Vatican has been unaware of the fact that she has been missing for the last four years. Something happened. Something tragic. Something the Solidor family does not want to make public. If they find out she was kept here without them being informed, the Black Order _and_ Central will receive serious reprimands from the Vatican."

Komui flinched, then clasped his hands on his desk, "Inspector, you saw how… violently she reacted to just seeing _you_. And you say you've only spoken to her a handful of times? Imagine how bad it would be if she met her _mother_."

"That is not our business."

"She's an Exorcist; I would say it is entirely our business."

Lvellie clenched his jaw and the two men glared at one another heatedly.

"…The Solidor family does not allow children of the main branch to become Exorcists." Lvellie informed Komui in a dangerous voice, "Least of all their daughters; they _need_ their daughters to marry into other noble families. I was never informed of her personal life, but considering how old Lady Gracia is, I would say that it would be highly unlikely that she isn't already married. That means you would not only be concealing her presence from her mother family, but also the noble family she married into."

Komui tensed, thinking quickly. "…I need time to… acclimate her to the idea. Gracia's mindset is typically very stable, but on certain matters she can be dangerously delicate. There is no telling what that sort of news would do to her, and if Sleep were to respond…"

"…You have two weeks, Supervisor Lee." Lvellie said after a moment, standing, "After that, I will be writing a letter to Lady Mathilda Solidor personally. Whether she's mentally prepared or not, Lady Gracia will have to face her mother and go home."

Komui stared after the severe man as he left the room, then dropped his head into his hands. The Solidor family… _the_ Solidor family…! Gracia was the daughter of the current head of _the_ Solidor family!

Why in the hell hadn't he remembered that name? !

…And now… there was a strong possibility she wasn't just Gracia 'Solidor'… No, her surname wouldn't be Solidor if she were…

…married…

There were several Exorcists who had been very involved in their lives before coming to the Black Order; some were married, some had children, most had been at least _dating_…

Even Gracia would have had something going on in her life before she'd started forgetting. It had been one of the first things he had realized when he had been thinking about what must have been going on in her life before Sleep had come to her.

In their day and age, most women her age were married.

In their day and age, it would be a very, very rare occurrence in which a woman her age and of her status _wasn't_ married.

And… that bothered him…

And… he was starting… to come to terms with why it bothered him.

…Which was odd, considering he hadn't completely defined why it should bother him to begin with. Definition and realization usually came before acceptance, didn't it? How odd that things should happen backwards…

…Maybe it was because he didn't want to define it just yet because he knew… that things wouldn't work out even if he did.

Accepting it was fine; in fact, accepting it would help him move on with his life.

But defining it? Giving it a name? Realizing it for what it really was? That would hurt.

And Komui wasn't in a position where he could stand being hurt right now; he had too much on his plate in professional matters to let personal matters depress him.

Komui sighed and took off his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose.

This was bad. He actually wanted to do paperwork now.

* * *

As soon as Gracia stepped into her room, her forced grogginess dissipated and she fell back against the door, covering her head with her arms and sliding down as she burst into tears.

This couldn't be happening.

It couldn't be…

"I don't want to…" She sobbed, curling up in a tight ball and hugging herself, "I don't want to… I don't want it… _Any_ of it!"

Why? !

Why couldn't she go anywhere without being reminded about… about…? !

It… Hurt! !

All of it, an entire lifetime, flooding back so quickly, so many emotions, so many images, so many phantom pains in her arms, legs, stomach, neck, face, feet, back, her chest…

Oh, god, her chest…! !

Not just physical, but emotional… So much more emotional pain than physical! ! And years of it! ! Years and years of emotional pain flooding back, dealing one blow to her heart after another, the muscles pinching, twisting, throbbing, moving so violently she thought she would be torn inside out heart first!

Had this been what Hevlaska was talking about? ! Had she been letting Sleep blind her from her own past for so long that the pain of having _it_ flood back would really… destroy her…? !

She could feel her heart beating faster and faster, pulsing in her throat, her mouth, her head, even though she was sobbing she was having a hard time breathing…

And then, all too quickly, she felt cold, the thudding suddenly stopping and a ripping pain coming to her chest, and breathing became impossible.

She was giving herself a panic attack.

She suddenly wanted to run. To get away. From what or to where didn't matter, so long as she did.

But she couldn't even feel her legs anymore.

Helplessness washed over her and she curled up on the ground, rocking back and forth and sobbing.

"I don't want it… I don't want to… Don't make me… Don't make me, _please_… Don't make me remember!"


	32. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XXIII

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

By the time Marie reached his teammate's side after hearing her heart, she was already unresponsive to outside stimulus, shaking, sobbing and muttering unintelligibly when she had no breath to spare.

Marie rushed her to the infirmary, the Head Matron having her taken from him the moment she saw Gracia.

Marie then hurried off to tell his General, who was in Komui's office having a grave discussion with the Supervisor and Cross.

As he had before, Komui rushed off the instant he heard Gracia's name, Tiedoll not far behind and Cross following them irritably, the redhead grumbling about "overly-affectionate old men" and "dense, infatuated nerds."

The Matron, though, wouldn't let them into Gracia's room, standing in front of the door firmly and frowning at Komui when he persisted.

"Supervisor, she isn't decent."

Komui twitched and froze at that, his face reddening slightly.

The Matron sighed, then frowned at Komui, "Where is Sleep? She's been asking for it."

"Don't give it to her."

Komui and Tiedoll turned their attention to Cross as the Matron frowned at him.

"General?"

"The Innocence is testing her." Cross sighed, pulling out a cigarette and putting it in his mouth (but not lighting it when a dangerous look flashed through the Matron's eyes), "She's still bordering on a higher synchronization rate, remember? It'd be one thing if she were still as emotionally inept as you all have described her as being when she first came here, but she's not. She may still be pretty dense, but she's starting to get a bit more… connected with people. Now the only thing that's holding her back is her own refusal to remember her past and adamancy on depending on her Innocence to balm her mind." He glanced at Komui sharply, "You give her Sleep back now, and you can forget about her ever becoming a General. Her synchronization rate will drop so fast you won't be able to get her to Hevlaska in time to get it off."

Komui tensed.

"…He's right, Supervisor," Tiedoll glanced at Komui, "So many thing happening to her at one time… This _is_ a Test. And in order for her to pass it, she needs to reassign her priorities and stop using the Innocence to shield her from her memories."

"…She has to start remembering _now_, of all times?" Komui muttered, looking at Gracia's door again.

"I'd say it couldn't have happened at a better time." Cross shrugged, chewing on his cigarette lightly, "Especially if Lvellie really will be writing her mother in two weeks."

Komui tensed, his hand clenching at his side.

Behind the Matron, the door opened and a nurse poked her head out, glancing up at the Matron as the older woman looked back and murmuring, "She wants to talk to the Supervisor… She wants her Anti-Akuma Weapon back. She says… the memories are coming back too quickly. It's hurting her…"

"…She can't have her Innocence." The Matron murmured, "Orders from the Generals. Get a pain drip ready; three units of tramadol in a normosol suspension."

"Yes, Ma'am." The nurse nodded, going to duck back into the room.

"W-Wait." Komui stepped forward, "I need to talk to her."

"Again, Supervisor," The Matron reached out, pressing her hand to his chest, "She is not de—"

"It's fine, Matron…" Gracia's voice called weakly from inside the room, making the younger nurse look back, "It's just Komui… He's seen me in less than this."

Komui flushed darkly, twitching. He'd been hoping to _forget_ the incident where he'd seen her… naked… but now her image was back in his mind and he was feeling more and more reluctant to go into the room… Especially with these… _thoughts_ that had taken to cropping up in his mind.

Then again, considering the slap to the back and the… salacious comment Cross had just murmured into his ear, the redhead's roguish grin slapped in place again, he didn't want to turn around, either.

Bracing himself, Komui brushed Cross off and walked past the Matron and the nurse, shutting the door behind himself.

There was silence for a moment, Komui facing the door with his hand on the knob and Gracia lying somewhere behind him in silence.

When she let out a soft, pained noise, medical paper and springs in the bed making noises as she shifted, Komui turned around and looked at her, flinching.

She'd been stripped down and was wearing medical scrub pants and a sports bra, electrodes placed in specific locations along her upper body and a heavy, white cloth draped over her eyes.

"Could you turn the light off…?"

Komui blinked, then nodded, belatedly remembering she couldn't see him as he reached out and flipped the light switch.

Gracia sighed in relief and reached up, pulling the cloth off of her face and looking over at him with dilated, bloodshot eyes.

"…How long have you known?"

Komui grimaced, walking over slowly and sitting in a chair beside her bed, "Since you ran into you old nursemaid in Germany… General Tiedoll called me right after so I could add your medical information to your file." He paused, then asked delicately, "How much… do you remember?"

"I'm trying to block that out." Gracia croaked, lying her head back and closing her eyes, "Fortunately, I'm still feeling Sleep's effects, so it's second nature… But the images are starting to… slip through."

Komui sighed.

"…Komui, I don't want to remember."

He looked up at her, at a loss for a moment. "…Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do to help you… Cross and Tiedoll seem to think that the Innocence is testing you and trying to get you to reset your priorities, so if I give it to you now and you try to use it to forget again, your synchronization rate could drop. You could become—" Komui stopped himself.

A Fallen One.

If she went against whatever wishes the Innocence had for her and her synchronization rate dropped too low, she could become a Fallen One.

But he couldn't say that… He couldn't admit that any more than he could that he was… feeling… something… for h—

"Reset my priorities?" Gracia asked suddenly, frowning in confusion.

Komui blinked at her, then sighed and leaned forward, clasping his hands and bracing his elbows against his knees, "Innocence is a very powerful item and power that is said to have been given to us by God. It is used by the Black Order to destroy Akuma… to do His work. It's not meant to…" He paused, shifting, then sighed, "You're not supposed to use it to make yourself feel better."

Gracia stared at him silently.

"Cutting out all of the religious talk," Komui waved is hand, "It's meant to destroy Akuma. It bonds with an Accommodator so it can do just that. You can't put yourself above what the Innocence wants you to do, or it won't work for you." He stared at her for a moment, then said, "Gracia, you've been… opening up. When you first came here, you were very emotionally distant, and it was due to more than just the fact that Sleep numbed you to the world around you. Now, however, you have people you care about. You're depending less and less on Sleep and concerning yourself more with those around you." Komui paused again before going on, "Internally, your priorities are changing, and the reasons you first started using Sleep are… probably not as important to you as they used to be. And until you realize what is important to you now… putting Sleep on again isn't safe."

"…And having my priorities change comes with the unfortunate side effect of remembering things I'd sooner forget?" Gracia asked softly.

"If forgetting them was part of the reason you first put Sleep on, then yes." Komui nodded, "Definitely."

"…" Gracia sighed, closing her eyes again.

She didn't remember the moment when she'd first put Sleep on. Her memory was a jumbled mess at the moment; the things that were flashing through her head weren't in any particular sequence, and she didn't recognize most of the people and places in them as it was.

She didn't remember her reasoning behind her first use of Sleep, either…

Had there been a reason? Or had she just put it on and it had simply worked?

After all, it wasn't as if Sleep reached out and spoke to her, or displayed any level of sentience, really. It just responded to her panic and, since she had improved, commands.

Sure, she had treated it as if it were conscious, but that… that had always been out of need for companionship…

"Damn it." Gracia rasped, raising her hand weakly and pressing it to her forehead. "I want Sleep."

"You can't have it." Komui insisted, his voice starting to get firm. If this was going to be anything like withdrawals from drugs or alcohol, she was going to need at least one person to be firm with her.

"Komui, I can't stand all of these images!" Gracia hissed, grinding her teeth, "They _hurt_."

"I can imagine it does. You've been blocking out at least twenty-five years of your life for four years; you have quite a bit to remember."

"Just let me see Sleep." Gracia started begging, turning and looking at him desperately as her eyes watered, "Just let me look at it. I need to know that it's still there!"

"It is." Komui sat back in his seat, "Hevlaska has it." When he noticed her eyes widened as he drew away, her body starting to shake, Komui leaned forward again and took her hand, "I promise you, Sleep is fine. You, however, won't be if you don't get some rest."

"How am I supposed to rest without Sleep? !" Gracia snapped, weakly trying to jerk her hand out of his grip, "Sleep has _always_ been there! I can't fall asleep alone!"

"Then I'll stay with you."

Gracia twitched and froze, staring at Komui with wide eyes.

Komui sighed, relaxing his grip on her hand slightly and moving his thumb in circles against her palm, "If you can't fall asleep alone, I'll stay until you do."

Gracia continued staring at him, opening and closing her mouth silently before she stilled. Her temperature was doing that weird thing where it spiked again, and her face felt a bit too warm…

Komui smiled at her, "You got angry at me just now… It's interesting to see you display emotions. After seeing you be slightly out of it for so long, it's endearing."

Gracia twitched, her face getting even warmer. Stupid Komui… Again, she found herself coming to the conclusion she had in Singapore.

"Your weirdness had better not be contagious," She grumbled, glaring at him slightly, tiredly, "Or you won't find my anger to be 'endearing' for very long."

Komui just chuckled, shaking his head.

Gracia stared at him for a moment, her lips pursed, then sighed and slowly relaxed, her eyelids slipping down partway.

Komui… was holding her right hand… the one that had been occupied by Sleep for so long.

His hand… was so much larger than hers… And it was warm.

Unlike Sleep, his hand wasn't ice cold, or even hot like Sleep got when it was being activated… It was warm. Just warm. Warm, dry and slightly callused… But his thumb… moving against her palm… touching her where she avoided letting most others touch so Sleep wasn't triggered…

…It felt… nice…

It took a while, longer than it ever would have with Sleep, but Gracia started to feel… tired…

As she watched his hand move in hers, his thumb rubbing circles against her palm, she felt… sleepy… And not in the way Sleep made her feel. This was new… it was different…

…Pleasant…

And because of that, like she was with Sleep, she found herself… not wanting him to leave…

It was selfish; he was busy with so many other things, most of which she couldn't even begin to name. It was irrational; he wasn't Sleep, he couldn't release chemicals that would make her feel drowsy or block out her dreams…

…But she found herself wanting him to stay all the same.

…Maybe she really _had_ caught Komui's weirdness, like a disease. And now she was getting clingy like him…

Great… would she start getting as overprotective of him as he was of Lenalee? Heavens smite her if she did.

It vaguely crossed Gracia's mind that she should be a bit more upset about the fact that Sleep had been so easily replaced, and by Komui Lee, no less, but… the drowsiness he seemed to be inducing her with… was so nice… she couldn't focus on it…

The thought came, then went, and she found herself closing her eyes and curling her fingers around Komui's thumb as he stroked her palm, his thumb stopping said action as she held it. The rest of Komui's fingers rested against the back of her hand, still, unmoving, but no less warm. The roughness of his fingers from work and calluses felt… nice…

The rush of images ebbed, and with it the pain in her chest and head. All she could focus on was Komui's hand in and around hers…

Her lips twitching into a small, relieved smile as she relaxed as the memories faded, Gracia tightened her grip on Komui's hand slightly.

Well, there seemed to be an upside to her strange reactions to him; like Sleep, he made her forget. …Or maybe… it was more like… he made other things less important.

Either way… the fact that she had to cling to him upset her a little less because of this realization…

And so, relaxed and blank in her mind, Gracia fell asleep, allowing herself to enjoy Komui's soothing presence and clinging to his thumb.


	33. N REM Cycle: Record Merged

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"Is weirdness contagious?"

The newest generation of Exorcists looked over at Gracia, most freezing in mid-bite as they stared at her.

Gracia stared down at her chicken and rice meal with a contemplative frown.

Next to her, Lenalee chewed slowly before swallowing, "What do you mean?"

Gracia thought for a moment, her frown deepening and her expression twisting slightly as she tried to think about exactly what it was she meant.

On her other side, Kanda's expression slowly flattened before he lost interest and turned back to his soba with a glare.

"…I don't know." Gracia finally said, sighing slightly as she grabbed the glass in front of her plate. Before she took a drink, though, she glanced at Lenalee flatly, "But be warned; if your brother passed on his weirdness to me like some kind of… bizarre disease… I'll make him do many embarrassing things with Alucinari."

Lenalee giggled, nodding, "That's fine by me; he probably deserves it for what he did to you… _Whatever_ he did to you."

Gracia sighed and grumbled unintelligibly, eating some rice drizzled in cream of mushroom sauce with bits of green beans.

"S-Supervisor Lee did something to you…?" A woman in a dark dress with dark hair and dark bags under her eyes asked Gracia nervously, shifting in her seat and hardly touching her salad.

Gracia sighed again, then glanced at Miranda Lotto and smiled. Gracia liked Miranda; when the woman wasn't giving herself a reason to have a panic attack, she was sweet and extremely sensitive to Gracia's condition. Gracia just wished she had Sleep on her so she could help the woman take a calm, restful, nightmare-free nap; Miranda seemed like the type to stress herself so much her daily troubles followed her to her dreams and gave her insomnia…

"Not… directly…" Gracia said slowly, hesitantly, "He probably doesn't even know, and he definitely didn't mean it, but… It's his fault." She paused, then sighed slightly, nodding, "Definitely his fault."

"Well, what's what he did like?" Lenalee pressed, smiling at Gracia amusedly and tipping her head. "Is it a condition? And emotion? A strange habit you've formed?"

Gracia paused again, chewing the chicken in her mouth slowly and swallowing before she set her fork down and raised her hands, starting to make weird gestures.

"It's a… feeling… I get this… _vibe_ whenever I'm around him. …And I can't sleep because of him!" Gracia whined, dropping her head into her hands, "I haven't slept in two days! The only time I can get sleep is when he's nearby! He's trying to replace Sleep!" She gasped and looked up, her eyes wide, "He's trying to replace Sleep."

Allen and Lavi choked on their food as they held back laughter. Outrageous as the idea sounded… it was something they could see Komui doing; cackling evilly and waving his hands as he slowly nudged Sleep behind a wall with his foot or something while Gracia watched dazedly, distracted by his hands…

Arystar blinked at his two young friends as they exchanged knowing glances and choked on laughter, the baron confused.

"…Gracia, Komui isn't trying to replace Sleep." Lenalee said gently, patting Gracia on the back, "Even you have to realize how… out there that sounds."

"…I know…" Gracia drooped, lowering her head again, "But… I don't know what to… call this… And I have so much time to think lately I can't avoid thinking about it."

Lenalee sighed, staring at her before asking, "This… 'vibe', what does it feel like?"

Gracia lifted her head and frowned deeply once more. What _did_ it feel like? What could she compare it to…

"…Alright, so it's winter." She started slowly after a moment, glancing at Lenalee out of the corner of her eye, "Not a wet winter, but a dry, cold, biting winter… You've been outside in the wind and snow for so long that you're actually feeling sleepy…"

Lenalee nodded slightly, now turned slightly to face Gracia and listening intently.

On Gracia's other side, Kanda rolled his eyes. It was always about sleep with her…

"But then, you find… someplace warm to stay…" Gracia tipped her head, "There's a fire… a huge, plush bed with blankets… wine…" Gracia shuddered and slowly relaxed in her seat, getting drowsy just thinking about it and blushing happily, "Spiced, warmed red wine…"

The Exorcists had, once again, stopped eating and were staring at her, Kanda's brow quirked and Lenalee's eyes widened slightly.

"…I wanna wring his scrawny neck!" Gracia suddenly burst, snapping herself out of her happy daydream and strangling the air in front of her, her blush not abating, "I don't like emotions, and I especially don't like emotions I don't understand!"

"Aww, Gracia!" Lenalee suddenly lunged and wrapped her arms around Gracia's neck, hugging her, "You're so cute!"

"What? !" Gracia whined, swaying slightly under Lenalee, "Do you know what this is? Because I have just about had it with trying to figure it out!"

Lenalee just giggled.

"You poor, poor woman." Lavi sighed, "I wish you luck with that; Komui usually requires a hand that… has a bit more energy available."

Gracia blinked at him, "…What are you talking about?"

"Lenalee, you don't mind?" Miranda blinked.

"Of course not!" Lenalee smiled warmly, "I don't think there's anyone I'd prefer over Gracia!"

"…But she just said she wanted to strangle him." Arystar pointed out hesitantly.

"She's just confused." Lenalee giggled slightly. She then sighed, "Besides, Komui _does_ need to be strangled every now and then…"

Gracia twitched slightly and glanced at Kanda, pursing her lips when she saw he was sighing and shaking his head slightly.

…She was getting the… _oddest_ feeling that everyone in the group knew what was going on, and that they were purposely not telling her…

"…To hell with you all." Gracia grumbled sullenly, pulling away from Lenalee and standing, "'m gonna go try to take a nap again… And I will _not_ be using that electric blanket Komui made me!"

The group stared after her, some in slight shock, others in amusement, and a certain someone with a flat glare.

"…She'll be using the electric blanket." Lenalee sighed.

"Oh, yeah." Lavi nodded.

Allen chuckled, nodding.

Arystar and Miranda just smiled sheepishly, still not familiar enough with Gracia to feel comfortable commenting.

Kanda was… Kanda.

* * *

Gracia was in her room… not asleep.

Which only made her even angrier than she already had been.

Bedrooms were _made_ to be slept in! That's why they had beds and were called '_bed_rooms!'

All she'd ever done in bedrooms was sleep!

She had never, like she was now, spent hours on end just… just pacing!

She was _exhausted_! She felt like she was falling asleep on her feet!

She had the damned electric blanket on and was wearing her most comfortable pair of pajamas!

But she… couldn't… sleep. Not without Sleep…

…Or… not without…

Gracia stopped pacing, staring at her door with bloodshot eyes.

…To hell with it; she was tired, she didn't care what she had to do right now. If she couldn't wear Sleep, she'd just have to do the only other thing that seemed to work.

Not bothering to change her clothes as she slipped on her heavy, uniform work boots, Gracia stumbled out of her room tiredly, starting to make her way down and out of the residential area.

She would have loved for the monotonous chore of walking down stairs to make her tired, as she had become accustomed to, but it didn't happen.

As much as her eyes burned, as heavy as her limbs got, as numb as her fingers and then arms got, she just couldn't fall asleep, not even on her feet while walking down so many damned flights of stairs…

She stopped when she made it to Komui's office, twitching slightly.

Not once had she blinked for too long as she usually did… she didn't even run into any walls, though there had been plenty of opportunities for it to happen.

…This was bad. Really, really bad…

Just what was _wrong_ with her? Why was she suddenly so… so _fixated_ on _Komui_? !

She had never felt like this before… Not in her recent memory, not in her many past ramblings of images and emotions, _never_…

And it… it wasn't just frustrating because she didn't know what it was…

It… it felt _good_. The only other thing that genuinely made her feel good was Sleep, and it _certainly_ wasn't anything like this. This was… this was something…

Gracia clenched her hands at her sides and ground her teeth, then sighed and walked right into Komui's office.

Fortunately, he was alone…

Komui looked up from his work as she walked in, blinking, "Gracia? Is something wrong?"

"…No." She walked through his office and sat down on the sofa in front of his desk, not even bothering to kick her boots off before lying down.

It ticked her off that, as she curled her arm under her head to use as a pillow, she found herself closer to falling asleep than she had in the sanctity of her own room…

"…Gracia?"

"This is all your fault." She growled at him, irritated, as she opened her eyes to glare at him, "I haven't slept in two damned days, and other than Sleep, you're the only thing I can find that helps put me to sleep. I don't know if you've sprayed yourself with something from the Science Division or if it's just something about _you_ that makes me comfortable enough to sleep, but if it's the former you'd better hand it over."

Komui just stared at her in silent shock, blinking slowly.

Gracia sighed heavily, furrowing her brow, then shuddered and relaxed right after, curling up on the sofa and closing her eyes.

And, much to her passive, exhausted annoyance, she fell asleep almost immediately after.

* * *

Komui stared at Gracia as she slept peacefully on his couch, slowly starting to redden.

Wait, she could only sleep around him now that she didn't have Sleep anymore? Oh, this wasn't good… No, this wasn't good at all.

Because Gracia more than _loved_ her sleep; she _needed_ it. And if he was the only thing that could put her to sleep as long as she didn't have her Innocence, she _would_ track him down every time she wanted a nap.

And just when Komui was starting to think that _avoiding_ her would be the best tactic!

Now he would be forced to… think about this odd situation he had accepted but hadn't yet reached a conclusion about when he had other things he needed to be worrying about…

Lenalee's Innocence!

Allen's approaching inquisition!

The large Akuma Egg just three floors down!

Central's sudden interference!

The Ark they were still using without having any clue as to how it worked!

…And… yet… oddly… he could still think about these things and not worry as much as he had been. He wasn't even worrying about his issue (whatever it was) with Gracia… now that she was in the room.

Seeing her lie there, sleeping calmly, contentedly was… consoling. Which was rather odd…

…Though… if the situation concerning her he had yet to reach a conclusion about was… '_that_' sort of situation, then it would make sense…

Komui shuddered and blushed, burying himself in his work again. No, no, no! He couldn't start reaching a conclusion about the situation! That was _bad_! It was best to accept it but leave the definition ambiguous!

Because, even if she wasn't married, she was still a noblewoman… And nobles didn't—

"Aaagh…" Komui pressed a hand to his face.

That, too, was too close to defining it. Suffice it to say, he was far too low-class.

And, from what he'd heard about Mathilda Solidor, the head of the Solidor family was not someone he wanted to anger…

Besides, Komui wasn't the kind of person who da—

Komui tensed, his blush darkening.

…He needed to stop thinking about this now.

* * *

_How odd… once again, she was lucidly dreaming about something other than a snippet from her past._

_Again, she was in Komui's office, only this time she had woken there. She sat up slowly on the sofa in front of his desk, looking around tiredly._

_Komui didn't look up from his work, completely buried in it and actually working frantically…_

…_This had to be a dream._

_Still…_

"_I'm sorry I was so… snippy."_

_Komui paused, then continued working, "It's… fine. You're just tired."_

"_It's not that… I'm confused."_

_Komui paused again, looking for a moment like he was fighting with himself, then looked up slowly, guarded concern on his face, "…Confused? About what?"_

"_This whole… 'reevaluate my priorities' thing… And you."_

_Komui's shoulders hunched slightly, "…Me?"_

"_Yes. You. I caught your weird."_

_Komui's tension melted away and he tipped his head in confusion, a lost look crossing his face, "Eeeh?"_

"…_I'm feeling something for you…" She sighed, "And I don't understand it. And I don't like that I don't understand it. Recently, my life is confusing enough without new emotions I've never felt before."_

_By that point, Komui was a shade of red she wasn't entirely sure that it was healthy for the human face to bear._

_And suddenly… she understood._

"…_Oh… my god…" She stood, "I need to talk to Hevlaska."_

_Komui blinked, now red-faced and, once again, confused, "Eh?"_

_Sleepwalking or not, Gracia turned and stumbled over to the door to Komui's office._

_Because even if it was only a dream, she understood it now, if only in part._

_She knew what her priorities were._

…_Even if she still didn't get what her problem with Komui was._


	34. HPPD Flashback: Record Found

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia was just glad someone the lift's palm reader recognized was already on their way down to talk to Hevlaska, or she would have been stuck.

Still… she did wish it had been someone other than Cross. And that she had remembered to change out of her pajamas.

Even with the blonde woman accompanying them, Cross was _still_ throwing her sly smirks. And without Sleep, her motion sickness had faded to the point where she hardly noticed it, so she couldn't pretend to sulk in a corner over debilitating stomach pains…

So, she turned her attention to the blonde woman, instead.

"Hi…" She smiled at her sheepishly, "I'm Gracia… and I'm sorry if we've already introduced ourselves to one another, but my memory is terrible."

The woman smiled slightly, glancing at Gracia with the one eye that wasn't covered by fringe and nodding, "So I've heard. And no, we haven't met, so you have no need to apologize… Klaud Nine." Something small skittered and shrieked from her other shoulder and she nodded to it slightly, "And this is my parasitic Anti-Akuma Weapon, Lau Jimin."

Gracia blinked at the cute, furry white capuchin as it peeked over Klaud's head, chittering and nodding to Gracia slightly.

"…I thought parasite types were actually… part of the body…" Gracia mumbled, holding out her hand and letting the little monkey grip her finger when it slipped over to Klaud's other shoulder and reached out for her.

Klaud nodded, "Typically, yes… It happened wh—"

The lift suddenly stopped, cutting off the General's explanation.

The two women glanced over at Cross stepped forward to speak to Hevlaska as she leaned forward, her gigantic form being the only source of light in the glowing darkness.

"What does General Cross need to talk to Hevlaska about?" Gracia asked softly, not wanting to interrupt.

"He came to get Judgment back." Klaud answered similarly as Hevlaska reached out with one of her hand-like tendrils, which glowed briefly before a large handgun appeared.

The redheaded general reached out and grabbed the gun, cracking the moon clip open and spinning it to check the bullets before snapping it shut again with a nod, "Thanks, Hev."

Hevlaska nodded, smiling, then glanced over at the two women.

"You go ahead." Klaud sighed to Gracia, leaning back against the railing of the lift behind her, "I'm only here because Cross was… adamant on having company."

Gracia glanced at her, blinking, then nodded slightly and stepped forward, looking up at Hevlaska, "I'd like Sleep back…"

Hevlaska frowned slightly, "Has the Supervisor approved this?"

"No." Gracia sighed, "But I'm avoiding him right now, so…"

"Gracia…" Hevlaska started with a soft sigh.

"Hevlaska, I get it now…" Gracia murmured, her hand subconsciously going to fiddle with where Sleep should be, "I'm sorry it took me a bit… but I get it. I get what Sleep wants me to focus on now…" She paused, then sighed, "At least, I think I do. But I won't be sure unless you give Sleep back."

"…Gracia, you're not just saying this so I _will_ give Sleep back, are you?"

Gracia sighed, twitching when Cross chuckled behind her.

"No, Hevlaska, I'm not. But you know…" She pointed up at the large, large female, quirking a brow slightly, "If you keep stalling, I'm bound to forget what I think Sleep wants me to focus on. And if that happens, we'll be screwed… Because it will take me a really… really long time to remember it again."

"…Alright." Hevlaska smiled, a bit of laughter in her tone, "You can try…"

Gracia pulled her sleeve back and held out her arm, shuddering slightly as several of Hevlaska's fronds reached out and wrapped around her hand and wrist.

In a flash a familiar, icy grip clamped down on her wrist and finger, making her shudder and curl in on herself slightly.

Immediately after, a warm, sleepy, smoky fog rolled through her mind and she groaned softly, falling to her knees as her mind was wiped completely blank.

Black overtook her vision… Voices became a dull hum before they faded completely…

Nothing…

She blinked her eyes open and looked up, tipping her head in confusion when she saw a redheaded man, a blonde woman and a giant… female thing she didn't know hovering over her.

"…Hi." She smiled, "I'm sorry, did I fall asleep on you lawn…?"

The redhead quirked a brow, one corner of his mouth twisting downward. "No. Hevlaska gave you your Innocence back and you blacked out."

Gracia blinked, staring up at him for a moment, then nodded, "Oh, yeah, that sounds a lot more familiar…" She then frowned at him slightly, "And your hand had better be on my butt for strictly supportive purposes."

Cross chuckled, "Welcome back."

"_**Enemy attack! !**_"

Gracia jumped, her eyes widening as they darted around frantically. She then finally noticed her golem, staring at it along with Cross and Klaud.

"_**Attention all Exorcists and Black Order personnel! Akuma in Lab Five! Two Exorcists are currently doing battle with the intruders! Generals and Exorcists, report to Gate 3 of the Ark immediately—**_"

Anything else that might have been announced over to golem was drowned out by the machinery of the lift screaming to life, Gracia falling onto her side as Cross dumped her from his lap and dove for the control panel.

"I'll send you up as quickly as I can!" Hevlaska called after them, "Godspeed!"

Gracia collapsed on her side and curled up in a tight ball as pain and queasiness spread wildly from her stomach to her lungs and throat, the taste of bile strong on the back of her tongue as the lift shot upwards.

Her mind worked frantically to grasp what had happened.

Laboratory five? That… that was where Reever and the other member of the Science Division worked…

…And there were Akuma? Akuma in the _Black Order_? That… that just didn't register…

"Let's go, Gracia!" A strong arm wrapped around her waist and, like so many times before, she found herself thrown over a shoulder, flaming red hair getting in her eyes and mouth as sweeping, billowing black cloth blocked out her view of the ground and the thick black boots of the person carrying her.

This couldn't be happening… They were under attack and she was still in her pajamas…

"Oi! Socalo, Tiedoll, wait up!"

Gracia was jostled powerfully and sent flying through the air a short ways, getting flipped around before Cross' arm wrapped around her waist again and pressed her back against his chest, her feet not touching the ground, as he reached down and drew his gun.

"You'd better be right about what your Anit-Akuma Weapon wants you to focus on now." He growled in her ear before he leapt through the Ark, carrying her.

There was a flash of white, and then they were falling and Gracia got a good look at the laboratory floor below them.

"…Oh god… no…"

There was… blood…

There were… so many… Level 3s…

The scientists… they had been laid in rows and their heads were…

"The Ark is a smooth ride, eh, boy?" Cross' calm, even voice came from beside her head just before his descent came to a jerking stop, his feet perfectly balanced on the edge of the flower-like containment support of the egg-shaped, glowing Akuma Factory below them.

"What would you like us to do to you… Akuma?" Winters Socalo growled in an already insanely excited, bloodthirsty voice, just before he threw his arms out and the spiked half-rings on his shoulders slid down them.

Gracia barely had time to watch him as he leapt forward, slapping his hands together so the two halves met and blades sprouted from both sides before Cross leapt elsewhere with her.

They landed beside Klaud, on top of Tiedoll's Maker of Eden as Embracing Garden grew out and enveloped the rest of the living, lined up scientists, protecting them as the Level 3s all merged to form giant Akuma.

"Sorry, but I'm leaving the rest to you, Froi." Klaud called back at the older Exorcists, pulling a whip from her side and snapping the length between both of her hands.

"That's alright, Klaud." Tiedoll assured her, "The three of us can mop up. …As long as the prodigal son hasn't gotten rusty on us, that is."

"Who, me?" Cross asked with a chuckle, setting Gracia down. He then glanced down at her, "You ready?"

"Ah…" Gracia glanced down at Sleep, grabbing the bracelet portion tightly in her hand as she tried to remember just what her new resolve was.

…It wasn't that hard, though. Not with the dozens of scientists lying just below their feet, protected by Embracing Garden.

No, she was sure she knew what her purpose was now. Sleep had joined her to help her forget her past… and now it was time to pay it back.

She had a duty… to use Sleep to protect.

When Sleep pulsed hotly around her wrist, Gracia smiled and nodded, looking up and reaching out with her hand.

"Drow Poison : …Alucinari!"

In front of her, a Level 3 that had landed on Embracing Garden and stopped to stare at her inquisitively twitched, then punched itself through it own face and out the back of its head.

"Nice." Cross rumbled with a grin next to her ear, wrapping an arm around her waist and jumping, once again, as Lau Jimin suddenly grew at a monumental rate, the monstrous simian suddenly leaping forward at one of the giant Akuma.

Gracia shudder and closed her eyes as Cross, using unprecedented power in his legs, carried them up and landed on the railing of an overlook veranda overhead, growling out a quick "Cover me" order to her before he started firing.

She glanced over his shoulder, her eyes widening before she threw her arm over his and aimed Sleep at the group of Level 3 Akuma that had lunged at them from behind.

"Drow Poison : Confusio!"

The Akuma had just started to slow down when Cross snorted and aimed Judgment over his shoulder, firing without looking and removing his waist from her hand to pull a cigarette she hadn't remembered him lighting out of his mouth for a moment, "Fools."

Gracia glanced at him with a frown, "If you don't need me, isn't there somewhere I'd be better utilized…?"

"Probably." Cross sighed, aiming his gun at the ceiling and putting his cigarette back in his mouth as he grabbed her waist again, "But you were pretty out of it, and the other generals either move around too much for you to be effective or, like Froi, have their defenses covered." He flicked his wrist, Judgment's clip snapping open and spent shells raining out before it was snapped shut again to magically refill itself, "You're the kind of unit that gets tacked onto offensive units that don't need to move around too much. Like me. Now, shut up and get back to work."

Gracia sighed, then turned around in his arm to look down towards the ground, throwing her arm out at the group of Akuma that had surrounded her General.

"Sopor!"

* * *

"_Command center, this is Noise Maire in Lab Five_." Marie's voice came over the communicator earring in Cross' ear, "_We've stopped the Akuma._"

Gracia shuddered and slumped back against Cross exhaustedly, her head spinning from the horrible smell in the air and her right arm lying limp against her side, numb. She wasn't sure if the painful, hot pulsing was from Sleep or her shot nerve endings, but she wasn't sure if she'd be able to use Sleep again if she had to…

Hell, she hadn't been able to use Sleep for the last five minutes; after using Alucinari on one of the giant Akuma and making it kill two of its own kind, it had been obvious that she'd reached beyond her limits as her mind had suddenly gone blank and the Akuma had collapsed, bursting into a cloud of silvery dust.

After that, the only thing she'd been good for was pointing out targets to Cross… but she hadn't even been able to do that well… He'd seen all of the targets at least three seconds before she had and had already fired by the time she'd pointed to them.

How in the hell Hevlaska actually thought she was future General material, she had no idea; she didn't even want to think about it at the moment…

"_General Cross, do you read me?_" Komui's voice suddenly came over Cross' earpiece, making Gracia blink and relax when she noticed they had moved from the observation veranda and were now standing in front of the Akuma egg.

_This_ was a situation she was familiar and comfortable with; moving from one place to another without even noticing it.

"I read you." Cross answered, setting Gracia down and slipping Judgment back into its holster as he took another drag from his cigarette.

"_I'm going to have Miranda deactivate her power and return the Egg to normal time, now_." Komui said, his voice crackling slightly as the earpiece's signal got a bit buggy, "_I want you to destroy it immediately._"

"_Wait, Supervisor!_" Lvellie's harsh voice came over the communicator right after before the signal was cut off.

"Well, the Inspector is going to have something to say about this." Cross sighed, leaving Gracia's side and walking forward to inspect the Egg.

"I'd say he's already saying something about it." Socalo grunted, holding his arm over his shoulder and dangling his large, dual-bladed Anti-Akuma Weapon from his fingers as if it weighed nothing.

"This isn't the place to talk, you two." Klaud sighed from her spot, sitting on Lau Jimin's shoulder.

"Um… Gracia?"

Gracia looked over at Miranda, blinking slowly, questioningly.

"Are you alright?" Miranda clasped her hands in front of her chest, the circular, glowing plate of Time Record following the movement of her hands, "I thought Hevlaska took Sleep from you…"

"I'm fine." Gracia sighed, "I just can't feel my arm right now. But…" She glanced over her shoulder and over at the nearby group, a heavy feeling weighing down in her chest when she saw Reever nearly hacking up his lungs from breathing so much of the noxious fumes the dead Akuma corpses were giving off, "I'm hardly in a position to complain…"

Miranda nodded slightly, biting her lip and lowering her head.

Behind her, Marie put a consoling hand on her shoulder.

"…Oi, Komui, it's solid Dark Matter." Cross spoke over his communicator when his inspection was done, "Klaud, Socalo and I might be able to break it if we all hit it at the same time… Then again, we might not."

"…_That's fine, Cross._" Komui answered, "_Do what you can._"

"Gotcha." Cross then turned his attention to Miranda, starting to draw Judgment from its holster, "Alright, I'm ready, Miranda."

"Oh." Miranda blinked, straightening slightly and nodding, "Okay…" She then sighed, forcing herself to relax as she looked up at the Egg.

Gracia watched her silently, blinking slightly when Sleep suddenly pulsed strongly around her finger and she heard a hissing sound… like boiling water.

Marie suddenly tensed, obviously hearing it, as well, but no one noticed the source before a swirling vortex of water suddenly leapt up from beneath Miranda's feet, enveloping her and jerking her into the air.

"Miranda!" Gracia stepped towards her.

"Miranda!" Marie called out at the same time, wrapping his arms around the vortex and trying to grab the woman's waist. When Miranda was jerked further into the air, Marie bore his teeth and threw his arm forward, wires growing from the rings on his fingers as he activated Noel Organon.

The strings, though, slipped right through the giant mass of water as it leapt into the air and dodged, the Innocence not doing any damage.

"Damn!" Marie cursed, "I can't get hold of it!"

"Is it… alive? !" Socalo barked as the water suddenly swirled on itself in midair and started to shift and warp.

"It's the Lust of the Noah." Cross said from behind Gracia, "It can change its form."

Gracia watched in shock as the mass of water morphed and grew limbs, a female head sprouting from the top and glaring at the Exorcists with narrowed, glowing eyes. In the center of its form, Miranda thrashed around, grabbing at her throat as she started to drown.

_That…_ A female voice suddenly came out of thin air, the water woman shifting and moving before she threw herself at the Akuma Egg, _Is an annoying power you have… Deactivate it!_

Gracia's eyes widened and she tasted bile on the back of her throat.

She knew that voice…! !

A large black square opened beneath the Egg as soon as the water woman landed on it, and the Egg started to sink into the ground.

Cross was suddenly at Gracia's side once more, wrapping his arm around her waist again and leaping to clear the perimeter of the black square.

"The Egg is sinking… Did Miranda deactivate her power? !"

Gracia tensed against Cross' side.

She couldn't remember why the Egg was so important, but if Komui was so worried about keeping it, then…

"LULU, STOP!"

Cross' arm jerked around Gracia when the water woman actually listened, her massive head turning as her eyes focused on Gracia.

…_Gracia? !_ The woman's voice barked.

Gracia ground her teeth. She knew that voice…

* * *

"_This is the last time you will be seeing me for a while…" Lulu murmured to Gracia gently, wrapping her arms around the smaller woman in a hug, "I'm sorry."_

"_That's fine." Gracia hugged back, smiling up at her, "You have… work to do for your uncle, the Earl… right?"_

"_Yes…" Lulu frowned down at her, "Gracia… I want you to keep your guard up around ****."_

"…_Eh?" Gracia blinked, tipping her head innocently, "Keep my guard up… around my own husband…?" She smiled weakly, "You have an odd sense of humor, Lulu…"_

"_I know he hurts you." The woman's calm but cutting words demolished Gracia's smile, "And I know how… you are. Don't let him worm his way into your heart. You…" She paused, then sighed, "You can't trust him."_

"…_Lulu…" Gracia sounded weak._

"_Guard your heart." Lulu pressed her lips to Gracia's forehead, then turned and walked out the front door, heading for the carriage waiting for her._

_Gracia sighed softly after her, murmuring, "Goodbye… Lulu Bell…"_


	35. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XXIV

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"Your 'Earl' was… the Millennium Earl? !"

Lulu Bell's water form bristled, her several hands clenching into fists.

_Goddamn it! !_ She cursed loudly, one of her watery hands shooting towards Gracia, _Why did it have to be you? !_

"Shit!" Cross growled, barely having time to tighten his grip on Gracia and dodge.

Lau Jimin suddenly leapt between Lulu Bell's fist, Cross and Gracia, Klaud, on the monster simian's back, throwing her arm forward. Lau Jimin threw his forward at the same time and punched through Lulu Bell's arm, the water spattering.

Taking advantage of the momentary offered protection, Cross landed and skidded back a few feet across the ground before he dropped Gracia.

Gracia slid away from him a bit before she managed to stop herself, looking up at Cross through her hair as he held Judgment forward.

"Judgment Load!"

He grabbed at the back of the gun and drew his hand back, as if he were drawing a knocked arrow in a bow.

"Arrow of Original Sin!"

Gracia pressed herself to the ground and covered her head as Cross 'let go,' the strange light that formed around Judgment in the shape of a bow snapping forward, a beam of light shooting from Judgment's tip and flying at Lulu Bell.

Gracia tensed as Lulu shrieked in pain.

That creature… wasn't an Akuma. It didn't _feel_ like an Akuma.

And the only other thing that fought with Akuma…

…Noah.

Lulu… No… Lulu Bell was a Noah.

Gracia covered her head.

This couldn't be happening… Lulu, one of the only friends she had had while she had been married… She couldn't be a Noah.

"GRACIA!"

She jolted and looked up, her eyes widening when she saw Cross looking at her in anger.

"DO SOMETHING TO SLOW HER DOWN!" He roared at her before he had to jump out of the way and leave her behind as one of Lulu Bell's arms threw a large slab of cement at him.

Gracia watched, biting her lip harshly when Lau Jimin received a harsh blow.

She… she couldn't…

As soon as she thought that, though, a sharp pain pierced Gracia's wrist and she cried out in pain, pushing herself into kneeling and looking down at Sleep in shock as it _tightened_ around her wrist.

She didn't have a choice. Komui had hinted that something… bad would happen if she put Sleep on without a firm resolve… She didn't know what it was, but…

"Tup! No! !"

A separate cry, one away from the battle, caught Gracia's attention, and her head snapped towards it, her eyes widening when she saw Johnny throw himself at a strange, dark skull-like creature, tackling it.

"Tup…" Johnny sobbed, hugging the creature close, "Tup, no…"

Gracia watched with wide eyes.

…Oh… that was right… There were still humans in the room… Reever was still in the room somewhere, along with several other scientists.

And… Johnny and Tup? Was that skull thing really Tup?

…This wasn't about her and Lulu. This was far bigger than her and some… past connection with a Noah.

'A Noah… A Noah… Lulu is a Noah.' Gracia continued to remind herself as she stumbled to her feet, clenching her hands.

Sleep was no longer pinching her wrist, now burning hotly as it always did when it was on the verge of being used.

Gracia swallowed, then started running towards the still slowly sinking Egg, Lulu Bell hovering over it protectively and fending off the Generals and Miranda floating around, unconscious and face a pale blue, in the Noah's watery chest.

Several thin wires that were attached to the Egg's containment shell started to snap, and somewhere overhead Marie shouted, "It's no use! I can't stop it!"

"We have to destroy the Egg!" Gracia heard Klaud shout, "But we might kill Miranda…"

Gracia ground her teeth, her boots slamming into a puddle of Akuma blood and splashing her legs as she continued running towards the Egg and Lulu. Her lungs burned; she was still really, really out of shape…

"Miranda's an Exorcist!" Socalo barked, "She knows the risks!"

Gracia focused on Miranda. The generals were contemplating killing her to destroy the Egg. Maybe if she could…

"Wait, General!" Marie called out as Gracia, as of yet unnoticed, vaulted over the arm of one of the dead Akuma, starting to clamber up the hunk of floor the Egg was perched on. "What are you going to—"

Gracia ran into a problem, frowning. The black edge of the portal was in the way… If she touched it, she'd fall through. Just then, one of Lulu's arms swept by. She grabbed onto it, holding on as it jerked her into the air.

Any other talking that might have been going on was drowned out by the wind in her ears, the speed of Lulu's arm making it deafening as she struggled to hold on and keep an eye on the watery body below.

And then… once she was angled directly above Lulu's back… she let go, falling towards the Noah.

Because she remembered one thing very well from her last water battle…

Sleep's effects were amplified by water.

* * *

The water that made up Lulu Bell's body was _freezing_, and unnaturally so. Gracia had a hard time staying conscious as shock from the temperature halted her mind, and it was only when Sleep scalded her wrist that she was able to focus on it.

She couldn't focus on any specific commands, but Sleep didn't need her to. It just needed her to focus.

And Sleep acted as Sleep had before, when Gracia had been captured by the Trip in Iceland; Sleep flared hotly around her right middle finger. Hot enough to boil the water around her hand.

Gracia passed out from Sleep before the lack of oxygen overtook her completely, and as she did Sleep pulsed around her finger, sending out a strong wave through the water.

The temperature of Lulu Bell's water body became unstable, first rising, then falling, then spiking hotly before it fell again, and Lulu Bell thrashed, screaming.

The urge to fall asleep was _overwhelming_, but her Noah side wouldn't allow it.

_Goddamn you, Gracia Amberley!_ Lulu Bell screamed, the air around her vibrating, _Stay out of this! !_

One of Lulu's hands dove into her body to grab Gracia, pulling her out and throwing her upwards as another hand pulled Miranda out and slammed her down against the Akuma Egg.

As Lulu Bell threatened Miranda, Gracia flew through the white Ark Gate that was still jutting out of the ceiling, Lulu having thrown her out of harm's way… For now.

* * *

Komui looked over at the Ark Gate as something flew through it, flinching and struggling to keep from collapsing as the Generals unleashed a power so great the entire building felt like it was suffering an earthquake.

"General? !" He shouted into the mouthpiece of his headset, panicking, "Marie? ! Miranda! !"

"We just lost power!"

"Switch to auxiliary power!"

"Get casualty reports from unit leaders!"

"Supervisor! From the portal just now!"

Komui turned around quickly, his eyes widening when he saw what had come through the Ark Gate.

Gracia had landed on her back, auburn hair splayed out wetly around her head and a dark crimson from the water that had soaked her entire body.

She was unconscious.

She wasn't breathing…

"Medic!" Komui shouted, running to Gracia and shouting into his headpiece at the same time, "Cross! Froi! ! Klaud! Marie! Someone answer! !"

Without thinking about it, Komui flipped Gracia onto her back and tipped her head back, leaning forward and pressing his mouth to hers. He pinched her nose shut and breathed into her mouth, briefly relieved when her chest inflated and showed there was no blockage.

Komui numbly went through the steps of CPR, shouting out for some sort of confirmation or returned answer from the laboratory whenever he was compressing her chest, only to have to fall silent whenever he pressed his mouth to hers again to breathe for her.

All he heard over his headpiece was silence and the occasional burst of static, and with Gracia right in front of him, he found himself swaying more towards being focused on her; resuscitation was an absorbing task, especially when he started to panic over whether or not she even had a pulse.

When Gracia coughed into his mouth, though, he quickly turned her onto her side and was unable to keep from shuddering out a brief flash of relief when she started coughing up water and gasping for air.

His relief was short-lived when he heard voices over his headset, Komui turning his attention back to that while never removing his hand from Gracia's arm.

"Hello? ! Who is this? ! Hello!"

"_T-The… A… ku… ma…_" A voice that hardly sounded human anymore croaked into his ear, making the hair on the back of his neck stand, "_E… vol…ved…_"

Komui's eyes widened and his brain shuddered to a halt.

Reports had that room filled with Level 3s and giant Akuma… What in the hell could they have evolved into? !

U…Unless…

His brain spiraling into the dark depths of dangerous, fathomless territory that shocked him immobile, Komui didn't notice that Gracia was now conscious and kneeling in front of him.

"—mui! Komui!"

Komui jerked slightly, his eyes locking with hers as he stared, mouth agape, into her pale face as her hands held his face.

"Komui, we have to get you somewhere safe now!" Gracia was shouting at him, "Get up!"

"_The Science Department!_" Someone screamed in his ear, "_Oh my god, the Science Department is gone! ! It took out the entire floor!_"

"Komui, now!"

Komui let himself get pulled to his feet, his brain slowly starting to catch up again as Gracia took his hand and started pulling him along.

Was… Was she shouting orders now? He couldn't really hear or understand her, but she was turning her head from side to side and her mouth opened widely as she used her entire mouth to form words…

…She was shouting, and people were responding; Komui was quickly finding himself surrounded by more and more people with ballistic shield-type talismans.

Then, pain bloomed across his face and he blinked, slowly pressing a hand to his cheek and looking back down at Gracia as she glared up at him, her eyes watering from more than just the Noah water she was covered in and her hand still up and out from slapping him.

"You need to wake up. NOW!"

Komui jerked, then nodded, "Right." He pressed a hand to his headpiece to turn the receiver on, shouting, "An enemy has just destroyed Lab Five and is now somewhere inside of the building! It's a single Akuma that appears to have evolved into a Level 4!" Komui had to work hard to keep himself from stuttering, "The status of the Exorcists inside of Lab 5 is currently unknown! I repeat…. A Level 4 has destroyed Lab 5!"

And at that moment, Gracia was the only active Exorcist in reach.

Fortunately… she appeared to be more awake than ever.

* * *

Gracia stood between Komui and the white form that was moving its way towards them in quick bursts.

One second it was thirty feet away, then it was twenty feet away and all of the men that had stood in the middle, holding SWAT-like, ballistic shields that worked as talismans all sliced cleanly into sections.

Their wounds had happened so quickly it actually took them a moment to bleed…

The creature crouched ten feet away from Komui, walking towards him slowly with its knuckles dragging the ground and its wings spread.

Panic gripped Gracia's chest as she met its eyes and she threw her hand forward, Sleep heating.

"Supervisor!" Someone shouted from behind Komui.

The Level 4 paused slightly at that, twitching, "…Supervisor?"

Gracia couldn't even blink and the thing was in front of her, grabbing her Innocence-bearing hand and twisting her arm around behind her back, making her crouch and scream. Pain flooded her mind so swiftly she couldn't localize it, and the sound of her bones grinding filled her ears and made her teeth rattle, a coppery taste strong on her tongue.

Blood sprayed and soaked her back as two guards bearing talismans attempted to shield Komui and were decapitated.

"You're in charge of the Black Order?" The Level 4 asked, its voice almost… disgustingly childlike in its inquisitiveness but the pitch far to… inhuman… "So, is your head worth as much as hers?"

"DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM!" She couldn't remember the last time she'd screamed…

Gracia felt a new presence appear behind her and suddenly the Akuma wasn't holding her wrist anymore, though something did tear loudly as it moved away and Komui shouted out in pain.

"Son of a bitch, Komui!" Kanda's voice snapped over Gracia's shoulder, "You need to make better weapons!"

Gracia shuddered and quickly pressed her good hand to the ground as she felt the urge to collapse, afraid to look at her arm. What did skin sound like when it tore? And why couldn't she feel her hand…? !

"G-Gracia…" Komui rasped right to her left, and she looked over at him and smiled when she saw he just had a gash on his shoulder. He was collapsed and blood was quickly soaking his jacket, but he could move and no limbs were missing.

"Next time, wake up and run a bit faster when I tell you to, dumbass." She smiled at him, shuddering and forcing herself to bring her right arm around to look at it. She nearly passed out in relief when she saw she still had her hand; the tearing she heard hadn't been her skin, just her sleeve.

Her wrist bore a horrible, black, hand-shaped bruise and her shoulder was bruised in a ring around the joint where her arm and been twisted too far. She still couldn't feel it, but it was there and she could use it.

"Gracia, get the hell up." Kanda growled.

She nodded and swallowed, standing and turning to face the Akuma as it watched them with a bored look on its face.

Then, there was a bright flash and the Akuma was suddenly trapped in twin cubes of light, dozens of guards quickly falling into formation around it and adding the power of their talisman-producing shields to the force.

"Are you alright, Supervisor? !" One of the men shouted.

"I'm fine!" Komui shouted back, moving to kneel as someone Gracia didn't recognize knelt beside him to help him get back upright, "Focus on the Akuma! Surround it quickly!"

Gracia kept most of her focus on the Akuma, flinchingly flexing her hand before holding it up and at the ready.

And the Akuma… grinned… and started to laugh.

Gracia felt a chill run down her spine, the hair on the back of her neck standing and a gripping, icy feeling in her chest.

"Komui, stay back." Kanda growled, dropping the broken sword in his hand and drawing another, "Gracia, get Sleep working again. Now."

"Kanda, stop!" The young man Gracia didn't recognize, who was still at Komui's side, gasped.

"You don't have your Innocence!" Komui insisted.

"I'll make do, don't worry." Kanda growled, "Besides, we have a support unit here, too, as soon as she gets her head back in the game."

Gracia felt a bit of… relief at Kanda's very, very bad attempt at assurance. Even if he hadn't meant it like that, it was nice to know that, even if just a little, he depended on her, and that she, in turn, could depend on him. Even if she didn't like the idea of him fighting without Mugen…

"Kanda…" Gracia mumbled, "We have to get Komui out of here."

"Hn." Kanda grunted.

Komui twitched, hissing, "I can't just let you—"

"_Komui!_" Gracia heard Hevlaska's voice over Komui's headpiece, "_Can you hear me? Come to me, Komui, I will distract the Level 4. Take the Innocence from inside of my body and flee with the others!_"

Gracia's eyes widened slightly and she glanced back at Komui.

Komui ground his teeth, "Hevlaska…"

"_The Ark still has a portal that connects to Asian Branch. Lead the people there! This position is no longer secure! As long as you have the Innocence you can rebuild!_"

"_Hevlaska, we still have Lenalee and her power!_" Lvellie's voice interrupted.

The rest of the conversation was lost to Gracia as the Level 4 started struggling loudly, playfully against the barrier holding it.

Gracia snapped her attention back to it and held out her hand, only to flinch and bite her lip to keep from screaming in pain when Kanda grabbed her wrist.

"Don't try unless you're sure you can do something." Kanda growled, standing close to her so he could, hopefully, speak without the Level 4 hearing him, "It's screwing around right now, but if you piss it off it'll just break right through."

"Right…" Gracia nodded, hissing in pain when he let her heavily bruised wrist go.

What could she use? Alucinari wasn't any good; it required more energy, energy she probably didn't have, not to mention she didn't need the damned thing to hallucinate or sleepwalk.

Sopor might work, but higher levels woke up faster and she didn't know if it would break apart or not when the effect wore off, so it probably wouldn't even be worth the effort.

Confusio, however… Confusio would buy them time, not to mention that, if she could put enough energy into it, it just might keep it from using some of its special abilities, if it had any…

Her mind made up, Gracia inhaled slowly before exhaling, slowly lifting her hands. She kept her palms down, her right hand hovering over her left as she narrowed her focus on the Akuma.

The Level 4, which had started watching her as soon as she had started moving, smiled amusedly at her, tipping its head.

"Drow Poison…"

The Akuma bore its teeth at her as it grinned.

Gracia tensed, her mouth going dry.

"Confusio!"

Gracia could have fallen to her knees right there and cried in relief when she saw the Akuma's pupil's dilate, a far-off look crossing its face and its lips parting as its jaw went slack.

A noticeable feeling of relief washed through the room.

"…We have time…" Komui muttered. He then raised his voice, sounding a bit more urgent, "We have time!" He then started speaking into his headpiece.

Gracia was so relieved it took her a moment to realize what he was saying.

"—re evacuating! You have your orders, now go!"

The Akuma shuddered, and even though it was clearly impaired, it grinned at Komui, "Don't think you can escape… 'Supervisor'…"


	36. WILD Cycle: Record Active

Quick terminology lesson:

REM (Rapid eye movement) cycle - the stage of sleep during which most brain activity and dreams occur, characterized by rapid eye movement.

NREM (non-rapid eye movement) cycle - the stage of sleep during which the least brain activity and dreams occur.

HPPD - Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder; a disorder characterized by a continual presence of visual disturbances.

WILD - wake-initiated lucid dreaming; occurs when "the sleeper enters REM sleep with unbroken self-awareness directly from the waking state".

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"Go, Supervisor! Go to Hevlaska and get the Innocence!"

Gracia was right behind Komui and beside Kanda as they ran for the nearby lift that would take them down to Hevlaska, Komui running faster than she'd ever seen him move.

They didn't have time to wait for the lift to get into the right position, so Komui vaulted right over the railing of both the edge of the floor and the lift, falling to one knee but quickly recovering.

Gracia paused at the rail to make sure the Akuma was still captured, and during her pause two guards with the shield talismans jumped onto the lift after Komui.

Kanda slapping her upside the head as the lift started to descend snapped her out of it, and she jumped over the railing with Kanda and landed beside him, though not as gracefully.

No amount of impending doom could keep her from kneeling and hugging her stomach with one arm as her motion sickness bloomed, only worsened by the ongoing pain in her arm.

"You!" Komui shouted when he noticed they were on the lift with him, "You were ordered to evacuate!"

"Not likely." Kanda said flatly, his golem fluttering beside his head and his temporary sword slung over his shoulder.

"If Kanda's staying, so am I!" The young man with the spiky hair from before shouted, jumping onto the lift.

"Then you'll be punished, too!" Komui snapped at him, making the young man pale slightly but not back down. When Komui glanced at Gracia, she just glared at him.

"I am _not_ leaving you."

Komui twitched, a _look_ crossing his face.

"Hevlaska has my Mugen." Kanda grumbled, "The barrier won't hold for long. If nothing else I can act as a shield."

"Ridiculous!" Komui barked at him, "I won't let you throw your life away!" Even before he finished his sentence, Komui froze, a shocked look crossing his face, like he wanted to shove his foot into his mouth.

Kanda pressed his mouth into a thin line, his fringe hiding his eyes for a moment before he grinned at Komui grimly, "Then make sure you keep yourself safe."

Gracia glanced between them silently but kept her mouth shut, and not just because she felt like she could actually vomit at any given moment.

"_Komui, hurry!_" Hevlaska's voice was heard urging over Komui's headpiece, "_You must take the Innocence and the Cube from within me! Lvellie is bringing Lenalee to me… He is going to have me try to implant her Innocence!_"

Komui shuddered, grinding his teeth, then slammed his palm onto the reader of the control panel while he typed quickly with his other hand.

The lift plummeted at his command, dropping faster than what was clearly safe and making Gracia's stomach roil.

"On your feet, Gracia." Kanda growled, "There's no telling when that thing'll break out…"

Gracia shuddered and nodded, stumbling to her feet and pressing her left hand to her mouth.

Someone was beside her quickly, supporting her, and she glanced at the spiky haired young Asian man, nodding when he smiled weakly at her.

Gracia then turned her attention to Komui.

She'd never felt this lucid in her life… She was so aware, thinking so clearly, processing everything so differently.

And even though it initially seemed like a bad time to be thinking about how she felt about Komui… she quickly realized the timing couldn't have been better. Because as she started thinking, Sleep's temperature turned lukewarm, then a comforting cold that soothed her bruise.

_This_ was what Sleep wanted her to think about. Yes, protecting others and defeating Akuma was important, but _this_ was her drive. _He_ was her drive.

_Komui_ was starting to become her reason.

If she wanted a reason to grasp for more power, she needed to embrace _him_.

And judging by the crashing noise that came from above and the grim "Here it comes" announcement from Kanda, it was about damned time she started.

Gracia pulled away from the young man and stood near the center of the lift, glaring upwards at the white spot that was quickly shooting towards them.

She heard Komui shout something, but couldn't focus on it as she focused on Sleep, instead.

She needed Sleep, now more than ever.

She needed Sleep so she could protect Komui.

And she'd go to whatever lengths, draw out whatever power Sleep yearned for her to in order to do that.

Gracia aimed her hand upward as the Akuma aimed its hand down at her, grasping at this new feeling welling up inside of her chest, surrounding her body, growing to surround their group, the lift, enveloping them in a bright light as Sleep flashed and turned from silver to white.

The Akuma fired a dark purple ray down at them.

Gracia focused on drawing out what already felt fit to bust out of her chest.

"JUDGE-SAL! !"

There was clanking, clanking…

The sound of armor.

* * *

"KOMUI! !" Lenalee screamed at the top of her lungs, wanting to throw herself over the railing to get to him as the lift exploded and fell.

Even before the Level 4's beam had hit it, though, a bright white light had surrounded it, and the edge had seemed to… flutter…

…A cape? Allen and his Crown Clown?

No…

As the lift had fallen to the ground and exploded, an ethereal form… a massive ethereal form had surrounded those who were on it, carrying them a short way from the explosion. Just a short one, but still far away enough to protect them.

The form then stood in front of them protectively, slowly standing upright and revealing itself for what it was; a great, silvery-blue, transparent suit of armor, a cape billowing out behind it and a great, highly decorated armored helm.

A heavily armored knight with no visible body in the few places it had small gaps in its armor.

Lenalee stared at it in stunned silence as it reached for one of the two swords at its waist, the ghostly, enormous knight, nowhere near as large as Hevlaska but definitely larger than any human, drawing the blade strapped to its right hip.

The sword, just as ethereal as the giant that wielded it, was easily two-thirds as tall as the knight, but it wielded it easily with one hand, the other resting threateningly near the sword on its left hip.

Who had been on that lift with Komui…? This… This certainly wasn't any the product of any Innocence Lenalee knew of…

Nearby, Hevlaska was clutching at her stomach as it swelled, her entire body glowing.

"Aaah… someone… as just surpassed… The Limit!"

Behind Lenalee, Lvellie tensed, "What? ! Who? !"

"Cannot… tell…" Hevlaska groaned.

Lenalee shuddered. As long as it was Innocence, it did not really matter at the moment. What did matter was— "Komui!" She threw herself forward, clutching at the railing and looking over at where the giant knight had dropped off those who had been on the lift, "Komui!"

"I'll go check!" Lavi shouted, running past her and vaulting over the railing to land on a ledge on below, "There may still be time!"

Lvellie brushed off the new Innocence, as well, and grabbed Lenalee, pulling her over to Hevlaska, "The lift is broken! He will not be able to reach the Innocence! Hevlaska put the Innocence into Lenalee! NOW! !"

Lenalee could do nothing to fight.

This… was why she was an Exorcist…

* * *

"Supervisor… Supervisor!"

Komui groaned and woke up slowly, pushing himself up with his hands. His vision was blurry… where were his glasses…? Something crinkled under his hand, and he mentally sighed. Ah, there they were… Broken.

He looked around dazedly, trying to remember what he had been doing…

The lift? Where was the lift?

…Ah… there… on fire… Would it work? No… no, not in that condition… Damn… He then noticed that bodies surrounded him, all likely shielding him. And when he saw the one to his left, the one guarding him from the outside, he tensed. His vision was blurry, but they were close enough that he could see them.

"Kanda? !" Komui struggled to get upright, doing his best to focus on Kanda's injuries and balking as he did, "You shielded me? !"

"Shut up." Kanda growled, the torn skin on his arm and the side of his face already healing, "It was nothing." He cracked his neck, then clutched at his chest where _it_ was, hissing.

Seeing Kanda already healing (though Komui didn't like what it implied), Komui turned his attention to the two human Finders who had also been guarding him.

"Are you okay, Supervisor?"

"Yes…" Komui rubbed the back of his neck, slightly pained, "Thank you… Are you two alright?"

The two men paused, then smiled, "We're—"

Before the one could finish, both of them turned black and shattered like glass, their bodies breaking apart inside of their own clothes even as they fell.

Komui could only watch in horrified shock, and Kanda had already turned away and was standing, picking up his sword.

"Komui!" A familiar voice called out, drawing closer, "Yu!"

The act reflexive by that point, Kanda turned a harsh glare over at the one who had used his name, while Komui breathed a sigh of relief.

"Lavi!"

"Oh, good, you're alive!" Lavi ran over to them, wielding a pole instead of his usual hammer.

It then hit Komui; if Lavi was there, then— He looked up, and indeed, there was Lvellie, dragging Lenalee by her wrist over to Hevlaska, the Inspector shouting up at the large Exorcist.

"Lenalee!" Komui called out to his sister, but he was interrupted by a familiar, high-pitched voice full of insanely inappropriate, childlike inquisitiveness.

"Is our game over, 'Supervisor'?"

Komui looked over just as Lavi and Kanda put themselves between Komui and the Level 4, but before either of them could do anything the giant, armored knight appeared, swinging its massive sword at the Akuma.

The Akuma dodged, but couldn't dodge the fisted free hand the knight swung at it next, the punch so massive it nailed the Akuma's full body and sent it flying.

"The hell…?" Lavi muttered.

Kanda tensed, then started looking up and down the ledge they were standing it.

Komui blinked, wondering what he was looking for—

Gracia.

Komui started looking, as well, and found her; she was behind him, Chaozii Han hovering over her unconscious body protectively on his hands and knees as Sleep glowed white on her wrist and finger.

Her eyes were flickering back and forth under her lids rapidly; a telltale sign of REM sleep. At her sides, her hands were twitching, and Komui quickly noticed; when her left hand twitched, the knight swung its sword. When the right twitched, it swung its fist.

Gracia was… dreaming the movements of the armored knight… No… Judge-Sal, he remembered she had called it.

Meaning…

Komui looked at Hevlaska, next, twitching slightly when he noticed how she struggled to lift Lenalee into the air, her stomach swelled and glowing brightly.

Gracia had exceeded the one hundred percent limit.

"You troublesome little BITCH!" The Akuma suddenly flashed past the armored judge and dove for Gracia and Chaozii.

Kanda twitched and immediately dove for her, Lavi staying behind to guard Komui.

The Akuma glared at Kanda and fired its purple beam of concentrated Dark Matter at him, hitting him directly.

That was enough to almost make Lavi leave Komui's side, but the wooden pole that was his only defense was blasted away without the Level 4 even needing to look at him. The Level 4 then picked up Kanda by his collar and backhanded him before it quickly dodged another blow from Judge-Sal, firing Dark Matter and nailing Hevlaska in the side.

Komui watched as best his blurry eyes could in shock as Hevlaska cried out and fell, dropping Lenalee and her Innocence.

"What are you people doing over there…?" The Level 4 asked tauntingly before it went back to diving at Gracia, dropping Kanda in favor of picking her up after easily batting Chaozii aside.

The Jude-Sal, which was still extremely slow and clumsy because of its newness, didn't have time to try to swing again before the Level 4 grabbed the chain that joined Sleep's bracelet to its ring and jerked.

Gracia's finger middle finger bent the wrong way and snapped as the chain broke, making her open her eyes in the middle of her REM cycle and scream out in pain and shock.

The Judge-Sal wavered at the edges, like static, and fell to one knee, its sword dropping from its hand.

"…How boring." The Level 4 sighed, glaring down at Gracia for apparently not providing enough entertainment before it tossed her back to the narrow lip on the wall.

Gracia, still unconscious, fell limply, cracking her head against the solid stone wall loudly before collapsing in a heap.

Komui, his body trembling, stood and stumbled over to her, falling to his knees when he reached her side and gently nudging her. Not enough to move her; no, you don't move people after injuries like that… Just enough to see her face…

When he was sure she was breathing (not really able to discern much else without his glasses), he looked back, his eyes widening and his heart gripping in panic when he saw the Level 4 heading to where Lenalee was.

Komui looked to Judge-Sal desperately, but the armored ghost was still on one knee, debilitated as Gracia was and breathing in time with her, even though it had absolutely no need to breathe.

…It was during times like this that Komui passively hated God for not making him an Exorcist.

* * *

_Her vision… her perception… was… disjointed…_

…_The Judge was still out… Why was she aware?_

_Yes, she didn't know exactly what the Judge was, but being aware when he was out… didn't… feel… right…_

_Hurt… Her head hurt…_

_Hard to tell one from the other… Body felt warm… back of her head wet… arm on fire… finger boiling hot… throbbing…_

_Same time… cold armor… pressing down on her back… breath echoing in her ears from a helmet… fingers… separated by cold mail and plating… hilt of a sword… pressed against her palm… pressed against the ground as she knelt… to stay upright…_

_So confusing… two places at once… can't… control actions…_

"_Don't know… what to do…"_

…_Knew that voice…_

_She turned towards it slowly… only it wasn't her… Judge did…_

_Looked up at _him_…_

_He looked down at her (the Judge) as she moved…_

_Looked… so confused…_

_But why… was he just sitting there…?_

_She… was near… sister… _Lenalee_…_

_Why… was he just…?_

…_Now annoyed with him… again… as always…_

_She slowly lifted her armored hand (not hers, but the Judge's, because she couldn't really feel her body anymore)… and pointed…_

"**Now, dumbass.**"

…_Really was… such a nerd… sometimes…_

…_Good luck… Lenalee…_


	37. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XXV

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"—iss Gracia! Miss Gracia!"

Gracia's eyes snapped open and she was immediately _angry_.

She had no idea why, but it was probably several factors; someone had woken her from her nap, it was very noisy, her head, shoulder, arm and hand all hurt like hell, she was seeing through two entirely different sets of eyes…

…Wait, what?

But it was true; she was looking up at the face of the spiky haired young man who had been insistent on following Kanda (still didn't know his name), and at the same time she was staring upwards, watching as Lenalee and Allen fought the Level 4…

Wait…

The Level 4!

Gracia jolted to her feet and stumbled around a bit, passively noticing a giant, glowing, bluish-silver form to her right doing the same thing.

Someone grabbed her shoulders and she lashed out, grabbing their throat in her hand and bearing her teeth and hissing in pain when she hurt her middle finger.

"Who're you? !" She hissed at the young man, determined to know his name now that she had his thick neck in her hand.

"Ch-Chaozii Han!" He yelped, stilling.

"Where am I? ! What's going on? !"

"H-Hevlaska's chamber!" He pointed up, "Fight with the Level 4!"

Gracia looked upwards, and suddenly the second pair of eyes, the ones that weren't quite her own, took dominance of her vision and she was watching Lenalee fight the Level 4, her legs up to her thighs clad in new, heavy armor, dark red boots.

She was keeping up, but the look on her face, the apprehension and fear, ticked Gracia off, so when she felt they were close enough, she reached out.

Only the hand she reached out with wasn't hers; it was armored, it was large, and it wrapped around the Level 4 completely.

Still, it didn't bug her as much as it probably should have and she took some pressure off of Lenalee, swinging the Akuma around and facing the ground as she started to slam the fist holding the Level 4 into the ground over and over.

In the back of her head, she was aware of the pair of eyes that belonged to _her_ body, her primary pair of eyes, watching her arms as her as it performed the same action, the fist of her main body empty but punching the ground over and over until her knuckles were bloody.

When the Akuma burst free of her armored hand, flying towards her main body, her armored body picked up a nearby giant, silvery-blue sword and turned, thrusting.

The vision split gave her a headache, and it didn't help when Chaozii screamed, but Gracia watched with two sets of eyes as the sword pierced the stone mere inches away from her main body's face, the left arm of her main body held out in the same thrusting motion and, from her armored body's point of view, a blank look on her main body's face.

The Level 4 looked between her main body and her armored body with a scowl.

The Akuma then took off in a flash, leaving Gracia to struggle to locate it and stare up at it as it fought Lenalee.

In the mind of her armored body or not, she was still partially in control of her primary body and jumping would end with her hurting said primary body…

Ugh, this was confusing…

Gracia stood back in her heavy armored body, watching as Lenalee and Allen fought the Akuma. She heard people shouting around her, conversations echoing in her hollow, armored head, but she couldn't follow any of them.

Allen pinned the Level 4 to the ground, sword pressed against its gut, and Lenalee hammered down on the butt of the sword over and over again with her feet, flying up higher and higher through the air and at greater speeds and using momentum Gracia found it painful to try to keep up with to drive the tip of the sword into the Akuma's stomach.

It started, though, to overpower them, and she was just tensing to jerk her sword out of the wall to go over and help when the Akuma suddenly froze, as if paralyzed.

Lenalee slammed down one more time, driving the sword through the Level 4's stomach, and a new voice entered… Gracia recognized it, but couldn't make out what they were saying.

She couldn't focus on it.

Something… something burning on her arm was keeping her focus locked on the Akuma… not wanting her to look away in case something went wrong.

Sleep…

And then, _his_ voice.

She could make out his voice.

"General Cross? Is that you? !" A pause, then, "R-Reever… Reever? !"

She looked over, in both her armored body and her primary one, and watched as Komui started to rush off.

"Understood! We'll get right on it! In the meantime, huddle together so Miranda can shrink her Time Out! That'll lessen the strain on her!" He then paused, glancing upward, "General Cross, I'm going up. Will you help Allen and Lenalee finish things?"

"Oi… Oi! Support unit!"

That, for some reason, caught Gracia's attention, and her armored body and primary body moved in unison as she looked upwards at Cross.

He grinned down at her, "'bout damned time you got off your ass and did something! Now, go with the Supervisor; they could use your bulk down there!"

"Cross, she can't—"

"She can keep it up a bit longer! We got things covered here! Besides, the Solidor family would be pissed if they knew we let her stick around for this."

Gracia stared up at Cross, then turned and ambled towards Komui slowly. She was probably lucky the ledge her primary body was on went in the same direction…

She reached down with her armored body and picked up her primary body when it ran out of walkway, setting her primary body down next to Komui, and suddenly her vision was no longer split.

Gracia gasped and stumbled forward as her split attentions were quickly slammed back into one body, this one actually requiring her to breathe and being so much lighter than the other.

She slumped against a larger, warmer body that immediately wrapped an arm around her, palm and fingers splayed out against her back.

"Gracia? Gracia! Can you really keep up your invocation?"

"'m fine…!" She gasped, pulling away and shaking her head, "'s'long's I keep goin' it'll be fine! D'n stop movin'!"

Komui nodded down at her, then turned and started walking quickly, Gracia stumbling along behind him. They headed through a massive door and down several halls full of twists and turns.

"This is Komui!" He spoke into his headpiece, veering away from the elevator when he saw it was broken, "Cancel the evacuations. All departments initiate rescue operations. Concentrate your efforts on the area under Laboratory 5. The Level 4 has been destroyed." He paused, then shuddered as he started walking up the stairs, a massive explosion and an overlapping, inhuman screech tearing through the air behind them, "This nightmare… is over…"

Gracia continued following Komui up the staircase, frowning slightly when his limping slowed them down.

Still feeling an… unusual amount of strength, likely from her armored form, Gracia scooped Komui up without a second thought and started bounding up the stairs, ignoring Komui when he squawked and flailed slightly.

"K'mui, stoppit before I drop you…" She slurred slightly, continuing to take the stairs two steps at a time.

"G-Gracia, did you really exceed the…? !"

"Dunno, don' care." Gracia stumbled slightly when the reached the top of the staircase, leaning against the wall and clumsily setting him down on his feet.

"Gracia…" He stood, setting a hand on her back, "If you can't—"

"I can." She insisted, standing straight with his help and grabbing his coat to balance herself for a moment, "Gotta… do it again before… I lose the feeling…" Remembering what had given her the feeling to begin with, she grabbed his jacket and made him stay still when he went to move, staring up at him.

Komui blinked down at her, "…Gracia?"

Gracia stared up at him silently, then let him go and continued walking. Once again, her temperature was rising oddly and her face felt a bit warm. But she knew… whatever it was, it was just part of the reason Komui was now her drive to achieve more power.

As long as she held onto that feeling, she felt like she could keep Judge-Sal out as long as she needed to.

* * *

The moment Gracia walked onto the floor that supported the collapsed floor that had been the fifth laboratory, she saw at least several dozen places she was needed at.

"Miss Exorcist!" A Finder ran up to her, "Y-Your arm! You should—"

Ignoring him, Gracia walked forward slowly and raised her right hand. As soon as her hand was in her line of sight, she absently noticed how heavily bruised it was…

Gracia pressed her hand to her forehead, Sleep's ring burning between her eyebrows and her palm pushing down the tip of her nose.

Sleep flashed, sending a strong pulse through her head, and she shuddered and had to fight off the urge to collapse and fall asleep. She shuddered again and flinched downward as two sets of massive, ethereal armored legs crashed down on either side of her, her vision splitting again.

Dissociating, in pain, and getting wet again from the sprinklers that had been turned on overhead to deal with the fires, Gracia walked forward in her two sets of bodies and reached down, her mental dominance switching over to her armored form as the grabbed the massive iron support beam that had fallen across Miranda's Time Out.

The Finders and guards that had gathered around it backed off as she strained to lift it, one quickly stepping in front of her when she had it over her head and leading her over to somewhere she could set it down. She was then guided to a new area that needed heavy debris removed and repeated the process.

It was so hard for her to accept that that the rubble she was sifting through… had just a few hours before been the Science Division…

When she came across the first of what she absently knew was going to be a list of countless bodies, she froze, setting the boulder she had lifted off of it aside and scooping the corpse up gently.

What she knew would be a large body compared to her own looked so… small and fragile when she looked down at it from her armored form…

Gracia felt a great pain pierce her dissociative haze as she turned and gently set the body down onto a stretcher two Finders with pained expressions had brought up when they'd seen her pick up the body.

She wanted Judge-Sal to work properly… When her body was asleep and she was dreaming commands, it was so much easier to pretend that what really was happening just… wasn't…

But… she had a feeling that with the chain that connected Sleep's ring to its bracelet broken… Sleep wouldn't be working correctly for a while.

…She would actually _have_ to have the Science Division work on Sleep, for the first time.

Gracia swallowed thickly at the thought of the Science Division, her eyes somehow starting to feel wet even though she was sure she was a suit of armor at the moment… It took her a moment to remember that she had an actual human body, and when she did some of her focus shifted back to it and she realized she was crying.

She didn't know how much time she spent moving rubble to free trapped people or recover the dead, but when her invocation suddenly, violently quit, Sleep's constant, invocation-hot temperature dropping until she couldn't feel it and Judge-Sal fizzing out of existence, Gracia collapsed.

The last thing she registered was the screaming of the metal beam Judge-Sal had been holding up as it fell to the ground and crashed around her, and several people shouting her name.

* * *

Lulu Bell cried pitifully over the broken remains of the Akuma Egg that had fallen through the black Ark with her, sitting among the rubble with her head lowered and her arms hugging her chest to preserve some modesty. She had lost her clothes when she had taken her water form, and the battle had taken too much from her for her to shift into a more… covering form.

Road Kamelot walked up behind her quietly, draping a blanket around the woman's shoulders.

"I'm sorry…" Lulu Bell sobbed to the figure who had yet to reveal himself from the shadows, knowing he was there without even have to look, "I… I failed you…"

"No, Lulu Bell… You kept them from, at the very least, unraveling the Egg's secrets, and you paved the way for a new child to be born… The conditions for the next level are now cemented. A new Egg can be made; as long as the Order does not learn the true nature of the Akuma, nothing is compromised."

Lulu Bell relaxed slightly, relieved there was no anger in his voice. She continued sobbing, though, her face buried in her hands now that she had covering.

"…Something other than the Egg is making you sad, Lulu." Road knelt beside her, tipping her head, "What happened?"

"Sh-She's there…" Lulu Bell rasped, gasping softly, "She's one of them…!"

"…Who?" Road frowned.

"Gracia…" Lulu Bell shook her head, her body caving in slightly, "Gracia…"

"…That human woman who was married to—" Road cut herself off when Lulu Bell flinched. "…I would have thought she had died by now. She was a pretty sickly human…"

Lulu Bell only trembled, keeping her head lowered.

"…You did a bit more than just 'pretend' to be friends with her, didn't you Lulu?" Road asked softly, not sounding admonishing in the least.

"…It doesn't matter anymore." Lulu Bell croaked, "She has to die… She's an Exorcist now."

Road's eyes widened slightly.

"An Exorcist?" The Earl chuckled, "Gracia Amberley Solidor? An Exorcist? My my, the fates do jest…"

Lulu Bell ground her teeth.

"…I'm sorry, Lulu." The Earl's voice took a consoling tone, "…Don't think about it anymore. I'll have Tyki—"

"No." Lulu Bell muttered, interrupting him and standing slowly, hugging the blanket around herself, "I'll do it… When the time comes, I'll be the one to kill Gracia."


	38. REM Cycle: Record Tainted, Unzipped

Before I start today's chapter, I'd like to address a completely unrelated matter:

If any of you out there have iTunes accounts and you have given iTunes your (parent's) credit card/bank information, do yourselves (and, if applicable, your families) a favor, log into your iTunes account and delete all of that information. If you haven't given them your credit card/bank information, **do not do it**. **Ever**.

Two days ago, when I opened iTunes to listen to some music, my Downloads indicator flashed and told me I had an App to download. When I checked to see if it was an update for one of the two Apps I had purchased and saw it wasn't, I ignored it, chalked it up to an error on Apple's account and waited for them to fix it.

Early this morning, I got a receipt from Apple. A **$32.96** receipt for an App I **never bought**.

I am the only one who uses my computer. I am the only one who knows my passwords. My Apple device (an iPod Touch) does not, has never, and will never have Internet access.

Fortunately, I have never given them my credit card information; the money that was taken from my account and used to buy an App without my consent was store credit from gift cards. Still, it was monetary credit that I had personally and safely loaded into my account. It was _my money_.

After sending a message to Apple explaining the situation and requesting both a refund and that this App be removed from my Downloads indicator, I Googled a few things and found out that iTunes users have been having problems for **years** with hackers/glitches/disgruntled former Apple employees making unauthorized purchases on people's iTunes accounts. Some people have posted on Apple's support boards reporting as many as **hundreds** of dollars being stolen **from their bank accounts** and used to buy Apps, Movies, Music and other iTunes products.

Why, I ask you, would someone do this? According to my account, I only have two computers authorized to download things I buy from iTunes; the one I own now, and an old one that I had wiped blank and have since given to my sister so she can use it as a word processor for school. If no one but me can download this fraudulently bought App, then what is the point?

Considering all of my other online accounts seem to be fine and I have received no e-mail notices of any other purchases, I'm thinking that this may be an error on Apple's behalf, but the fact that they can make that sort of error with my money and personal information is more than just disturbing. It's appalling and disgusting. Apple has terrible customer support as it is without me having to worry about my personal information no longer being secure.

I had never given iTunes my credit card information before because I'm a naturally twitchy person, but after this incident I will **never** even **consider** giving iTunes **any** monetary credit more valuable than a gift card. Not only that, I plan on warning off my family and everyone I know from giving iTunes such tender information.

Which is why I am addressing you now: Don't give iTunes or Apple your credit card information to store in their unsafe, leaky vault, and if you have given them your information, go into your account and take it back immediately.

^ . ^' And that was my rant. Enjoy the chapter~!

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Lenalee sat beside Gracia silently, watching the unconscious woman with a sad expression. It had been a little over a week since the attack, and while most of the Exorcists were feeling well enough to sneak out of the infirmary, Krory and Gracia were still comatose…

Krory, at least, was stable, though getting food in his stomach took some effort.

Gracia, however…

Repair work had needed to be done on Sleep while the slave bracelet was still on her hand; whenever the Science Division had tired to cut it off, the Innocence had lashed out at them and nearly put what little was left of their Science Department staff out of commission. The only thing it would let them do was cast Gracia's arm and hand and repair the chain.

According to further analysis, though, the breaking of the chain to begin with had caused severe neurological backlashes that hadn't been foreseen…

Komui had been the one to reach the conclusion, based on what little he'd seen of her using Judge-Sal:

Judge-Sal was supposed to be controlled by the subconscious during a Sleep-induced REM cycle. When the Level 4 had broken Sleep's chain and interrupted that cycle, it had split Gracia's consciousness between her then awake body and her still functioning Judge-Sal.

And the human consciousness wasn't supposed to be split.

Now her brain activity showed she was in an ongoing REM cycle, and not a very pleasant one… Occasionally, she would scream or cry.

After collaboration, the Science Division and the infirmary staff had all come to the conclusion that the only thing they could do was wait for her to wake up.

Well… several experimental procedures had been proposed, but Komui had denied them all, claiming every last one was "too dangerous."

Imagine: Komui Lee, declaring an experimental procedure to be too dangerous.

Cross, of course, had several amusing remarks to dish out about that, and while no one had heard them Lenalee knew for a fact that they had left Komui crimson.

Lenalee smiled at Gracia's unconscious form, reaching out and taking her hand, "You two are just so ridiculous… Komui's so dense, and you're just completely clueless, aren't you?" She giggled, "I wonder if you two will need a little… push…"

Of course, she didn't get an answer.

Lenalee bit her lip and gripped Gracia's hand a bit tighter. "You'll wake up… you have to. A coma to you would just be the best kind of nap in the world, right…? And sleeping… and all forms of sleeping… are all things you're good at. And Sleep controls the chemicals in your body in charge of sleeping; it wouldn't let you… just stay in a coma forever…"

She glanced at the silver bracelet and ring on Gracia's right hand.

Sensors… hadn't picked up any readings from Sleep… It was more or less inactive until someone tried to remove it. And Gracia's vitals hardly changed in those brief moments when Sleep was active.

It was almost as if… Sleep had put her under, and was keeping her from waking, but Gracia was the one sustaining it.

But what could she be doing…?

…Other than dreaming…

…Unless…

"Gracia…" Lenalee murmured, stroking her hand, "What are you dreaming about…? What are you spending so much time trying to work out?"

Gracia remained unresponsive, her hand limp, cold and dry in Lenalee's and her eyes flickering back and forth rapidly under their lids.

Lenalee sighed, resting her forehead on the edge of Gracia's bed.

She wanted to talk to her brother about this… But ever since the battle, Komui had been avoiding her; he kept his talks with her simple and seemed to make sure he had other appointments lined up right after so she would leave quickly, he wouldn't meet her eye, whenever he was inspecting the new rings around her ankles that were the standard resting form of her Dark Boots he never talked to her directly about his observations…

Lenalee knew what he was upset about.

Komui was still angry with her for when she had suggested that Hevlaska implant her Innocence into her, like she had seen happen all those years ago…

And there was nothing Lenalee could say to him about it; Komui had given up his entire life so he could come and be by her side, and she had callously suggested something that could have easily ended her life. He had been her sacrifice, and to him, she was willing to leave him behind.

"I don't know what to do, Gracia…" Lenalee sobbed softly, pressing Gracia's hand to her forehead, "Komui's never been angry with me before… I don't know how to fix it."

And she couldn't talk to anyone about it… Except maybe Kanda or Lavi. But Kanda wouldn't have any input, and Lavi just might talk to Komui about it…

At least Gracia was female; if she was going to give Komui a guilt trip about anything Lenalee talked to her about, she would do it how women did it best.

Silently.

Glare at him, drop subtle hints, sabotage small things in his everyday…

…Things a pissed off girlfriend would do.

Lenalee cracked a small, watery smile.

"Yeah… When you wake up, Gracia, I think you and Komui will need a helpful nudge."

* * *

_She couldn't believe this had happened…_

_She couldn't…_

_How…? He'd been so young…_

_Why…? He didn't have any enemies she knew of…_

_What… What was she… supposed to do now…?_

_She knelt before his grave long after everyone had gone, her face buried in her hands as she sobbed._

_The Solidor her mother had pounded into her wouldn't let her wail, but she couldn't stand, either._

_She was a widow._

_They had only been married seven years; she was a widow at twenty-four._

_What was she supposed to do now?_

_As his wife, she would be expected to either pick up his business or handle the distribution of it to his colleagues, but all these years later she had _no idea what it was he did_._

_She knew it was something in foreign trade, but that was all. She had never personally spoken to any of is business associates, she had never seen any ledgers or receipts, she had never read his name in the papers, there wasn't a single book in the house that she had been granted access to that hinted to a single thing…_

_He had taught her so much, but shown her so little about himself._

_Seven years later and she didn't even know her husband._

_How would she tell her mother?_

_Oh, god, her mother…_

_Her mother would know what to do, and she would do it._

_She would come in and take charge of what was supposed to be Gracia's rightful estate now, and—_

…_Oh god… She was thinking about these things without **** in mind. Her husband wasn't even gone a week and she was already edging him out._

_What was wrong with her? !_

_The man she had spent the last seven years of her life with, who she had tried to make a child with, who she had taken sacred vows with was gone, and she was worried about how to handle the estate!_

_Oh god, what if this had been her fault?_

_What if she hadn't been a good enough wife?_

_What if whatever had happened to him could have been avoided?_

_Had she paid attention, seen any signs, could she have stopped it?_

_She had let her own childish fear of him get in the way… and now he was dead…_

_Her husband was dead… and she was alone…_

Never once did 'love' cross her mind. Because she hadn't loved him. The concept was more or less foreign to her.

Nobles didn't marry for love.

* * *

Komui walked into the room quietly, sighing softly when he saw Lenalee draped over the edge of Gracia's bed, asleep and holding her hand.

Jeryy might have been Lenalee's source for womanly advice, but Gracia was an adult woman Lenalee could look up to without having to baby too much or fret over (Miranda)…

And since he had started acting… standoffish… Komui would end up finding Lenalee in Gracia's room more and more often.

…He hadn't meant to become so distant. Not really…

It was just… hard to meet her eye, knowing she knew about the dark past of the Order… and knowing that, even after knowing about it, seeing it, and keeping her own bad history with the Order in mind, she would subject herself to that sort of fate…

…Looking at Lenalee hurt; meeting her eyes brought a wrenching, twisting pain to his chest that seemed to burn its way clear through his body.

And then there was her pain… He could see it written all over her face (no, literally, looking at her now he could see how tear streaked her face was).

He couldn't let her see his pain when she was feeling her own, but openly avoiding her only added to her pain. He knew that, but time and time again he couldn't help but do it…

He knew he should say something to her, but he couldn't form the words… And the longer he avoided talking to her, the harder it got.

The only time he saw Lenalee anymore, the only time he _really_ saw her, was when he walked in on her sleeping in Gracia's room.

Even in her sleep, it seemed, Gracia was trying to nudge them together…

…Actually, he preferred it this way. The last time she had tried to do it while (semi)conscious, Gracia had used that creepy ventriloquism thing where she'd spoken to him through Judge-Sal in a deep, hollow, grating, echoing voice and called him a 'dumbass.'

Now she and Lenalee were sleeping together peacefully (or, at least, as peacefully as the situation would allow)… this was a much nicer scene.

Slowly, Komui walked over, picking Lenalee up gently and slowly turning to lie her down on the bed beside Gracia's, doing his best not to wake her. Fortunately, Lenalee seemed to be exhausted… Komui set her down gently and pulled the blankets up, and Lenalee rolled over and nestled down, none the wiser…

He smiled down at his sister slightly and reached out, setting a hand on her head. Her hair was starting to grow back… The prettiest hair in the world…

"Aaah… Haaa! !"

Komui spun around quickly, his eyes widening slightly when Gracia stared thrashing and letting out loud noises of protest. Another nightmare…

When she went from just protesting to screaming, Komui stepped over to her quickly and took her hand, squeezing reassuringly when her fingers clutched at his tightly.

She calmed down once she got a hold of his hand, screams quickly tapering off to heavy, slightly noisy pants before she stilled again, unresponsive and unmoving save the flickering of her eyes underneath their lids as she dreamed. Her hand went limp in his.

Sighing, Komui took Lenalee's seat, unable to bring himself to remove his hand from Gracia's.

"_I caught your weird."_

Komui blushed.

Was _that_ was she thought was wrong with her? She thought she'd caught his 'weird'?

…Frankly, he wished that that were what her problem was.

Those hopes had been dashed though, by what she'd said after that…

"…_I'm feeling something for you… And I don't understand it."_

Things she had said, the way she was acting, the way she had touched him, protected him, looked at him…

Even if she didn't understand it, it was happening.

Komui still, though, refused to define what 'it' was, because now that they both seemed to be under the influence of 'it,' defining 'it' would… well, put them beyond the point of no return.

'It' was something he couldn't afford to invest in.

'It' was something she didn't even understand.

'It' was something she understood so poorly that it actually made her annoyed with him.

'It' was something that would… just never work…

Because she was a noble and, rank aside, he was a naturalized citizen originally from China and of base birth.

No amount of 'it' in the world could make up for pedigree, and the Solidor family took very, _very_ special care of their daughters.

And the current head of the Solidor family, Mathilda Solidor…

Komui shuddered as he remembered what he had read on what little information he had managed to dig up on the woman.

She had been distantly related to her husband, Silas Solidor, and seemed to be in control of the family even before he died. Even though the Solidor family was technically patriarchal, evidence strongly hinted that a strong woman was always purposely married to the succeeding male head of the family, and that at least one main branch daughter was always trained to be the matriarch, in case a male heir was never born to the patriarch and said daughter had to be married off to a distant relative from another branch…

…The fact that the Solidor family did nothing to disguise how they ran things internally only acted to emphasize how much power they had, and how well they _knew_ how much power they had.

Mathilda, though, took knowing ones power and the ability to use available power to a whole new level.

She ran all seven branches of the Solidor family single-handedly, having abolished the system her husband had set up where the eldest male in a branch's area oversaw things and reported to the family head. Now nothing happened without her knowledge or consent; no business deals were made, no one dated or married, no will was notarized, no child's future was planned if she didn't know about it.

And Gracia was her _daughter_.

Komui had no idea how Gracia had managed to escape that sort of woman and avoid being found for four years, but he… admired her for it.

Running may be perceived, by some, as a sign of cowardice, but those people didn't know how hard it was to drop everything and run with every intention to never turn back. To abandon a support unit that you had been dependant upon for everything your entire life, to flee an overbearing background knowing full well you could be hunted down and dragged back to face consequences…

Running away from the Solidor family was no mean feat, and certainly not something a coward would do.

No… a coward would sit there, take the situation for what it was and bend over backwards to avoid making waves.

True, Gracia had ended up an amnesiac, narcoleptic hobo, but… she seemed to be a lot happier than she was when she was asleep and dreaming about her past.

Well… she _had_ been happier… until she had started remembering things…

And even though Komui wasn't going to look any more into this 'it' if he could avoid it, he couldn't stand the thought of letting her go back to a past/environment that made her so unhappy…

"…I can understand why you wouldn't want to wake up…" Komui muttered, squeezing Gracia's hand slightly, "But… you know… you do have a way out." He paused, then said, "You're an adult… you don't have to go back. Especially not if you really had been ma… marri…" Komui coughed slightly, then sighed, "Wedded."

Gracia slept heavily, her face pallid and her breathing slow and heavy.

Komui sighed, dropping his head. Like she could hear him…

His brow twitched slightly.

…Like she could hear him.

_Like_ she could _hear_ him…

"…If she comes… and you don't want to leave… I'll do my best to make sure she doesn't take you. Solidor or not… you're an Exorcist. You're… part of our… family…"

Komui shuddered and reached up with his free hand, pushing his glasses aside slightly and pinching the bridge of his nose.

Alright, now he was glad she couldn't hear him. He sounded so sappy and ridiculous…

…When Gracia's hand twitched in his slightly, her fingers tightening marginally around his, Komui froze, blushing darkly.

…Oh, god, don't let her be waking up _now_.

* * *

_(TT . TT Terikel? Are you alive…?)_


	39. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XXVI

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Smell… like alcohol… sharp, piercing, cut through the haze…

Warm… but somehow… clammy… Blankets damp… smelling faintly of salt…

Sweat…

Warm… but limbs still cold… right arm… pinched… smothered… itchy…

_She was still standing over her husband's grave, mourning._

Her eyes… closed… but open…? Dream…

Something… in left hand… Twitched fingers to get… better feel…

"You're… part of our… family…"

…Knew that voice…

Thing in left hand… another hand… Twitched fingers again, stronger this time… grabbed…

Waking up… more and more…

She could feel her eyelids now… They were heavy.

She struggled, she frowned, she kept a hold of the hand in hers, she started to slowly… slowly open her eyes…

The ceiling above was a comforting, neutral color she couldn't even define; such an easy thing to look at after being in black for so long… And the fact that the lights were dim made it easier.

Something that wasn't the same, neutral color to her left caught her slow, sleepy attention, and she slowly looked over at the red-faced man in white sitting next to her, his beret sitting on his head awkwardly and his glasses sliding slightly even as she looked at him to sit on the tip of his nose.

She knew him…

"…Kevin."

He went from looking red-faced and embarrassed to red-faced and exasperated.

"Kobe… Kodi… Konrad… Konami…"

Now he was red-faced, exasperated and smiling, "I think those are all the same guesses you made not long after you first met me…"

She smiled back tiredly, "You know, Konami, I think you're right…"

"It's _Komui_." He chuckled.

"That sounds _much_ nicer." Her smile widened slightly, "What's mine again?"

"…Gracia." He sighed, "Gracia Amberley Solidor."

Her smile faded, "…Can we just pretend that… we don't know the rest?"

Komui's face softened slightly and he nodded, "Sure… Just Gracia, then."

Gracia nodded slightly. "…Did you mean what you said?"

"E-Eh?" And just like that, Komui's face was crimson again.

"I don't want to go back." Gracia muttered, her fingers twitching around his hand, "I really… really don't… But if she… if she finds out where I am…" She shuddered, closing her eyes.

"…Your mother," Komui started slowly after a pause, sighing, "Will be a very, very hard person to fight…"

Gracia's hand tightened around his and she lowered her head, clenching her jaw.

"But," Komui quickly covered her hand with his free hand, flinching slightly when he had to jostle his injured shoulder but not relenting, "You _are_ a member of the Black Order, and if the Solidor family really is such a big contributor, then they must know about and be aware of our rules, meaning they know that your duties as an Exorcist took priority when you agreed to join. If you don't want to leave, she can't force you."

As he spoke, Gracia had slowly been relaxing.

"…And, yes, I did mean what I said." Komui squeezed her hand reassuringly, "You are part of our family."

Gracia slowly opened her eyes and looked back up at him again, her face doing that strange thing where it got warmer and… something… welling up in her chest.

Komui's face was red once more.

"…It's coming back." Gracia murmured after a moment.

"…What is?" Komui asked, almost sounding reluctant to.

"This strange feeling…" She answered slowly, thinking it over carefully, "That I, annoyingly, can't pinpoint…"

Gracia watched Komui silently as he looked away, his face red.

She felt like she had to confess something else, too… even though she didn't know why she felt like she had to tell him; she was slowly starting to become annoyed once more, though not at him, she finally realized. No, she was annoyed with herself… but that didn't give her the right to take it out on him…

…Or deny him information.

"…It was this feeling that let me use the Judge-Sal."

Komui jerked slightly and froze, still looking away from her as his glasses threatened to fall off of his nose and the redness that dyed his face went clear up to the tips of his ears.

Gracia blinked and stared at him in confusion when he muttered something incomprehensible, fiddled with his glasses and beret, then slowly removed his hand from hers before stumbling to his feet and bolting for the door.

The room fell into silence as Gracia stared after him.

…Alright, now she knew she wasn't annoyed with herself; now she was annoyed with him.

She wasn't sure why, but having him run out on her after she said that felt insulting; now she wanted to do something vindictive… like spit in his coffee or write on his face with permanent marker while he was sleeping.

It was odd; she hadn't ever felt annoyed to this point with a person.

But Komui? He was just a jerk. A dweeby, dorky jerk…

"Aw, Gracia, I'm sorry…"

Gracia twitched slightly and slowly looked over, blinking slowly and blushing for some reason when she saw Lenalee lying on the bed next to hers, staying at her pityingly. How long had the girl been there? How much had she seen?

…Why did it matter?

"He's such a nerd." Lenalee narrowed her eyes after her brother, "Running out after you confessed like that…"

…Confessed? What?

"But don't worry!" Lenalee perked, looking at Gracia and smiling widely, "We'll get him! Oh, I'll even recruit some help!"

"…'We'?" Gracia mumbled uselessly as Lenalee jumped out of bed and dashed out the door. She turned her head slowly, belatedly, and stared after her.

…Recruit? Help?

…What the hell… was going on…

Gracia sighed and gave up, closing her eyes.

She was starting to miss her coma.

* * *

Gracia laid sprawled out on the couch in the room her group was currently working on packing up, her head thrown back and her mouth wide open as she snored loudly.

Tiny Kanda stood beside her and glared down at her, the look less effective ever since Miranda had dropped that box containing that serum that had turned him and Lavi into children.

Lenalee giggled and had to resist the urge to cuddle the chibi-samurai.

"Woman, wake up!" Tiny Kanda snapped, smacking Gracia over the head with Mugen.

Gracia yelped and fell off of the sofa, landing on her still healing arm with a pained cry. She then scrambled to her feet and glared down at tiny Kanda with tears in the corner of her eyes, "Kaaaanda, stoppit!"

"Gracia, Kanda, do I have to put you two in timeout?" Reever asked tiredly as he glanced over, bags under his eyes and his arms laden with heavy boxes.

"She's sleeping on the job!" Tiny Kanda snapped, pointing up at Gracia accusingly.

"It's two in the goddamned morning!" Gracia wailed, looking at Reever pathetically as she actually started to cry a bit, "You can't expect me to be effective at two in the morning! I'm hardly effective at two in the afternoon!"

Reever stopped, staring at Gracia with a contemplative frown, "…You know, you're right. Gracia, go to bed."

She blinked, then perked, "Really?"

"Hey, why does she get to go to bed? !" Tiny Lavi demanded.

"Because she might actually put the rest of us to sleep if her Innocence acts up!" Reever barked, an annoyed look on his tired face, "Either that or squash us with a giant, sixteen-foot-tall suit of armor! Either way, we'd fall behind! It's best we put her to work in hours she can actually function in safely!"

The jab at her level of control over her Innocence completely blowing over her head, Gracia smiled happily and turned, heading straight for the door.

It was late at night, there was a wild thunderstorm raging outside, the air was cold and moist…

She should definitely be in bed, not up trying to do work she couldn't feasibly do anyway.

And she had been helping, really; at midday, when asking her to help was still reasonable.

But having her pack and move boxes for that long? And well beyond her bedtime? When they _still_ couldn't get Sleep off of her? And when she was _still_ recovering from a coma?

They were lucky she hadn't passed out and shut the entire building down.

Gracia stumbled up the stairs slowly, feeling warm and fuzzy with the familiar, sleepy haze back in her mind. Ever since she had woken up from her coma, it was like things were back to normal between her and Sleep… She couldn't forget the things she had remembered, of course, but she wasn't remembering anything else, either, and the comforting, sleepy haze was back in her mind, body and periphery.

And it was comfortable.

So comfortable, in fact, that she didn't even care when the lights suddenly went down and she ran into a wall.

Instead, she sighed, rubbed her forehead, and continued meandering up the stairs, keeping her hands pressed against the walls so she didn't run into any again or, worse, go falling down the stairs…

Of course, she didn't have the required cognitive skills to properly guide herself in the dark; she depended on her ability to see and navigate around the confusing twists and turns of the Order. Hell, she hardly remembered which ways to go when she _could_ see…

Being in the dark and in Sleep's warm, hazy embrace made her sleepy, and as she had to practically crawl up the steps, Gracia didn't notice the soft sounds of moans, shuffles and scrapes, like a rabid person skittering around on their nails in the dark…

…And the zombies she passed didn't seem to notice her, either. (Probably because she was hardly alive enough to look tasty…)

Gracia tiredly managed to stumble up to her room about an hour later and locked her door, collapsing on her bed and curling up with her electric blanket.

She was _so_ living this up…

* * *

It wasn't a question that had been asked once that night; it was asked several different times by several different people.

After all, those who were under the effects of the Komuvitan D weren't dead; they were just under the influence of a very powerful upper that made them a bit bananas… and made them want to bite people.

And, because they weren't dead, their neurological systems were perfectly intact and healthy as ever; a status effect _would_ still be effectual on them.

And everyone knew that there was one status effect Exorcist in the building who still had their Innocence equipped…

And so, several times over, as they were chased around the building by their rabid, nippy colleagues, the question had been asked.

By Kanda.

By Reever.

By Allen.

(Had Lenalee been able to let out anything other than cat noises, she would have asked.)

By Lavi.

And even by Komui, who, lately, had been doing everything in his power to avoid her (like he had been his sister).

"WHERE IN THE HELL IS GRACIA? !"

* * *

Gracia woke in anger.

_Who_ in the _hell_ was making all of that racket? !

That was it; she didn't care if Reever ate her liver later, the whole damned building was taking a goddamned nap.

After struggling with her blankets for several minutes, Gracia finally fell out of bed and stumbled to her feet, brushing her nightgown straight before kicking her slippers on and storming out of her room.

If this was Komui's fault, she was going to use Alucinari on him and make him do all of the work while Reever and the others got to go to bed. See if he didn't wake up with some soreness in his skinny, bony, pasty little scientist arms and legs…

…And back…

…And chest…

…Alright, now this was just crossing into weird territory. Screw the fact that her face was heating up again (she was starting to just ignore it by this point), she now found herself wondering what he really looked like underneath all of those layers…

…Did they make pills for this kind of thing?

Huffing, Gracia stormed down the stairs, following the sounds of screams, bangs and explosions straight to the cafeteria.

And the first person she saw was Komui, tied up and sliding across the floor.

She crossed her arms over her chest and glared down at him harshly as he came to a stop by her feet, her lip twitching in a sneer as he scuffled around pathetically before finally noticing her.

"GRACIA!" Komui wailed, "USE SLEEP! ! USE SLEEP AND KNOCK THEM ALL OUT! !"

"…Eh?" Gracia looked behind him, her eyes widening in shock when she saw practically the entire building surging towards them, their eyes white, veins standing out on their faces and their mouths foaming.

And Gracia screamed.

Yes, she actually screamed, and loud enough for the horde to balk.

"ZOOOOMBIIIEEEES!"

Sleep flashed a hot white around her wrist and finger, sending out a strong pulse that seemed to make the air shake.

Komui shuddered as the zombies all collapsed, having a hard time keeping his eyes open as he got sleepy himself.

Gracia, her heart hammering in her throat, shuddered and slowly fell to her knees, glaring at Komui, "This is your fault… isn't it?"

Komui pouted, his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose and his eyes getting a bit glassy as his eyelids slid down, "What makes you assume that…?"

"You're the only other one who isn't a zombie yet." Gracia growled. She shuddered and relaxed as she slumped forward against him, struggling to try to keep herself upright. She didn't want to sleep in the same room as the zombies…

"Wasn' my fault…" Komui mumbled, starting to slur slightly, "Reever's'the one who took it fr'm me…"

"…K'mui, yer so payin' for this later…" Gracia mumbled back, closing her eyes and falling on top of him as he collapsed backwards.

Still, as she fell asleep on top of him, Gracia realized something…

…His bony chest actually made a decent pillow.


	40. HPPD Flashback: Record Juxtaposed

Before I begin, I'd like to apologize for how angry I was the other day in my message about iTunes; like I said, I'm a naturally twitchy person about those kinds of things ('those kinds of things' being my internet subscriptions, especially when they involve my personal e-mail and money). I love iTunes, and will probably be using it for some time yet, though my stance on giving iTunes any billing information more valuable than gift cards hasn't changed.

For those of you who care, here is an update on the situation; today (5/26) I received a message from iTunesStoreSupport from a woman who called herself Jessica. She apologized, thanked me for reporting my issue and for giving her the opportunity to help me resolve the issue, assured me that my money would be refunded (this one time only), informed me that she would temporarily be blocking my account's ability to purchase from the iTunes store until I sent her a verification e-mail that I was, once again, confident that my account was secure, and then left me step-by-step instructions on how to go about unblocking my account when I was ready.

Now, whether this message was from an actual person or not, I don't know; though Jessica told me my reply would go directly to her (and that my message would be "given higher priority"), the message itself was from iTunesStoreSupport, not from any one e-mail in particular or even from the iTunesStoreSupport with some sort of personal identification number for this agent in particular. Frankly, the whole message screamed automatism to me, and the instances where she used my name, e-mail address, order number, etc. could have easily been filled in with any other disgruntled buyer's information.

Still, even though the message came two days later instead of within the promised 24 hour timeframe that was given to me in the message iTunes sent me to acknowledge that they had received my complaint, the fact that they have responded, refunded my money, removed the unwanted App, and have taken the precaution to block my account until I feel secure again is very much appreciated. I don't plan on quitting iTunes (yet).

Again, though, I also don't plan on giving them a credit card number.

So here's a bit of wisdom from me to you: Identity theft/clerical errors can happen to anyone.

I know you hear people say this a lot, and you probably even say it yourself, but it's really true; it happened to _me_, and I'm so obsessive compulsive about my computer and my online accounts that I make my family and even a few computer gurus who help me when I need it angry. It really is a whole different situation when it happens to you. Be careful with who you give your information to over the internet; if it's a website or service that sells digital applications (like iTunes) that have optional gift cards you can use, use them instead of your credit cards. If it's an online middleman for monetary and business transactions (like PayPal) that you really only plan on using once or twice before you forget about it for a few years, delete the account when you're done with it and start over should you need it again. And if it's an online auction/store/what have you like eBay, Craigslist, Amazon or anything else, and using checks and cash are an option, do that instead.

We may be in the age of internet advances, and buying online truly never has been easier, but that doesn't mean security measures are keeping up with how quickly producers are churning out ways to make it more convenient for you to pay.

You may not be able to keep someone from stealing tidbits of your information along the way, but you can always take personal steps to make yourself a little safer.

^ . ^' And again, I give you my apologies, for I am ranting once more… For that, I'll give you two spoilers (one for each rant)~!

_Someone kisses Gracia before Komui does (and I'm not counting her deceased husband)._

_You will meet Gracia's late husband, and it _won't_ just be in the REM chapters._

XD Enjoy the chapter~!

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia hid pathetically underneath her bunk, wrapped up in blankets and letting out warbling, sad little mewls as the boat rocked.

On the bed on the other side of the room, Komui was in much the same state, only he, mercifully, was asleep.

Lenalee looked between the two seasick adults pityingly, smiling weakly.

"…This is depressing." Johnny murmured, looking slightly guilty as he glanced at Lenalee and hesitantly suggesting, "Can we… go out on the deck and see Allen?"

"Yeah…" Lenalee smiled back, nodding slightly.

They both stood and pulled on their rain jackets, Lenalee a long black one over her newly redesigned uniform and Johnny a shorter cream-colored one over his sweater vest and dress shirt.

As they walked outside, Komui opened his eyes and stared at the wall he was facing, twitching when his stomach clenched painfully and acid burned on the back of his tongue as the boat roiled. He hated traveling by boat on the best of days, never mind when it was raining…

He cringed as he sat up, pressing a hand to his stomach and looking around the mostly empty cabin.

When a piteous whimper came out from underneath the bed across from him, he glanced over guiltily, mumbling, "We're almost there Gracia…"

"…Why cou—lgh…" Her blankets shifted as it sounded like she came close to heaving, "Couldn't I… have waited… with everyone else?"

"Because you're useful in perimeter securing procedures." Komui answered, groaning as he stood, "Wide-spread effect types almost always are… I'm going up top for a moment; get ready to disembark."

"Neeeh…"

When the door shut behind him, a pale, clammy, slightly green-faced Gracia peeked out from the nest she'd made under her bunk, making a face when her stomach grumbled dangerously.

She crawled out of her nest and across the floor pathetically, her jacket trailing out behind her.

Like the other Exorcists, she had gotten a uniform upgrade; the silver trimming had been replaced with red, the silver Rose Cross had been replaced with a cloth badge, and her shirt was now much longer, with a high neck, long sleeves and a hem that went clear down to her knees, the material slit from her knees on either side. Where the slit ended, though, was unclear; she also now had a thick, dark red sash around her middle that covered from waist to hip. Hidden beneath it were a few small pockets, and the most important thing they contained was an autoinjector of her emergency atropine.

Gracia sighed, fiddling with the aiguillettes on her chest and untangling them before she continued crawling towards the door.

Suddenly, the waters stilled and the lights dimmed.

Gracia shuddered and relaxed in front of the door, slowly lowering her head and lying sprawled out on her stomach.

When the door opened and hit her head, she whined but didn't move.

"…Miss Gracia?" Allen's unsure voice started after a moment, "We're here… Do you need help?"

"…Yes." Gracia gurgled, her hands twitching slightly.

A strong pair of hands gently grabbed her under her upper arms and pulled her upright slightly.

When she let out a pained groaned when Allen tried to straighten her completely, he paused, then left her bowed over slightly and shifted to stand beside her, wrapping a stabling arm around her waist as she grabbed his other arm with both hands and hugged it to her chest.

With Allen helping to keep her upright, Gracia shuffled off of the boat, keening and nearly collapsing when she went from standing on the hollow, rocking boat onto the solid, unrelenting ground.

Allen yelped, wrapping both arms around her waist and pulling her weight against his.

"She still not well?" Johnny's voice asked, slowly coming closer.

"No, it'll take her a while." Lenalee sighed, "Honestly, Brother, you should have just let her come over on the Ark…"

Komui sighed, muttering incoherently before speaking up, "Gracia, if you aren't well, we can set you up in a room… everything has been set up."

"Nnnghh…" Gracia shook her head, slowly forcing herself to stand straight, "It's going away… Let's g—" She froze, blinking and looking around quickly.

She recognized this… After all, underground waterways in houses were very, very uncommon.

"…Komui, how did we get this location again?" Gracia mumbled, still looking around as she pulled away from Allen and started walking.

"It was… donated?" Komui answered after her, his voice hesitant, "Gracia, what is it?"

"I don't know yet…" She paused at the doors she knew lead to the stairs that went out of the watergate and up to the east wing watergate foyer. "Where are we headed?"

"Urr…" She glanced back, watching as Komui pulled out a map and flipped through it before answering, "The… lesser ballroom next to the Mirror Hall."

Gracia stared at him for a moment, rubbing her fingers together and thinking, "That's… one floor up, two halls over. We'll take the grand staircase near the dining hall." She then turned and opened the watergate doors, hurrying up the stairs beyond.

"Wait—what? Gracia, wait up!"

Komui, Lenalee Johnny and Allen hurried after her, Lenalee glancing up at her brother, "Komui, does she know this building?"

"Seems like it…" Komui frowned as they ran past several members of the Swiss Guard already stationed in the building, "I should have asked who we got this building from…"

_Why had Lvellie been so insistent on Gracia being part of the initial party?_

He should have been more careful…

They followed her through a few halls and up a large, swooping staircase, and Gracia had never looked surer in her movements as she twisted the gilt handles of the large doors she came to and threw them open.

Because electricity hadn't been turned on completely in the building yet, the room was dimly lit with lanterns, but even in the darkness she still recognized the room; the tall room with the open space between floors so people on the second floor could look down from the rail-lined arches above and into the room below…

They had never actually used it as a ballroom, but it was called that, nonetheless. Really, if the roof had been opened completely, calling it a courtyard would have been more appropriate…

Once inside the room, Gracia stood aside silently, looking around without any expression.

The group and the Swiss Guardsmen in the room glanced at her worriedly, but then Johnny began directing Allen to open Ark Gates.

Gracia listened absently to the tune Allen hummed to himself as the boy worked, looking up at the darkened upper levels and picturing the portraits hanging from the walls in her minds eye. She imagined they wouldn't have moved them…

"Gracia?"

She jumped slightly and glanced over at Lenalee, tipping her head when the young woman bit her lip nervously.

"Are you… alright?" Lenalee asked, hesitant.

"…There used to be a statue in here…" Gracia mumbled absently, looking over to Ark Gate 9 and holding up her hands, "Right there… Ugly thing; it was a great, winged stag rearing up. It was done completely in marble… Ugly." She mumbled again, shaking her head, "The Ark Gate looks much better in its place."

Lenalee frowned, glancing over at her brother as he walked over.

"A winged stag?" Komui asked nonchalantly, not looking worried at all as he quirked a brow. He could be very good at hiding his emotions when the situation called for it.

"The stag…" Gracia mumbled, closing her eyes and pressing her Sleep-laden hand to her forehead as she thought, the chain jingling softly, "Representing peace and harmony, with an emphasis on the horns for strength and fortitude. The vol, or wings, on anything represents speed and protection. And on his back, the stag wore an ornate caparison… bearing a cross…" She paused, then shook her head slowly and looked over at them, giving the siblings a strained smile, "Sorry, were we talking to something?"

"…Not particularly." Komui smiled back at her.

Lenalee sighed, glancing at Gracia worriedly before smiling when the woman looked at her. She then looked around, only to tense and jump back towards her brother when she noticed they were surrounded by people in heavy robes and masks with diamonds on them…

CROW…?

"Komui… What's going on? !"

"We've been waiting for you, Supervisor." One of the CROW stepped forward towards Komui, nodding, "The first stage of Allen Walker's questioning shall begin soon. Inspector Lvellie has asked that you be present."

Komui, suddenly tense and frowning, nodded, "Of course he did…"

"Wait, questioning?" Lenalee looked up at Komui, "Brother, what is going on? ! Why are the questioning Allen? !"

"Exorcist Lenalee Lee." Another CROW stepped forward, "Lady Gracia Solidor. I'm afraid you two will need to will need to wait in the library. If you will follow me—"

When Lenalee tensed as the CROW reached out for her, Gracia stepped between them, her face blank and her eyes lidded heavily as she held her head up slightly, "I _know_ where the library is."

The CROW paused, then backed away, slipping their hand back into their robes and bowing to her slightly, "Of course. By your leave, then."

Gracia glanced at Komui, and when he nodded gravely to her she sighed and nodded back, taking Lenalee's hand and starting to pull her towards the nearest door.

"Ah, Lady Gracia!"

She paused, tensing, then slowly glanced back at the smiling Lvellie with a tired, blank look, "Yes, Malcolm?"

His smile widened at her slightly but still remained aloof and cool, "Your mother wanted to make sure that I welcomed you home. Your old bedroom will be waiting for you when this small matter is taken care of."

Gracia pointedly avoided looking at Lenalee when the girl turned to her with wide eyes. "…Thank you, Malcolm."

Even Howard Link had to cringe slightly when she turned to the door and threw it open, the sound of the wall smashing a little echoing throughout the acoustical room.

* * *

Lenalee clung to Gracia as they sat on a slightly dusty sofa in the library, Gracia slumping back morosely and staring off into space as she kept a comforting hand on Lenalee's leg.

Absently, she wondered why in the hell Komui always approved of her shortly skirted/shorted uniform designs if he was always so damned insistent on being protective of her. This one wasn't even a skirt; it was a very short, button up dress.

And no, the high stockings didn't make it any better in her point of view.

Of course, she had other things she could (and probably should) be brooding about, but frankly, she didn't want to think about them right now. She was more worried about Allen…

"Johnny!"

Gracia blinked and focused as Lenalee cried out, straightening slightly as the young man walked over nervously. She glared slightly at the CROW behind him as it finished escorting him over with a bow, like he _needed_ to be escorted that far.

"Lenalee, what is all of this…?" Johnny asked nervously, glancing back at the CROW and reaching out for Lenalee as she took his sleeve and pulled him over, "Why is the Inspector here?"

"He got here ahead of us…" Lenalee murmured, just as nervous as she glanced at the CROW as if they would attack them for talking about it. She pulled Johnny down into sitting beside her, finishing, "I… I didn't know about it…" She paused, glancing around, then tensed, "Where's Allen? !"

Johnny looked at her with wide, upset eyes, swallowing before answering, "They bound his left arm and took him away! They wouldn't let me go with him…" He paused, then whimpered softly, "Lenalee… will Allen be alright? I… I have a bad feeling about this…" Johnny shuddered, shrinking in his seat slightly, "Will we… ever see him again?"

Gracia tensed at that.

Even though she didn't want to think it was feasible, something about her memories of Lvellie… told her it was.

Now irritated, she stood and looked around at the CROW guarding them with narrowed eyes, "Who amongst you ranks the highest?"

The CROW swayed slightly, as if considering.

Gracia felt Lenalee take her hand, and she heard Johnny whisper nervously, "Gracia…"

"I asked a question." Gracia mumbled, shifting her hand so Sleep's chain chimed pointedly.

"…That would be me, Lady Solidor." One of the CROW stepped forward and bowed to her, "Is there anything you and the other two need? Food? Beverages?"

"Maybe later." Gracia turned to the CROW, pulling her hand from Lenalee's and crossing her arms over her chest, "Who are you? And I don't mean you, specifically, I mean your group."

"We are members of CROW, Milady." The CROW answered, "The Central Office Battle Corps. Special guards deployed from Central at the behest of His Holiness and Inspector Lvellie."

"I see… and what is currently happening to Exorcist Allen Walker?"

"I'm afraid I cannot—"

"I am not asking as a member of the Black Order." Gracia interrupted, feeling very ballsy at the moment, annoyed that this was cutting into potential nap time, and on a short fuse, "I'm asking as the daughter of the current head of House Solidor, and I am asking while you are under my family's roof. What is currently happening to Allen Walker?"

If these people were going to address her by her family name, then they were going to deal with a noble.

"…He is speaking to his instructor, Exorcist General Cross Marian." The CROW answered after a prolonged moment, "It is unlikely that anything else will happen tonight. You have little reason to worry about him."

"…Thank you." Gracia nodded when the CROW bowed to her, then turned and walked back over to Lenalee and Johnny sitting back down.

The two younger adults stared at her with wide eyes, then Johnny whispered, "Thank… you…"

Gracia sighed, grumbled something incoherent about taking a nap, then slumped back against the back of the sofa and pulled her hood up over her head, crossing her arms over her chest and closing her eyes.

And today had started off so well…

* * *

Gracia opened her eyes and glanced, watching silently as the CROW filed out of the room.

Beside her, Lenalee was slumped over with her head on Gracia's chest, and Johnny was slumped against Lenalee with his head on her shoulder.

Gracia glanced down at them both, using Sleep a bit to make sure they stayed asleep as she nudged them both upright, leaning them against one another and back against the sofa as she freed herself.

She then turned and walked over to the door, yawning.

She wasn't actually planning on sleeping in her old room, but now that it was late and everyone seemed to be turning in… she was going to walk around the mansion a bit. She was a bit curious to see how much things had changed…

Corridor after corridor was navigated, and Gracia was mildly surprised to find that she was still able to discern where she was going. She'd gotten lost in towns smaller than this house that had far fewer twists and turns, never mind how many floors there were…

She was even more surprised to find that she knew that they had changed very few things about the house; no new rooms or floors had been added, the color scheme was the same, and those were even the same curtains… The only things that had been changed were a few of the portraits that hung from the walls.

All family portraits had been removed, most replaced but a few leaving obvious spots on the wall where the wallpaper was darker around where the pictures had been than underneath…

She had covered quite a bit of ground when she rounded a corner and slammed into a familiar, hard chest, flaming red hair mingling with her auburn as a stabling hand was pressed between her shoulders to keep her from falling.

Gracia looked up at Cross, blinking when he blinked down at her before smirking.

"Well, hello there, Miss Gracia."

Gracia's stare flattened and she reached up, plucking the cigarette from his mouth, "Don't smoke in my family's house."

"Ooooh, so all of this is yours, is it?" Cross asked amusedly, glancing around with a quirked brow before looking down at her seriously, "You don't mind if I borrow a vase or two, do you? I have a lot of debts I need to pay off."

"Yes, I do mind." Gracia tensed, glaring at him, "This was my father's house."

Cross blinked down at her, then sighed and rolled his eyes when someone behind him ran up.

"S-Sir!" The same bald guards who had been keeping an eye on him ran up, panting, "You have to go back to your room now! You know what the Inspector ordered!"

"Fine, fine." Cross sighed, wrapping his arm around Gracia's waist pointedly, "But she comes with me. I'm feeling a bit… lonely tonight."

Gracia twitched slightly while the guards flushed and stuttered, "S-Sir, you ca—"

Ignoring them, Cross swept Gracia up into his arms and started walking.

"I'm not doing anything sexual with you." Gracia informed him flatly.

"Of course you're not." Cross chuckled, "The Solidor matriarch would kill me. I just hate drinking alone."

After staring at him for a moment, Gracia sighed and closed her eyes, tipping her head back.

Still ignoring the stuttered protests of his guards, Cross kicked the door he waltzed up to open, carrying Gracia inside and kicking it shut before grinning and sighing when he saw bottles of liquor already waiting for him. After quickly depositing the woman in his arms on the chaise longue next to the table with the liquor, he took off his jacket and threw it over the back of the chair on the other side of the table.

Gracia sighed and slumped back against the head of the long chair, crossing her arm behind her head and muttering, "This isn't even a proper bedroom… They could have at least given you a room with a bed in it; this house has hundreds of them."

"I don't mind." Cross chuckled, opening a few bottles of liquor and sniffing the contents, "I don't think I'll sleep much tonight, anyway." He paused, then set the bottles back down and unbuckled Judgment's holster from his thigh, dropping it onto the ground before pouring a glass. "Wine or brandy?"

"I don't really drink." Gracia sighed.

"Brandy, then."

"…Wine." Gracia sighed again, tipping her head back, "I don't like the way brandy tastes."

Cross chuckled, "Wine, then."

Gracia waited with her eyes closed, reaching out blindly with one hand when the man walked over and kneed her seat. She grabbed the glass when he pressed it into her palm, sitting up and sniffing the contents a bit before swirling it and taking a sip.

Cross sat down next to her, leaning back on one hand and drinking with the other as he watched her out of the corner of his eye.

Noticing his stare after a moment, Gracia narrowed her eyes at him wryly and pulled the wineglass away from her mouth, "Getting my snookered will not get you in my pants. If you try, I'll Judge-Sal you straight through the floor."

Cross snorted, rolling his eyes and smirking as he drank a bit more before lowering his glass, "Other than the occasional molestation, have I _ever_ tried to get in your pants?"

"No…" Gracia answered flatly, sighing, "But I have met men like you before, and I know your kind likes to trick a girl's pants off. You're a very patient, silver-tongued breed."

Cross grinned, "Why, thank you."

"Shut up." Gracia sighed, taking another drink before slumping back in the long chair again. "If you don't want sex, what do you want?"

"Company, like I told my stalkers." Cross answered, shrugging, "And, frankly, I think you need someone to talk to, as well. And I'm betting you can't go to our favorite Chinese nerd right now."

Gracia stared at him for a moment, then took a long swig of her wine, holding out her glass for a refill.

He was the worst kind of patient, silver-tongued man there was; the kind that was right.

* * *

_(P.S. ^ . ^ Yay~! Terikel is back~!)_

_(P.P.S. Who else doesn't really like F F . net's new PM system…?)_


	41. N REM Cycle: Record Filed

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"So, your dad's house, eh?" Cross started, pouring her some more wine, "Nice place."

"It was called Barheim Palace." Gracia sighed, watching the wine swirl around in her glass, "Though I don't know what they call it now… My father inherited it from his side of the Solidor family. When he married my mother, they shared it, and I lived here for about… four years when we moved back to England after living in Germany for the first chunk of my life."

"And your mother just gave it to the Order?" Cross asked, quirking a brow.

"I guess so…" Gracia sighed, sipping her wine and glancing off to the side, "Not that it matters. After Dad died, we moved out. This place has probably just more or less been a storage house for things she can't move into the other houses."

"Hmm." Cross nodded, "So, I take it she wasn't all that attached to your father then…"

"Solidor women aren't married off for love…" Gracia mumbled, remembering someone female… her mother probably?… telling her that once.

"Oooh, so that's what your problem with the Supervisor is." Cross nodded seriously.

"…What do you mean?" Gracia glanced at him, blinking.

Cross stared at her, slowly quirking a brow, then smirked and turned away, drinking, "Nothing."

Gracia glared at him slightly, then sighed and closed her eyes again, sipping more wine. She was getting used to people not answering her about the 'Komui subject.'

Then she remembered just why Cross was there when he hadn't arrived with them on the boat and blinked up at him, "Will I get in trouble if I ask you about what happened with you and Allen?"

Suddenly sober, Cross glanced at Gracia out of the corner of his eye, taking a long, slow drink from his wineglass.

"…You like the kid, right?"

Gracia blinked again, then shrugged slightly, "Well, considering the urge I feel to protect him isn't far below Lenalee's, I'd say so, yes…"

"…You measure how much you like people by how much you feel you need to protect them?" Cross quirked a brow.

"Emotions are not my forte." Gracia's tone got flat again, her eyes narrowing slightly. This guy jumped from subject to subject too much… "What is it you want to say?"

Cross sighed, looking away and pouring himself some more wine, "Keep an eye on him for me, will you?"

Immediately, Gracia became concerned.

Cross wasn't the kind of person who asked for this breed of favor, and it wasn't a secret that he was overly abusive towards his apprentice. What could be so bad he was actually looking for help for Allen?

"Cross, what's—"

"Shh." He pressed his hand to her mouth and leaned across the longue, pinning her body to the cushions with his much broader, stronger, warmer one, looking down at her seriously with one eye, the other covered with the mask that covered the right half of his face, "Quiet and listen; he just needs someone to vent to every now and then, and he can't do that with his superiors or his friends. They're kids just like he is, and the redhead's a Bookman. You're a levelheaded adult with diplomatic immunity; they can't do anything to you if he talks to you."

Gracia stared up at Cross with slightly widened eyes, the feeling of someone else's body pressing down on hers… odd, and, frankly, overshadowing what he was saying quite a bit.

Cross seemed to notice this and backed off a bit, going on, "You don't have to get what's going on… Actually, it's better that you don't. Just don't let him stew on things alone if it can be avoided."

"…What makes you think I can say the things he needs to hear?" Gracia asked, her voice a bit wispy and her head spinning. The wine…

"Just don't stop saying things." Cross smirked, "You'll get it right eventually. You did with Komui."

Gracia's stare flattened, her face heating up… and staying heated. Actually, her body temperature felt like it was going up a bit, and she felt… floaty…

Yeah, she didn't drink…

Cross stared down at her for a moment, his smirk slowly widening, "Aaah, so this is why you don't drink…"

"…I will hurt your groin." Gracia threatened slowly, idly, tiredly…

Cross chuckled, pulling his body off of hers, seemingly, in slow motion, "I guess you and I will just have to finish our talk another time, then…"

"Nnn…" Gracia sat up slowly, not really noticing when he took the glass from her, "'m not gonna be able to wake up tomorrow…"

"You're probably not going to _want_ to wake up tomorrow." Cross remarked amusedly as she stood, standing quickly to help keep her on her feet, "Can you make it to you room?"

"'f I can't, I know how to get into the other bedrooms, even 'f the doors 're locked…"

"…There are so many things I could say to that." Cross grinned, "But I won't… except for that you can find Komui in one of the larger rooms of the east wing."

"…And I care why?" And she was seriously considering going to look for him why?

"No reason." The General led her over to the door, patting her on the back, "Good luck."

Gracia slumped against the door slightly, closing her eyes and sighing. She hadn't drank that much, even if she wasn't much of a drinker. Why was this slamming her so hard…?

…And why was Cross acting weird?

Dazed, confused and concerned, when Cross reached past her to open the door, she turned towards him and grabbed him by the neck of his frilled white dress shirt, glaring up at him.

"Whatever in the hell is going on… don't let it kill you. No matter how much of a silver-tongued, pinheaded, feckless idiot you are… you're still apart of this family."

Cross quirked a brow down at her, then sighed and gave a lopsided, roguish smile, cupping her jaw with one gloved hand and swooping in to seal his lips over hers.

Gracia tensed, her eyes widening and her head throbbing as all of the blood in her body flooded her face.

"Stay with Komui tonight." His breath was uncomfortably warm against her ear, "You'll be safe there. It's the room next to the observatory."

Gracia blinked, and when she opened her eyes again she was standing in the hallway, staring at two scandalized, bald guards.

She looked between them slowly, then walked off without another word.

Wine sucked.

* * *

_Gracia stumbled down the window-lined hallway slowly, her head throbbing, her body floating and numb and her breathy boozy and smoky._

_And the latter wasn't her fault._

_Cross had pulled a fast one._

_Jerk was gonna pay for that…_

_She wasn't sure why, but she was taking Cross' advice and heading for the room that was now Komui's; from what she remembered, it was one of the mansions more ornate guestrooms._

_She liked this one in particular… it was next to the observatory. She and her father had camped out in that guestroom to watch the celestial bodies when they were at their finest._

_The hallways around her past quickly, curtains hanging heavily over black windows that showed nothing of the night sky because of the heavy cloud cover and rain._

_Before she knew it, she was standing in front of the door and turning the knob._

_Gracia sighed._

_Komui really needed to learn how to lock doors…_

_She walked inside, shutting the door softly and walking across the room. The actual sleeping area of the room was off to the right; canopied bed pressed by the headboard against the wall, wardrobe on the far side of the room between two curtained windows, dresser to the right and against the wall nearest to the door, nightstands on either side of the bed… And on the left side of the room was a sitting area, with a fireplace, a sofa, a chair and a small coffee table. On the right side of the fireplace, on the far side of the room, there was a door that led to the bathroom, and right next to that, in the far wall, there was a curtained French door that led out onto the terrace that connected to the observatory._

_The room wasn't nearly as complex as any of the master bedrooms, but it was definitely one of the nicer guest bedrooms…_

_And, over on the bed, tucked away into the warm covers, was Komui, if that dark, curly-ended hair was any indication…_

_Gracia stared at his sleeping form for a moment, then turned and walked over to the sitting area, lying down on the sofa in front of the empty fireplace._

_How Komui would react to waking up with her in his room never crossed her mind… She was too busy dwelling on that kiss Cross had slipped in on her._

_Gracia wasn't really familiar with… skinship. True, she'd hugged the people she was around dozens of times, but her clothes were always well layered. Things rarely ever touched skin to skin._

_But the feeling of someone else's lips pressed against hers was… undeniably pleasant. The warmth, the sliding of that familiar but foreign texture that felt so odd because she knew it was skin, and that the skin belonged to someone else, and it wasn't often that some else's skin brushed a person in such an intimate place… The dull sparks that had traveled across her face slightly and along her tongue, making her want to… do something with it…_

…_But it was Cross she had done it with, so none of those feelings had lasted long. Looking back now, she found herself wishing it had been someone else._

_But who…?_

_Who indeed…_

…_This was confusing; if Cross wasn't interested in her in that way, then why had he done it? And why did she find herself wanting to do it with someone else?_

…_And why did she have the feeling she already knew who that someone else was?_

…_And why was Komui coming to mind?_

_Did she… really want to kiss Komui?_

_But… kissing was such an intimate, private thing, and the only other person she'd ever kissed on the lips was her husband; her mother had only ever kissed her forehead, and the closest her father had gotten was her cheek (though he was always much warmer than Mathilda, so it meant more)._

_And she hadn't ever enjoyed the kisses she had exchange with her husband like she had this, and when she remembered it was Cross she hadn't even really enjoyed it then._

_So why Komui?_

_He was… he was… Komui…!_

_He had the tendency to annoy her (which was a feat considering she used to be so void), he made things that just made her angry, he avoided her over the dumbest things, he acted like such a dweeb sometimes, he… he…!_

…_And yet, at the same time, he could make her smile or laugh. When he was depressed, she felt the need to make him happy…When he was in danger, she felt the strongest urge to protect him; the urge had been so strong, she'd summoned Judge-Sal for the first time because of him. She put her life on the line to keep his sister safe, because she cared for Lenalee, because Komui cared for Lenalee, because she cared that Komui cared for Lenalee. The first time she had taken Sleep off, he had been the one she had entrusted it to, and when she had needed to take it off again, his comfort had been what had allowed her to do it…_

_There were so many more things; so many that stacked up against why she shouldn't want to kiss him…_

…_And now she was standing over Komui._

_When in the hell had she gotten off of the sofa and across the room?_

_And why was she standing over Komui?_

…_And why did he look adorable when he slept?_

_Gracia backpedaled clumsily, tripping over her own feet and falling with a yelp._

_Then, she was on her back, staring at the ceiling. …She'd forgotten about how plush and comfortable these rugs were…_

"…_G-Gracia? !"_

_She blinked and lifted her head slowly, staring at Komui. She blinked again._

_He slept shirtless? Huh… She approved of that a bit more than she cared to._

"_Gracia, what are you doing? !" Komui hissed, getting out of bed quickly and leaning over to pull her to her feet._

"_Th's what I'd like ta know…" Gracia slurred, slumping against him a bit more than she meant to as she clutched at his arms._

"_Gracia, are you—Are you drunk…? !"_

"…_Possibly." She mumbled, nodding slightly and looking up at him, "Though I also think I may be sleepwalking again…" She pressed against him a bit more, purposefully this time. He felt nice…_

_Komui's face got red as he muttered, "I think you're right… Let's go, I'll take you to your room."_

"_Nnn-nnn!" Gracia dug her still booted heels into the carpet when he tried to move her, shaking her head "Cross said it'd be safer here with you, 'nd he was acting weird so I think he was being serious…"_

"_Cross?" Komui huffed, "No wonder you're drunk…" He paused, then asked, "What did he say?"_

"_Dunno…" Gracia pressed close to him again, "But I gotta stay with you tonight."_

"_Pneh… Ah…" Komui twitched and writhed slightly, slipping behind her and grabbing her shoulders as she started to push, "No, no, you can't do that. Now, come on, bedtime."_

"_I'll sleep in the sitting area on the sofa." She dug her feet into the ground again._

"_Grac—"_

"_Komui, please…" She lowered her head, shuddering as she remembered the look in Cross' eyes, the way he'd worded his request, that kiss… "Don't… don't make me leave… Cross acted like… like things were serious… I'm worried… Don't… make me leave you…"_

_Komui's pushing stopped, his hands twitching on her shoulders slightly._

_There were several long moments of silence, and Gracia eventually had to lean back against him and lower her head, closing her eyes as the floaty sensation of drunkenness crashed back down so she felt heavy, tired, thick…_

_Then she was being pushed again. She jolted, making to fall to the ground as dead weight, but relaxed when she saw she was being directed towards the other side of Komui's bed._

"_Fine." He mumbled, "But you get the bed. I'll take the chair… I'm not used to sleeping in beds again just yet."_

"_Nn-nn…" Gracia shook her head, "Sofa. Too many memories in the bed…"_

"_Fine, fine!" Komui sighed heavily, spinning them around and pushing her back over to the sitting area, "Let's just get to sleep, alright? It's late."_

"'_kay…" Gracia smiled happily, flopping down on the sofa and closing her eyes. She was just relaxing when a weight draped across her body, making her jolt and look down at the heavy blanket before she smiled at Komui._

_Komui, now in a shirt, smiled back tiredly before he sighed and sat down in the chair nearby, draping a blanket across his lap and leaning back against a corner of the chair's cushiony headrest._

_He stared at her for a moment, then frowned, "Wait, you drank with Cross?" A dark look crossed his face, "He didn't do anything to you, did he?"_

"…" _Gracia rolled over to face the back of the sofa, "I don't wanna talk about it."_

_Komui grumbled a few things in irritated Chinese that made her smile slightly._

"_I understood that."_

"…_Crap."_

_Gracia giggled and fell asleep, thoughts of kissing Komui drifting far from her mind as her lucid sleepwalking daze ended._


	42. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XXVII

…Just when I thought the changes couldn't get any dumber, they go and pull _this_ on my profile…

Hey! ! F F . net! ! The new personal profile layout _**sucks balls**_! !

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia was woken very, very early the next morning by several slamming knocks at the door.

She jumped, getting tangled up in the blanket on top of her, and fell off of the sofa with a pained grunt.

"Damn it…" Komui's voice grumbled from the chair near her feet, the wooden floor underneath the thick carpet creaking slightly as he stood, "Gracia…? Are you alright?"

"…Nnng." She rolled onto her stomach, struggling with the blanket a bit before she managed to push herself onto her hands and knees. A sharp, pinching pain in the middle of her brain made her cringe and lower her head, and she growled when someone banged on the door again.

"Ugh…" Komui groaned, stretching a bit and making his body let out a few painful-sounding pops with a soft hiss before he started stumbling over to the door.

Gracia nursed her hot, throbbing head with her cold fingers, sitting on her knees and letting out a few upset noises as her body slowly woke up to the pain she was in.

"…What?"

Her attention immediately switched from he headache to Komui, her chest twisting painfully in concern. The way he'd croaked that out, the lost tone in his voice… Something bad had happened…

And the look on his face didn't help change the conclusion she had reached.

Komui's eyes were widened in shock, his face pale and his jaw slightly slackened as the person at the door continued muttering to him rapidly, stumbling over their own words and sounding like they were in a panic.

Was it another attack?

No… No, Komui wouldn't have remained frozen that long if they were under attack. Besides, they would have felt or heard it, right?

She jumped slightly when Komui suddenly dashed away from the door and over to his dresser, digging around frantically for clothes with shaking hands.

Her nerve endings still on fire from being hungover, Gracia stood slowly and shuffled towards him a bit, propriety never crossing her mind as Komui threw some clothes onto the bed and tore off the nightshirt he was wearing.

"Komui…?

Komui froze partway through putting on a dress shirt, glancing over at her, slightly blindly without his glasses.

"…Gracia, go back to sleep." He muttered after a moment, starting to button up his shirt, "I have to go. Cross is—" Komui forced himself to stop talking, choking on his words as he dropped his sleep pants, apparently not having any time to worry about her presence.

Gracia, though, wasn't even looking at him anymore. She had turned and was stumbling over to the door, opening it slightly and blinking at the person standing outside of it.

One of Cross' bald guards.

"L-Lady Solidor?" The pale-faced guard stuttered. He then tensed, lunging and grabbing her shoulders, "Y-You talked to the General last night, didn't you? Did he say anything about anyone being after is life? ! Did he give you any sort of warning? ! Why didn't you tell us? ! A-And—" The guard tensed further, narrowing his eyes down at her, "You're the… Sleeper Exorcist… And we weren't able to guard him because someone put us to…"

Gracia stared up at him with wide, blank eyes.

Had something happened to Marian…?

And why was this man looking at her like that…?

"Enough." Komui suddenly appeared by her side, scowling at the guard as he put an arm between the man and Gracia, "She was in my room last night. All night. We can discuss any time discrepancies later, for now take me to Cross' roo—"

Gracia bolted past both of them, her jacket snapping and whipping back out behind her as she ran towards Cross' room.

The sound of Komui calling after her quickly died away as she turned a sharp corner, still running as her heart pounded in her ears painfully.

Ignoring her aggravated hangover, Gracia was spiraling in confusion and fear as she flew down the hall to Cross' room.

He had been acting strange last night… And those requests he had made of her… now that she thought back on them… they had sounded like…

That guard… he wouldn't have been so panicked if something wasn't wrong with…

Shortcut after shortcut flew up in her mind as she ran, and she took every last one of them until she found herself bursting through the same door Cross had carried her through just a few hours before.

Lvellie glanced over in shock, tensing and stepping towards her as soon as she saw who she was, "Lady Gra…"

The rest of his words were blocked out by the sound of static in her ears as she stared at the scene in front of her in shock.

Curtain… ripped…

Window… shattered…

Blood… so much blood… whose…?

There… on the floor… Judgment… in the middle of a large, crimson stain… on the carpet…

And… on the sill… a mask… _the_ mask…

Shattered… as if… by a…

Her world swayed slightly as someone from behind grabbed her shoulders, trying to turn her away from the scene.

She wasn't even aware of the fact that she was screaming until her chest and throat started to hurt.

She shook her head and lowered it, jerking away from the hands that tried to grab her, stumbling backwards and into a wall as she sank to the ground, grabbing her head.

Slowly, the static cleared away and she could hear screaming… she was still screaming…

"Get her out of the room, you fools!"

"But she—"

"Sir, she visited him last night! He asked for her company and carried her into the room!"

"That's right! And we woke up from a dead sleep we didn't lie down for! She must have—"

"Think carefully before you start accusing a noblewoman, simpleton, especially one of House Solidor. Lady Gracia would not have been able to do this; she's a borderline trauma patient in this kinds of matters!"

"Y-You mean she didn—"

"No, you idiot! She was nearly committed when her husband was—!"

Gracia went back to blocking the world out, her screams getting choked and reduced to gasps and incomprehensible, tearful muttering that even she couldn't make out.

What was she trying to say?

Why hadn't she noticed that Cross was acting strange?

Why hadn't she done something about it?

Why had she let him get her drunk?

Dear god, was she the last person who had talked to him?

Had… had what he said been his last wil—

"Allen…!"

Gracia jerked and looked up, staring in shock at the wide-eyed, stunned right profile of Allen standing in the doorway in front of her as he stared across the room at the scene she had just witnessed.

"…Tim woke up…" He started in a small voice, "And came… here…"

The room was silent.

"…Is that blood?" Allen asked after a moment, his voice even smaller than before, "Whose…"

Without him even moving, Allen's body position seemed to change slightly.

Without his expression ever changing, Allen suddenly looked more shocked and lost than he had before.

He stopped breathing for a moment, and his fingers twitched slightly at his sides. A small muscle in his jaw twitched slightly…

Shaking, Gracia stumbled to her feet and stepped over to him, "Al…len…"

Slowly, Allen's eyes slid over to meet hers, an utterly lost look on his face.

Gracia's already dismal train of thought evaporated, and her hand slowly reached out and covered his eyes.

"Don't… look…"

Underneath her hand, Allen was trembling slightly.

"Miss… Gracia… what…" Allen trailed off, his voice shaking slightly.

"I… I don't…" Gracia choked, then wrapped her arms around Allen and pulled him close.

Allen lowered his head, hiding in her chest as his hands clenched tightly at his sides.

"…Lady Gracia, you and Walker need to leave the room." Lvellie said after a moment, his voice level.

"…Let's go, Timcanpy." Allen muttered, his voice cracking slightly.

When the golden golem flew over and landed on Allen's head, its wings drooping, Gracia wrapped an arm around Allen's shoulders and turned to the door, walking out shakily without looking back.

Once they were out, Gracia didn't know what to do.

Allen's feet never stopped moving as they walked silently, but he didn't have any destination in mind, that much was obvious when Gracia guided him away from a dead-end and he let it happen.

Gracia couldn't think of one room she wanted to lead him to, so they wound up in the music room, surrounded by large forms covered in white, dust-coated sheets…

When Allen paused, looking around blankly, Gracia glanced down at him before she walked over to one of the covered instruments in the middle of the room, grabbing the sheet and pulling it off.

She stared at the white grand piano underneath fondly, running her fingers over the lid before lifting it and sliding the lid prop into place.

Allen walked over silently and sat down on the bench, lifting the lid over the keyboard and baring the keys.

Gracia walked over and sat beside him.

They sat in silence for a time, just staring at the keys.

"…Do you know Piano Sonata Number 14?"

"…I don't know how to play the piano…" Allen muttered, "That whole thing with the song that controls the Ark is…" He paused, then sighed, shaking his head.

"…" Gracia reached out and grabbed his hand, moving it over the keyboard and pressing his fingers against the keys, "This one is C, this is D, E, F, G, A, B, C… And it just keeps repeating like that. The black keys are sharps and flats of the white keys they're next to… Now, just play this over and over again." She pressed his fingers down one at a time, across three keys, over and over again, "Transition when I tell you to…"

Allen nodded slightly and kept playing the three keys over and over again.

Gracia closed her eyes and listened, then reached out and started playing.

Timcanpy jumped off of Allen's head and landed on the music rack, turning around to face them and watching silently with his eyeless face as they clumsily played Moonlight Sonata.

When Allen's fingers suddenly jerked, playing sour notes, and he lowered his head and shuddered, Gracia stopped playing and turned towards him, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

"That bastard…" Allen muttered, "This time… his escape attempt really went too far…"

"…That's what it was?" Gracia asked softly, vaguely aware that Allen was likely just trying to find a reason to be annoyed with Cross so he could cover up his pain, "That ass…"

"…I'm tired." Allen mumbled, standing, "I think I'm going to take a nap so I'll be awake when the others get here…"

"Alright…" Gracia nodded slightly, letting him go. She watched him, then muttered as he started to walk away, "Allen, wait…"

The boy paused and glanced back at her, the albino-like attributes of his light grey hair and pale skin making the redness around his eyes all the more obvious.

Gracia turned around slowly on the piano bench to face him, thinking for a moment. How to word this… "Cross… he talked to me last night… about you."

Allen tensed slightly, instantly looking guarded, "…About what?"

After a bit more thinking, she started to talk slowly. If she wasn't careful about what she said, he just might block her out completely… "He… asked me to be someone you could… talk to… without you having to worry about anything you need to say getting back to people who might… report it… or talk to others about it…"

Grey eyes widened slightly in shock. "…Master asked you… to do that?"

Gracia nodded, "I won't tell anyone about anything you talk to me about… even if I don't have any advice to give. I don't even need to give input if you don't want me to; I can just listen. Or not listen." She paused, then quirked a brow slightly, "Or give you a place to escape that stalker Assistant Inspector they assigned to live in your shadow. This house has a lot of… secret passages in it."

A shadow of a smile crossed Allen's face and he nodded slightly, "Thank you, Miss—"

"And no titles." Gracia interrupted, pouting slightly and looking away sullenly, "I'm tired of hearing 'Miss' or 'Lady'…"

"…Alright." Allen's shadow of a smile widened slightly, "Thank you, Gracia."

Gracia watched after him as he turned and walked out, then turned to face the keyboard of the piano again, her fingers gliding across the keys slowly.

It had been a long time since she had last played an instrument, she figured… She had no memories, current or past (the latter of which was very limited), of playing anything, though she knew which covered forms in the room were what instrument, and she knew she knew how to play most of them with varying levels of proficiency…

She had forgotten… or she hadn't realized, either way… how soothing playing an instrument could be.

Especially the piano… she liked playing the piano…

Gracia sighed softly, rubbing her slightly puffy, irritated eyes, then started playing again, her fingers gliding over the smooth, chilly keys. She closed her eyes and slumped forward slightly, the familiar movements and the sound clearing her mind.

Gracia, for a moment, managed to make herself forget about what had happened without Sleep's help…

It was a bit liberating to not have to depend on Sleep and to forget about Cross' death and her involvement.

Of course, with how much quicker everyone around her processed things, responded to them, moved in response to them… she didn't have long to herself by her point of view.

What seemed far too soon after Allen left, the door opened and Komui and Lvellie stormed in quickly.

"Lady Solidor!" Lvellie snapped at her, "You spend time alone with Cross in his room last night?"

Not really hearing him, Gracia continued playing.

She didn't want to hear him.

She didn't want to be reminded that Cross had spent his last hours with her and that his odd behavior had just… blown right over her head. That she had noticed, done nothing, and that he was probably dead because of her slowness.

"Lady Solidor!"

Several sour notes were hit, but she brushed it off and continued playing, hitting the keys harder now, making the sounds louder so she didn't have to come back down to earth…

"Gracia…"

Gracia froze when gloved hands grabbed her bare ones gently, forcing her to stop playing and slowly turning her.

Her eyes were wet before she even looked up to meet Komui's eyes, her jaw clenched tightly and her lips pressed into a thin line so they didn't quiver.

"Gracia, what did you and Cross do in his room last night?"

She tensed slightly. Komui had kept his tone and his expression gentle, but there was something else in his tone… Accusation? Suspicion? …Jealousy?

"…We drank and talked…"

"Talked about what?" Komui asked slowly.

"Personal issues." Gracia tensed further and jerked her hands out of his, glaring at Komui, "And I don't like your tone. You think I don't know this is my fault? !"

"Your fault?" Lvellie stepped forward and asked immediately, narrowing his eyes down at her, "What do you mean by that?"

"I noticed he was acting oddly, alright? !" Gracia shouted, pressing her feet to the ground and pushing the piano bench backwards as she scooted away from them, "I noticed and it didn't register that he might have needed help until it was too late!" She shuddered and pressed a hand to her mouth, her eyes watering, "Oh god… I… I was the last person who talked to him… He was _just there_ a few hours ago! He was alive! He was being his usual, sly, perverted self! But something was bugging him! He was wording things oddly! Saying things like he wouldn't be there to take care of them himself! And I was so tired and drunk I _didn't even think to tell anyone_!"

It all came crashing in; someone had _murdered_ Cross in her own family home, after she had just gotten done talking to him, and while he was getting killed she had been busy thinking about Komui.

Gracia curled in on herself and burst into tears.

It was her fault.

If she had said something to Komui instead of standing there and staring at him, Cross would still be alive. Again, the men around her were dying because of her.

Just like her father and—

But it wasn't just that they were dying… She had come to care about Cross, just like she had everyone else in the Order.

And now he was gone…

After a moment of silence broken only by the sounds of her sobs, Gracia tensed when a pair of arms wrapped around her shoulders. She curled in further on herself, trying to hide.

"It's not your fault." Komui murmured, his hold on her tightening slightly, "Cross would have been able to trick the most observant of us. What happened to him wasn't your fault."

"That's not what the look you were just giving me said…" Gracia gasped, her arms shaking as she hugged her stomach.

"That—" Komui paused, then sighed, "I'm sorry… I was… concerned about something less important… Something that wasn't your fault."

"…" Gracia slowly relaxed, sitting up a bit and letting Komui get a better grip on her, "Komui, he… he's gone…"

"…I know…"

Something in Komui's voice… sounded just as pained as she felt.

Gracia wrapped her arms around Komui and hugged him back tightly, burying her eyes in his shoulder.


	43. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XXVIII

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"…You want me to what?" Gracia asked slowly as they stood out in the massive courtyard of the former Solidor winter estate recently turned new Black Order European Branch Headquarters, the Barheim Palace.

Beside Komui, his new assistant and new Assistant Branch Chief, Brigitte Fey, sighed.

Komui ignored her; it took new people a while to get used to Gracia's slowness to pick up on subjects. "You control Judge-Sal while you're unconscious and in a deep REM cycle, right?"

"Yeah…" Gracia called back to him, nodding slowly and looking at the person some thirty feet in front of her intently, "I'm a lucid dreamer, and I use that to control its movements…"

"So the Judge-Sal's swordsmanship is dependant on your own." Komui surmised, "Ergo, you need swordsmanship training."

"I am not training with him." Gracia said flatly, glancing over her shoulder at Komui and Brigitte with an annoyed, flat glare, "What he doesn't isn't swordsmanship. He may as well have a damned chainsaw in his hands."

"You know I can hear you, brat!" Winters Socalo barked at her, though he sounded amused.

"Yes, I know." Komui nodded, ignoring the general, "But General Socalo is the only blade-wielding Exorcist with a blade large enough to match Judge-Sal's."

"I'd rather take my chances conscious, with a practice blade and with Kanda." Gracia mumbled.

"Che." A nearby Kanda snorted, sitting on the wooden railing under the overhang of the halls that ran down either side of the largely empty but grassy courtyard. "Your conscious reflexes suck more than your unconscious ones."

"Still, it'd be more practical to learn conscious than it would through a lucid dream."

"Quit bitching and summon the damned thing already!" Socalo barked, no longer sounding amused.

Gracia flinched and looked forward again, facing him with a frown and shifting.

They weren't the only ones watching… Tiedoll and Klaud were, naturally, watching the training of a potential general, as well, as were Lenalee, Allen (and his tumor, Link) and the Bookmen, as well as a few scientists who needed to take readings…

Now she wasn't so sure if she could focus on the feeling that helped her summon Judge-Sal… What a magnificent time to get performance anxiety.

When she searched for it, the feeling in her chest was still there; it wasn't as bursting or painful as it had been during the attack, but she could still feel it, still define it.

An emotion brought about by the need to protect Komui… Or maybe her need to protect Komui had stemmed from the feeing; either way.

Now all she had to do was go to sleep…

Well, that was simple.

Gracia sighed, watching nervously as Socalo clapped his hands, making the half rings that had been on his shoulders snap together. She lifted her hand slowly as Madness' blades grew out of the rings, pressing her palm to her forehead.

Sleep pulsed around her wrist, its ring burning against her forehead as fog flooded her mind and body. As she fell backwards, her vision tunneling and blackening quickly, the last thing she saw was a silvery-blue glow growing in the airspace above her…

* * *

Reever and Johnny started recording things right away, the Science Division Section Chief (well, more accurately, the Section Leader of Division 1, now that Central had sent more units to expand) glancing over as nearby, Regory Peck and Mark Barrows and their assistants did the same thing.

He really didn't have much time to feel annoyance as Johnny gasped, and when Reever looked back out he had to inhale sharply.

A massive armored knight, easily over four meters tall, formed in the air above the now asleep Gracia, its body an ethereal, transparent blue. The armor it was wearing was clearly ornate exaggeration; there was no feasible way a normal human would be able to fight if they were to wear a steel replica.

Still, it was impressive and imposing, especially with its cape making it look even wider than it probably actually was and the two swords on its waist.

Impressive and heavy; when the thing finished forming and unfurled from the fetal-like curl it had been in, falling, it quickly extended its legs and landed feet first on the ground, making the ground shake harshly enough that several people had to grab onto something to stay upright.

"Hey, woman!" Socalo barked, setting one hand on his hip and cocking his head to the side, "You hear me? !"

The Judge-Sal stood straight and seemed to stare right at him, but otherwise didn't move to show any sort of response.

"Draw one of your swords if you're in control." Socalo growled, scowling as his grip on Madness tensed slightly. Already getting defensive in case she wasn't in the driver's seat…

After a pause, the unconscious Gracia's fingers twitched slightly, and the Judge-Sal reached up and grabbed the hilt of the sword on its right hip, drawing its claymore slowly.

Socalo's scowl quickly turned into a grin as the Judge-Sal slid one foot back, holding its sword at the ready. "Well, here's a fight I've been looking forward to…" The General rumbled, picking Madness up properly and starting to spin the blades.

Beside Komui, Brigitte sighed, "Alright, Supervisor, you were here to make sure she started training, now it's time to head back in."

Komui ignored his Central-imposed babysitter, watching Socalo intently through the Judge-Sal's back. Gracia was right; what Socalo did with Madness wasn't swordsmanship at all. Still, the General was the only one of their force who had a blade large enough to take on Judge-Sal's, and his speed made him a good opponent for Gracia to train against.

Watching Gracia spar with Socalo, though, made him nervous… and it wasn't just because the man was a former death row inmate who still had his hardened prison mindset.

He'd gotten a bit more nervous around Gracia, and not just in the presence aspect. He was far more concerned about her well being than he knew he needed to be… to the point where he only really felt content about her safety when he knew she was in her room, taking a nap. And the fact that he knew he was so concerned about her well being made him nervous.

Honestly… even in denial, 'it' was so tiresome.

Komui tensed when Socalo lunged, cringing slightly when Judge-Sal wasn't able to block quickly enough and received a deep gash in its chest plate because of it.

The blow sent the Judge-Sal stumbling back a few feet, and Socalo used that time to go for Gracia's body.

Komui's eyes widened and his entire body tensed.

Ah, yes, Gracia's greatest weakness while she had Judge-Sal invoked… Her body was completely vulnerable.

Gracia's entire body twitched and Judge-Sal dropped its claymore, leaning forward and bringing its fist up to punch the front of Socalo's body, from chest to hips.

The General was sent flying across the long, rectangular courtyard, landing heavily on a boulder and shattering it, Madness flying further past him and getting its blade buried in the ground.

The Judge-Sal turned to Gracia, next, picking her body up and tossing her…

…Towards Komui.

Komui yelped, Gracia's body being a heavy blow to his chest as he wrapped his arms around her and stumbled straight back into the wall behind him with a loud thunk.

"Hey, hey!" Socalo barked, standing up straight and pointing to Judge-Sal with a glare, "Your body is still fair game in battle!"

The Judge-Sal's entire body let out a loud series of clanks as it drew itself upright, the movement shifting its armor, and it pointed a finger at Socalo before drawing its hand back in towards its body and slamming its thumb into its chest before it scooped its sword back up.

"She has a point." Regory Peck sighed, leaning against the wooden railing with his elbows and propping his chin in one of his palms with a flat look on his face, "This _is_ a test of her swordsmanship, not an actual training session."

"…Fine." Socalo growled, storming over to jerk Madness out of the ground.

He then flashed over to Judge-Sal with an impressive burst of speed, swinging his Anti-Akuma Weapon.

The Judge-Sal parried, grabbing the hilt of its claymore with its other hand and finishing the swing harshly enough to send Socalo flying again.

Lenalee cringed slightly, standing and glancing at Allen before she started to walk over to her brother. A shudder ran down her spine as she listened to Judge-Sal and Madness clash over and over again. She never had liked the way General Socalo trained… the man wasn't really much of a trainer, actually. General Nine would have been a better fit for Gracia… but, again, the sword issue. The harsh Socalo was the only one who safely fit the criteria…

Kanda, on the other hand, watched intently. He had a feeling that Gracia was going to have to come to him, eventually, for actual sword training, and even though he also had a feeling she wouldn't move like her Innocence would, the way it used its sword would still be a good indicator of what her proficiency level was.

When Judge-Sal switched its claymore from its left to its right hand, Kanda's eyes narrowed sharply, instantly observing how its swinging speed increased. It made him wonder what kind of blade the sword on its left hip had.

Then, when Socalo was sent reeling slightly, the Judge-Sal switched its claymore back to its other hand, swinging directly down at the General. Socalo narrowly dodged, and the ground beneath him was cleaved six feet straight down.

Kanda's eyes stayed narrowed as he continued watching. Right hand for speed, left for heavy hitting…

"Enjoying yourself, Socalo?" Tiedoll called out jovially from beside Klaud, smiling.

"Shut it, old man!" Socalo barked back, twisting around as Madness' serrated blades caught Judge-Sal's claymore in one of the teeth, the General twisting the large, ethereal blade right out of the knight's hand and sending it flying across the court.

He then finished spinning around and brought Madness' spinning blades straight up, catching the Judge-Sal from groin to stomach and sending it crashing backwards into the ground.

Komui looked down at Gracia worriedly when she pitched slightly against him, her eyes still closed and flickering black and forth rapidly and a pained look on her face.

Out in the courtyard, Judge-Sal quickly rolled onto its stomach and stood, back to Socalo and its right hand grabbing the hilt of the other sword on its left hip. It then spun around quickly as Socalo charged at it, drawing its sword in a flash of silvery-blue.

The clash of metal on metal was like a thunderclap, and Socalo stumbled backwards as Madness fell from his hand and he let out a pained shout, grabbing his arm.

In the Judge-Sal's hand was another greatsword, this one with an odd blade that undulated like water.

"Aaah…" Tiedoll murmured, "A flame-bladed Zweihander…" He then called out, "Be careful, Winters! Flame-bladed swords are known to transmit painful vibrations to the parrying blade!"

"Yeah, I didn't notice!" Socalo snapped back, scooping Madness back up and grousing, "Try to take it easy on the bitch and she just keeeeps coming…"

Komui shook his head, smiling wryly. The fact that Judge-Sal was still standing only showed the General was enjoying himself… Socalo was holding back quite a bit, and things that annoyed him didn't last long.

"Brother…"

Komui blinked and looked at his sister, smiling warmly as she walked up to him.

Lenalee smiled back, throwing Brigitte a quick glance to make sure she wasn't listening in before she looked back at her brother and murmured, "How is Gracia doing…?"

Komui sighed slightly, glancing down at Gracia before answering his sister in their mother tongue, "_Well. …Seemingly. She's responded better to being back in one of her family's houses than some thought she would, which is worrisome in and of itself._"

"_Gracia isn't the kind to respond well to these kinds of things…_" Lenalee sighed softly. She then tipped her head, "_But Gracia also doesn't hide her emotions well._"

"_She has been since she started regaining her memories…_" Komui corrected softly, "_I think she's really been shutting us out ever since we came here…_"

"…_Brother?_" Lenalee looked up at Komui, "_What will we do if her mother comes to get her…?_"

"…_Let me worry about that, Lenalee._" Komui told her softly, looking back out at the courtyard as Judge-Sal and Socalo continue exchanging blows.

"_Brother, if she tries to make Gracia leave, I won't be able to be impartial._"

Komui looked back down at his sister, blinking.

Lenalee looked up at Komui with a serious stubbornness, her lips pressed into a thin line and her eyes practically glowing, "_I won't let that woman take her if Gracia doesn't want to leave._"

"…I know, Lenalee." Komui sighed softly, switching back to English, "I know…"

Gracia suddenly jerked in his arms, throwing her head back and gasping loudly as her eyes snapped open.

The Lee siblings quickly looked back out into the courtyard, both flinching at the sight of Socalo standing on Judge-Sal's chest as the knight knelt with its upper body bent back slightly, Madness jutting out of its chest.

"Daaaamn iiiit…" Gracia muttered softly, closing her eyes and cringing as she pressed a hand to her chest, "That hurts…"

"I'm sorry, Supervisor!" Regory called out from across the courtyard, "But did Miss Gracia just say that she was feeling pain in her chest? At the same spot where the Judge-Sal was impaled?"

Komui glanced down at Gracia and out at the Judge-Sal as it dissipated to double-check, then looked over at Reever and nodded, "That's right!"

Reever nodded, him and Johnny writing things down, and Regory pouted at being ignored before he, Mark and their assistants also scribbled a few things down.

"Owie, owie, owie…" Gracia whimpered, making a face and keeping her hand pressed to her chest, "Alright, I did the stupid spar. Can I go to bed now?"

"Yes, you can." Komui sighed, setting her down on her feet carefully and frowning when she stumbled and grabbed at nonexistent wounds, "Do you need to go to the infirmary?"

"So they can treat something that isn't there?" Gracia grumbled, shaking her head, "No, I need a nap…" She paused, then glanced at Lenalee, "Sleepover again in my room tonight?"

"Of course." Lenalee immediately smiled brightly, "I'll tell Lavi and Allen?"

"Yeah." Gracia nodded, starting to shuffle to her room, "Tell Kanda, too, even though we all know he won't come…"

Lenalee giggled slightly and nodded after the older woman as she stumbled painfully through a door and out of sight.

Komui glanced down at his sister, quirking a brow, "Sleepover?"

"We've been doing it these past few nights…" Lenalee muttered, her smile fading, "I don't think she likes staying in her old room…"

Komui frowned, "Why doesn't she ask for a room transfer?"

"…People have been saying… bad things about her on and off." Lenalee sighed, "So she doesn't like going to populated areas much anymore… Besides, transferring rooms might put her closer to the people who are gossiping, and her room is on a fairly empty side of the building."

"Saying bad things?" Komui frowned, "What is this, high school? Who's saying what?"

"I can't tell you, Komui." Lenalee sighed, glancing up at him, "You're part of the problem." She then walked off, not saying anything else.

Komui blinked after his sister, slowly pressing his lips into a thin line.

Oh, that wasn't going unanswered.

It was time for Komui to play spy again.

* * *

Lenalee waited until the door was shut behind her to giggle to herself.

If that didn't make Komui more interested in keeping an eye on Gracia, she wasn't sure what would.


	44. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XXIX

^ . ^ Some congratulations/well wishes are in order~!

**Terikel**: Good luck on your exams! I know you can do it!

**EmpressSaix**: I would have sent your congratulations in a PM, but you seem to have disabled them! ^ . ^' So, congratulations on graduating~!

**Everyone else who graduated recently**: Great job, everyone~! I'm proud of you all~! (_*dramatic whisper* It all goes downhill from here…_)

XP I think all you graduates/dutiful test takers deserve a little spoiler… So, if you haven't graduated recently/aren't taking some harrowing tests, skip this! (^ . ^' Like I can make you.):

_After the next chapter (not this one, but the following), nothing will be the same…_

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia opened the door, smiling slowly, tiredly, at the group of teens waiting outside. She perked a bit more when she saw Kanda was actually with them.

"Hey…" She stood aside, welcoming them into her far-too-large room, "C'mon in."

"'nother night in Lady Gracia's room…" Lavi walked in with his hands clasped behind his head, grinning, "Aaaah, I love sleepovers…"

"Lavi, be careful how you word things like that…" Allen walked in after him with a sigh, "Lenalee is with us and the Supervisor could have these walls bugged…"

"Oh, don't worry." Gracia smiled, "He doesn't. My dad tried to do that years ago and more or less destroyed any bugging possibilities when he nearly blew up the house…"

The two boys froze at that, glancing back at her with wide eyes and quirked brows, "Your dad was a scientist?"

"He tinkered." Gracia waved them off, smiling amusedly when Lenalee walked in dragging Kanda by his ear. She then glanced outside of her room and stared expectantly at the blonde who was just standing there.

"…Lady Gracia, I really don't think this is appro—"

"Link, I'm not going to play the rank card with you again." Gracia let out a long, low sigh, "Either come in or I'm shutting the door."

"…Yes, Milady." Link walked into the room, his face slightly flushed out of his overwhelming sense of propriety and his lips pressed into a thin line.

"Don't call me that." Gracia muttered passively, shutting the door and walking over to the sitting area where the teens had gathered.

Lenalee watched the older woman as she slumped down in a chair, murmuring, "Gracia, if you really don't like staying in this room that much, you could just transfer to the room next to mine…"

"I'm happier over here…" Gracia muttered, sinking down further into her chair and pulling her legs up to her chest, looking away from Lenalee and around her room so she didn't have to face the girl's worried frown. Huh, she'd forgotten about the canopy that was over her bed… that was sad. She'd been sleeping in this room for almost a week and she hadn't noticed?

"Gracia, those rumors will die down." Lenalee insisted, leaning forward, "We all know that you didn't have anything to do with what happened to—" She cut herself off, flinching and glancing at Allen.

Allen, though, just smiled at her and nodded, finishing, "We know you didn't do anything to Master. It's obvious it was—" He twitched, glancing off to the side darkly, "_Someone_ else…"

Link glanced at Allen with a glare.

"It's not those rumors that are bugging me." Gracia sighed softly, "It's the other ones…"

Lenalee flinched, and Link, Lavi and Kanda all deadpanned, glancing away slightly.

Allen was the only one who blinked in confusion, having not paid much attention to what people were saying the last few days. His mind had been elsewhere.

Even Gracia, though, the clueless one, the one who was slow on the uptake, knew what other rumors were being spread about her…

_Whore._

_Did you hear she spent several hours in General Cross' room before spending the night with the Supervisor?_

_The Supervisor? ! No!_

_I don't want to believe it either… But she _did_ spend a lot of time with General Cross, and you know how he is._

_The General's former guards say she stumbled out of his room drunk, and that her face was flushed and her lips were swollen._

Both_ of them? ! One right after the other? !_

_But… she always seemed like such a nice woman… A bit dim, but…_

_You can be nice and still be loose._

Were it just members of the original Headquarters living in the building, such rumors never would have survived so long. But with the addition of two entirely new sections for the Science Division and several others from Central, none of whom knew Gracia well enough, word had hung around long enough for even people Gracia knew to begin to doubt…

Gracia, though, wasn't hiding from them. She didn't need to; plenty of times before she had passed through towns before where the people had not been as friendly as others. Towns where she had been called terrible names and shunned…

No, she was hiding from Komui. She remembered the way he had looked at her in the music room, the tone in his voice when he'd asked her what she'd done with Cross. He may have believed that she hadn't killed him, but she wasn't so sure he didn't believe that she and Cross hadn't done anything of a sexual nature…

She wasn't sure why, but something about Komui's tone that night had made her feel guilty about the kiss she and Cross had shared, even though Cross had slipped it in on her.

She felt she couldn't look at Komui now and not feel dirty.

The way he'd looked at her… it was as if she'd betrayed some trust he'd put in her. She didn't know what exactly that trust was but… for some reason the feeling was mutual…

And even though nothing had happened between her and Cross, and neither of them had any intent of anything happening, she was starting to feel as loose as people were saying she was…

"…Gracia, I don't know what happened between you and Cross that night…" Lenalee murmured, frowning at Gracia seriously, "But I do know it's nothing as serious as what people are saying. And I know nothing happened between you and my brother."

"If anything happened between you and Master at all, it was Master's fault." Allen nodded. A guilty, wide-eyed look then flashed across his face, "Master didn't… do anything to you, did he?"

Had she not managed to depress herself, Gracia might have giggled as flashes of realization crossed the faces of the other teens as they slowly looked back at her, looking her over as if expecting to see any lingering traces of potential ravishment.

Due to her depression, though, these looks flew right over Gracia's head as she continued to stare off into space and she sighed, "No… He just got me drunk and kissed me. I think that's about it…"

…Had she been looking at them, she would have noticed the teenagers faces turn green.

"You '_think_'?"

"Allen, did Cross ever slip drugs into his lady friends' drinks?"

"Lady friends… That's a much nicer term for term than the ones he taught me. I'll have to remember that. And I think he might have on a few…"

"Oh no, we have to get her to the infirmary and get her tested!"

"Do you really think the drugs'll still be in her system?"

"Master liked lingering effects; it was probably really, really undiluted, especially for her to have ended up in Komui's roo—"

"No, no, all of you stop it." Gracia turned back to the teenagers, waving her hands, "That is _nowhere near_ what happened." When she had their attention, Gracia frowned and raised a finger, "Now, listen to me… I'm an adult. Not a very good one, but I can take care of myself… For the most part." She amended when she earned a few skeptical works, "Cross was a good man, and he made sure I knew he was a pervert… He only got one glass into me, it wasn't fizzing or anything, and he told me to go to Komui's room for security reasons. I'm just a lightweight and I fell asleep walking to Komui's bedroom, thus the confusion and ruffled appearance. I mean, really, I fell asleep in my uniform; you all know I can't even wake up in pajamas and not look like I fell down a flight of stairs."

Allen quirked a brow, "He still took advantage of you."

"…True." Gracia nodded, "But he made sure I knew beforehand that he'd probably try to."

Allen dropped his head, smacking his forehead with his palm.

Lenalee sighed, giving an exasperated smile and shaking her head.

Kanda glared at Gracia heavily, "Do I have to have Komui put a beeper on you?"

"Don't worry, Kanda." Gracia smiled at him, "I'll start following you around and you can guard me from further sexual assault."

Kanda's glare only got heavier and he ground his teeth.

Allen noticed Kanda's response (or rather, the lack any movements filled with murderous intent) and smirked at Kanda slyly.

"Say anything, _Moyashi_, and I'll kill you." Kanda growled without even looking at him.

"I don't think I _need_ to say anything." Allen grinned.

"Yu, you're so manly, even when you're protective!" Lavi snickered. "How cute!"

As the boys began to try to kill one another, Link getting dragged into it, Lenalee giggled and turned to Gracia with a smile, "Looks like Kanda really considers you part of his team; he doesn't get protective over just anyone."

"Kanda's a good boy." Gracia smiled back, "He's just… shy…"

Lenalee giggled, "You're definitely General Tiedoll's student…"

The girl's watched in amusement as the boys wrestled (tried to kill one another), Timcanpy shooting out of the mangle of limbs and swear words and zipping over to hide in Lenalee's chest.

Gracia smiled softly at all of the teenagers, slipping her legs over one arm of the chair as she leaned into the opposite corner, cuddling back and crossing her arms over her stomach loosely.

Now that she wasn't alone in her own room, she could finally get some sleep…

* * *

Komui leaned away from the door, his eyes wide. He listened to the fighting a bit more, then slowly pulled the stethoscope away from the door.

_That_ was what Lenalee had been talking about? !

People were spreading _those_ kinds of rumors about _Gracia_? !

How… how could anyone possibly believe those kinds of things were true? !

How had he not _noticed_ this? !

Why hadn't she _said_ anything? !

"_You're part of the problem."_

Komui flinched.

Oh… right… Komui was one of the supposed notches in Gracia's hypothetical bedpost.

As was Cross…

Cross… that bastard had kissed her!

He had _kissed_ her!

On the lips!

And for some reason that made Komui furious!

Why did that make him angry? !

His lips pursed, Komui sat back on his haunches, adjusting his glasses with one hand and still holding the end of the stethoscope in the other.

It was all 'it's fault.

If there weren't so much 'it' between them, he wouldn't have felt so comfortable with the idea of her sleeping in his room the other night, and at least if he had kicked her out then the rumors wouldn't be as much of a problem.

Then there only would have been the rumor about her and Cross, and blame would have been lifted from her shoulders because of his notorious nature… And then the subject would have been dropped completely, because notorious nature aside, Cross was respected enough that no one would talk about him after he was already dead.

Cross, however, just had to go and tell her to say in Komui's room…

…For Komui's safety…

…Cross had known something was coming…

Cross had suspected something, and, as always, he had said nothing.

Komui sighed, adjusting his glasses. That redheaded nimrod always had to make things more difficult…

"SUPERVISOR! !"

Komui's spine snapped straight and he choked on a squeak, his wide eyes wandering over to meet those of a thick-browed, glaring, disheveled Brigitte Fey, her usually neat hair a bit ruffled and her clothes not quite sitting on her body right.

Clenched tightly in her hand was one of Komui's many notes.

_If you come looking for me, I'll curse you._

…Yeah, that one was always funnier when it was left for Reever. Brigitte probably hadn't been the best person to leave it to…

"I finally found you…" Brigitte seethed, veins standing out a bit on her neck and on the backs of her hands as she clenched them tightly, "On your feet. Let's go. You're going back to work."

…Komui weighed his options very carefully.

The woman looked like she was fit to kill him as it was, and it hadn't even been twenty minutes since he'd run away.

Still… her angry reactions were so much funnier than Reever's for some reason… Maybe because, unlike the Aussie, she still had the energy to be creative with how she chose to express her anger.

Besides, angry women are just funnier than angry men; angry men get physical. And physical is not fun.

The amusing thought dangled in Komui's mind that it might be worth it to make her a bit angrier… It'd be a nice distraction from all of the drama that had been piling up lately.

Besides, he still had a few people he hadn't been able to visit in a while because of this harpy.

Komui smiled at Brigitte widely, almost giggling when she groaned.

"Sir, don't you da—"

Komui took off down the hall.

Having his subordinates try to chase him down and kill him was an amusing distraction from 'it' and his sudden (well, not really sudden, but recently strengthened) troublesome desire to protect Gracia.


	45. HPPD Flashback: Record Prioritized

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"Woman! !"

Gracia turned around and threw her hand out, Sleep's chain flopping against her wrist as she aimed her fingers at the Akuma surrounding Kanda.

"Drow Poison : Sopor!"

A black blur, Kanda jumped straight up before he flickered out of sight as the Akuma fell unconscious, the Exorcist reappearing quickly after and Mugen becoming nothing more than a vein of silver in the evening air as it was swung back and forth quickly…

Kanda reappeared in front of Gracia an instant later, and Allen watched with a sense of shock as the two silently exchanged similar, blank glances before they turned in the same direction, the woman throwing out her hand towards another group of Akuma and Kanda flashing forward as they fell unconscious.

In Kanda's wake, the abandoned group that had seemingly still been unconscious fell to pieces, turning silver and bursting into ash.

"…Sending us out with them appears to have been a moot precaution." Link muttered from beside Allen.

Allen nodded slowly, still shocked to see Kanda actually… _working with someone_…

…_Efficiently_!

Teasing Kanda about it wouldn't even be funny anymore; not taking the to serious as partners would just be ignorant.

Of course, all of the Akuma they were fighting where mere Level 1's, but with Gracia immobilizing entire groups at a time and Kanda cutting them down an instant later, they were easily killing ten a minute.

The hoard was finished off without Allen even needing to draw his Sword of Exorcism, and he and Link needed to jog to catch up when Kanda simply turned and started walking when there were no longer Akuma, Gracia immediately stumbling after him without even sparing the younger male Exorcist and his guard a glance.

"The Akuma have been finished off." Kanda reported dully to his golem as he walked, "Now heading for the Gate rendezvous point."

"_Roger that; good job. Come on home, then._"

"Right." Kanda sighed, glancing over at Gracia as she trotted up alongside him.

Gracia slowed down when she was walking evenly with him, sighing softly and rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands.

"If you don't start sleeping again and end up becoming a burden, I'll make Komui increase your training time with Socalo until you pass out from exhaustion."

Gracia glanced at him, blinking, then sighed softly and looked ahead, "I'll be fine, Kanda… Sleep will knock me out on its own soon enough if things continue like this."

"Hmph." Kanda looked ahead again, his eyelid slipping own slightly and his lips pressing into a thin link, "People are always griping at me about needing to talk to a shrink… Maybe _I'm_ not the one who needs it."

A small smile twitched on Gracia's lips. The boy had such a… roundabout way of showing concern. "It's best I don't… If my mother found out I was seeing a psychologist…" She flinched.

Kanda glanced at her sharply, scowling, "When did you start openly talking about that woman?"

"…That's a good question." Gracia sighed softly.

Things had been… too stressful lately to fret over things like that…

Like… what had happened with Allen…

* * *

"_We know Allen Walker is the host for the memory of the Noah known as The Fourteenth, but officially, he will retain his position within the Order and continue to serve as an Exorcist."_

Lvellie had stood before all of the active Exorcists with his severe look on his face as he said this, his hands clasped behind his back as they stood near the grand altar in the Barheim Palace.

"_You are forbidden to speak of this. Only Central, the upper echelons of the Black Order and the Exorcists are to know. Right now the Order needs his abilities as the Pianist, and we're critically short on people as it is… so Central Agency has decided to keep him around for the time being."_

Gracia had stared at Allen silently, angry. She didn't like the blank look on his face… The boy had always been so much more expressive, even if he had been forcing or faking it.

"…_Really…?" Chaozii Han looked shocked._

_Arystar Krory looked scared, "Allen is…"_

"_Brother…" Lenalee was lost… "Is that… true…?"_

Gracia hadn't liked the look on Komui's face, either; lips pressed into a thin line, skin a bit pale, eyes unfocused, as if he were hundreds of miles away…

"_Chief Komui?" Lvellie prompted._

"…_I have an announcement to make." Komui started slowly, his voice even and his face void of expression, "The following is a standing order. If… it is determined that The Fourteenth has awakened in Allen Walker and is a threat…"_

Komui had suddenly looked sick, his eyes focusing, his face turning a bit green and his jaw clenching as he struggled.

"…_Then you are to kill me."_

Allen had finished for him.

"_But… that's not going to happen. If The Fourteenth attacks the Order… then I'll stop him myself."_

There had been no way in hell she was going to let him carry that alone.

"_If we're going to be spreading around so much Noah affiliate hate, Malcolm why haven't I been questioned yet?"_

Komui had tensed and thrown her a wide-eyed, pleading look, silently begging her to stop talking.

She had ignored him and met the Inspector's gaze flatly.

"_You already know that I know the Noah known as Lulu Bell, the Lust." Her right hand twitched against her hip, Sleep's presence firm, "That much became obvious after the attack on the old building, and there is absolutely no way that slipped past your notice. Yet you haven't said a word. I'm starting to wonder if your bias concerning Allen is affecting how you work."_

There had been a dangerous silence in the room.

She hadn't liked speaking out…

But she'd made a promise to Cross.

"…_Actually, I've been in contact your mother concerning the matter." Lvellie smiled at her coldly, "There's no need to worry about my work ethic; I haven't forgotten about you at all, Gracia. We'll all talk about it together when she has the time to drop by."_

She had felt as if her heart had stopped beating…

"_Oh, good." Gracia smiled back, "Maybe she can fill in some of the gaps."_

* * *

And then there were the dreams she had been having… and remembering…

…Remembering far too much of…

* * *

_She woke in pain…_

_Oh dear God, no… Not again…_

_She knew this pain… She knew it so well, and she didn't want to…!_

_God, please, not this again!_

_The pain flared in her lower back, and she could hardly walk as she stumble out of bed and to the bathroom, sobs already bubbling up in the back of her throat._

"_Wha… What's… Gracia…? Gracia!"_

_She couldn't acknowledge **** at that time; she was too busy crawling into the bathroom, crying._

_She wished she didn't know this pain so well… She wished she didn't know where this was leading…_

_The light flickered on and she pulled herself up using the sink, grabbing a washcloth and turning the water on as cold as it would go._

_She was hardly aware… Someone ran into the bathroom briefly with her, and then ran back out again._

_There were shouts._

_People ran around in the room, though few actually came into the bathroom._

_When someone tried to touch her, she didn't respond, running the washcloth under the faucet and pressing it against her back through her nightgown, needing to do something to cool the pain…_

"_No…" She pressed her forehead to the cold stone of the counter, sobbing, "No, no, no! Please, God, not again, I'm begging you!"_

_But it happened… again…_

_What started as wetness she felt from simple paranoia turned into actually moisture; all too warm, gathering, pooling, spilling…_

_And, as always, all her personal physician could do by the time he got there was hold her as it happened…_

_**** wouldn't come near her… He had stopped trying to comfort her the fifth time this had happened…_

_This had been… one of the few things she had been looking forward to about married life…_

_And she… she couldn't even do it…_

_Gracia turned to her physician when the pain began to ebb, hiding her face in his coat as he wrapped his arms around her tightly, saying something she couldn't understand to the person standing over in the doorway._

_On the white tile floor, blood was smeared, permanently staining the grout…_

* * *

That… by far… was one of the worst dreams…

She still couldn't make heads or tails just what was happening to her during it, but she remembered the sensations and emotions related to it. After she'd woken up from having that dream, she hadn't been able to stop crying for hours…

So really… when she had started openly talking about her mother didn't seem all that important. After all, even though she knew what kind of person she was, she didn't even remember what her mother looked like. It's hard to properly ascertain how to feel about something if you don't even know what it looks like…

"Woman!"

Gracia jumped slightly, taking half an embarrassed step backwards when she saw Kanda glaring at her heavily and a nervously smiling priest standing in front of her, holding out his hand.

She stared down at his hand for a moment blankly. She knew she was supposed to do something, but wh—

"Your _code_!" Kanda hissed.

Gracia sighed, drooping as she struggled to remember the numerical code that had been assigned to her. "Did they have to do things this way…? I don't even know my own birthday more than half the time; how do they expect me to remember eight random numbers…?"

"It's to make sure no unauthorized personnel attempt to use the Ark Gates." Link sighed, "With so many Gates now opened at so many locations, it's a serious hazard. Had you been conscious during the lessons that explained this, you would know."

"Who has classes at eight o'clock at night, I ask you?" Gracia grumbled sullenly, sighing and leaning against the wall as she closed her eyes to think, "Allen, Link, go on ahead… This'll take me a bit…"

Kanda snorted, rolling his eyes and walking through the church doors behind the priest.

Link sighed again and stepped forward, quickly tracing his code onto the priest's palm with his elegantly gloved forefinger. Allen, though, hung back a bit to glance at the older woman who now had a pained look on her face as she wracked her brain.

"…Gracia?"

"Hnn?" She opened her eyes, blinking at him.

"…I know… Master asked you to keep an eye on me…" Allen paused, then glanced away, keeping his voice low when he saw Link pause at the door and glance back at him expectantly, "But I… I don't want you to do anything that'll get you in trouble…"

Gracia blinked at the boy, thinking his words over slowly. She was starting to understand people's personal motivations a bit better, though it still took her a bit…

"…Allen, you're not a burden."

The boy jerked slightly, gray eyes flashing over to meet hers as they widened a bit.

Gracia smiled at him, "Do you think Cross… would have asked what he had of me if he didn't think I cared?" She reached out, setting a hand on his head as she tipped her head a bit, her smile widening slightly, "I would have done this anyway, though it would have taken me a lot longer to realize it was necessary on my own."

Allen blushed and sputtered slightly, and flapping next to his head Timcanpy also seemed to be blushing… somehow…

"Now," Gracia pointed to the priest, still smiling, "You're cutting into my recall time; head inside and let me think before we miss the Ark."

"…Right." Allen sighed, smiling slightly and nodding before turning to the priest and starting to trace his code.

Gracia closed her eyes again, taking several long, long moments to think. It was only when Kanda threw the door open to snap at her that she suddenly remembered, stepping forward and tracing the numbers deftly.

The exasperated priest smiled at her sheepishly and nodded, stepping aside and letting her walk through.

Kanda grumbled something unpleasant-sounding in Japanese and grabbed her by the back of the neck as if she were an errant puppy, his nails digging in slightly as he turned and marched her over to the now opened Ark.

Gracia let him silently, drooping and smiling sheepishly when the Science Division technicians waiting in the Ark stared at them with mixed amusement and pity.

It was only when they'd walked through the next Ark Gate and were back in Barheim Palace that Kanda let her go, grumbling something about eating before he started to walk off.

"I'll join you, if you don't mind." Gracia sighed, starting to follow him, "If I put it off, I'll end up taking a nap and forget… And I don't think I've eaten in a day or so."

Kanda paused, throwing a scathing glare back over his shoulder at her, "You really do need a damned beeper."

Gracia just smiled and shrugged slightly, walking alongside him when he resumed walking once she'd caught up.

Allen, who had immediately caught onto the mention of food, quickly veered away from the corridor he and Link had just been about to take, dashing after them.

"Damn it, Walker!" Link barked, hurrying to catch up.

Gracia giggled slightly, her mind immediately blocking Allen and Kanda out when the two boys started arguing about something (or nothing, considering it _was_ them).

When they walked through one of the rooms that showcased several finely polished suits of armor, though, the sounds of an argument did catch her attention… Though this one wasn't between Kanda and Allen.

It was between Komui and a voice she wished she didn't recognize.

Allen and Kanda immediately stopped arguing, the group freezing as they listened.

"You can't just barge in here an—"

"Considering I'm paying to keep this building functioning until you get your assets together, and considering this is still, legally, my house, I would say I can. Now, where is she?"

"She isn't here; she's on a mission. And it's not good for her to see you so suddenly; she needs to be mentally pre—"

"It is my understanding that Malcolm gave you two weeks to acclimate her to the idea; you didn't make any efforts?"

"Things came up! Very, very important things, as you well know! If you drop in on her now like this, she could have a panic attack!"

"Do you think I am unaware of her physical health? I am far more aware than you think, and than you yourself are, you mouthy little upstart. She has run away from her title and very important duties for five years; I'm afraid I don't have time to be as gentle with her as she probably needs, but I can be gentle enough. Now, quit hiding her."

"Brother! What's—"

"Lenalee, go to your room. Lady Mathilda, if you'll come to my office with me, we ca—"

"GRACIA AMBERLEY SOLIDOR, COME OUT THIS INSTANT! !"

She found herself moving forward without even thinking about it, the walls around her melting into a blur as her vision tunneled. She was getting lightheaded, static ringing in her ears and her mouth dry…

As she walked into one of the many grand halls in the mansion, this one done in gold, bronze and beige, she instinctually flinched away from the sharp, dark eyes that snapped over to meet her hazy gray ones, the older woman standing beside Komui drawing herself upright and clenching her hands at her sides as she pursed her lips and inhaled sharply.

Komui looked between Gracia and the woman quickly, his beret skewed and his lip clamped firmly between his teeth. Behind him, Lenalee had one hand pressed to her stomach, the other covering her mouth as she stared with wide eyes.

"Gracia…" The woman seethed, her eyes narrowing.

Gracia tried to swallow a few times, but when she spoke her voice was still hoarse…

"Hey, Mom…"


	46. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XXX

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Mathilda Solidor was a tall, regal woman, hair the same color as Gracia's and streaked with grey drawn up into a tight bun, eyes narrow, sharp and black. A scar marred the right side of her face, starting up at her forehead, curving around her eye before drawing a deep line down her cheek and ending at her jaw.

The dress she was wearing had a long, cream-colored skirt with a ruby jacket-like attachment over it, the latter just slightly shorter than the skirt and layered once at her hips, again at her mid thigh and ending in a frill down just above her ankles. It also had puffed sleeves and a high collar, and was open in the front save a clasp above her breast.

Though she had just been thinking about how she couldn't remember what her mother looked like, she still found herself realizing that the woman hadn't changed much.

And not just in physical appearance.

Gracia was still stunned and staring at her, and didn't register the sharp clicking of heels as Mathilda stormed towards her until pain bloomed across the side of her face, her head snapping to the left and her eyes widening.

"How _dare_ you." Mathilda hissed dangerously, her eyes practically glowing as a strand of auburn hair fell out of her bun and across her eyes, "Do you _realize_ the position you put me in? What was the first thing I taught you about spousal loss? _Write_ a _will_ so the family can do something with your estate should anything happen to you! Because of your irresponsibility, the Carter estate is rotting away! The staff have all left, taking what valuables they could, looters have taken to the house and torn in to shreds, and almost all of Vincent's assets have been seized by his 'colleagues!' By the time my lawyers were able to do anything, the estate had lost sixty percent of its original value!"

Gracia stared up at her mother in stunned shock, one hand on her throbbing cheek and her mind spinning. "…Spousal… loss?" She repeated weakly, her train of thought having stopped there.

Mathilda's eyes flashed and she grabbed Gracia's chin harshly, angling her head and glaring into her daughter's eyes questioningly, "You don't _remember_?"

"…Not really…" Gracia replied weakly, squirming slightly and trying to lower her head and avoid her mother's eyes, "A few things, but… nothing that makes much sense…"

"…Very well, allow me to summarize it for you." Mathilda let Gracia's chin go and crossed her arms over her chest, pursing her lips, "Your husband of seven years, Vincent Carter, was assassinated four years ago. You disappeared not long after, leaving me with nothing to work with, and I am only just now finding you. Refreshed?"

Vincent?

Vincent…

_Vincent…_

"…Yeah, I'd say I am." Gracia mumbled airily, suddenly feeling like she wasn't in her own body anymore, "And now I suddenly find myself tired. I'm gonna go take a nap…" She managed to slip around Mathilda with no resistance at all, stumbling across the room slowly.

Was it just her, or was the world suddenly tilting…?

"Gracia!" Komui called out in front of her, his eyes widening as he started to run towards her.

"Renault!" Mathilda's voice barked.

A figure in white appeared by Gracia's side, their thick, well-muscled arm pressing against her chest as she fell forward against it. She was drawn against a chest just as she started to realize that she was having problems breathing and that her sternum was in a flaming pain that was quickly spreading.

Numbly, weakly, she fumbled for her autoinjector in her sash, her head starting to hurt as she gasped uselessly for air.

Someone gently pushed her hand aside and reached into her sash for her, pulling out the emergency atropine injector, popping the cap off and slamming the needle into her hip.

Gracia shuddered and closed her eyes as she quickly felt her heart start to beat in her throat, breathing getting easier and the pain subsiding, leaving her weak.

"My Lady, I believe that is enough for now. If you do not mind, I will take her to her room and tend to her."

"…Fine. Don't let anyone see her."

"Yes, My Lady."

Gracia groaned when the world shifted, blinking her eyes open when she felt her center of gravity shift as she was laid out on her back in someone's arms. She blinked up at the man holding her for a moment, smiling slightly when she realized she recognized the hazel eyes, the black, Donegal-style beard, and the long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail.

"Renault…" She reached up and touched his face lightly, blearily making sure he was actually there.

"Hello, Little Mistress." He smiled back as he started to walk, "Rest. I will be handling your health once more from here on out."

"…'kay." Gracia nodded slightly, everything else that had been happening either seeming less important or simply slipping her mind as she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

Once he had managed to free himself of that harpy of a woman, Komui rushed to Gracia's bedroom.

This was all his fault; he hadn't prepared her nearly enough, and Mathilda…

She had _struck_ her! Her own daughter! Her own, mentally unsound daughter!

Though there was absolutely no amount of preparation that would have seen her ready for the mental and physical assault her mother had done to her, he still felt like he… should have done a better job…

And then… when he'd seen all of the color drain out of her face, the pain that had flashed through her eyes, the way she had started falling as her hand clutched at her chest, the rattling, wheezing sound of her lungs as she struggled to breathe…

…Komui had nearly had a heart attack then and there.

He didn't care about anything else at the moment; he had to see her.

As soon as he was in her hall, Komui bolted for her bedroom door, grabbing the knob and twisting it only to hiss and get a friction burn on his hand when he found it was locked.

"Gracia!" He pounded on the door, "Gracia, let me in!"

A moment later the lock on the door clicked and the door opened, and Komui stepped back a bit when the man in the white suit and the unbuttoned lab coat stepped out, looking down at him stonily.

"May I help you, Supervisor Lee?"

"Renault, right?" Komui asked quickly, stepping forward again slightly, "I need to talk to Gracia."

Renault's hazel eyes remained locked on Komui expressionlessly as he stayed in place, "I am afraid I cannot allow that, Supervisor Lee. Mistress is not up to having visitors right now."

"Renault…?" Gracia's voice called weakly from inside of the room, "Is that Komui…?"

"Yes, Mistress." Renault glanced back into the room, nodding slightly.

"You can… let him in, you know…"

Renault sighed slightly, "Little Mistress…"

"Renault, please…"

"…" The man glanced back at Komui, his face still blank but now bearing some traces of coldness. He stepped aside, though, holding the door open for the supervisor.

Komui shuffled in past the man, a bit uncomfortable. Komui was tall enough in his own right (a healthy six-foot four), but this man… was easily a head taller than him, at least. And he was wider and obviously _far_ more muscled… He looked more like a heavyweight boxer than a doctor.

And standing next to the thin, slightly unhealthy Gracia, the man looked all the more threatening. That had probably been what Mathilda had been aiming for…

Of course, conversely, next to Renault, Gracia looked all the more fragile.

Komui shuddered slightly once he was inside of the room, freezing and starting at the pale, weak-looking woman lying in the far-too-large bed, moving only slightly when the door was shut behind him and Renault walked by him, going to sit beside her again.

Gracia was staring off into space silently, the plush bedding nearly swallowing her whole. If she hadn't looked so… out of it, it might have been an amusing scene.

Suddenly, Komui didn't know where to begin.

What was he supposed to do? Apologize for the loss of her husband? That had happened four years ago, and she'd blocked it from her mind only to be violently reminded by someone he had been supposed to be preparing her for. She wouldn't want to talk about that…

Should he apologize for not preparing her? Yeah, and make it seem like he was trying to make himself feel better about the situation by receiving the forgiveness she was definitely going to offer, because as if Gracia would hold a grudge. No, apologizing for that would just be wrong.

Komui walked over slowly, sitting on the bed beside her and ignoring Renault when a frosty aura suddenly surrounded the man. "…I'm sorry it's taking so long to get your electric blanket ready." Komui murmured after a moment, "Making it larger is a bit more difficult than making one from scratch…"

Gracia looked up at him, blinking, then smiled slightly, "Oh, that's fine… It's been a bit too warm for electric blankets lately, anyway…"

Komui smiled back weakly, then sighed and lowered his head, running a hand through his hair.

"…Something's bugging you…"

Komui smiled wryly, his head still lowered, "Your senses of perception are getting a bit sharper…"

"A bit." Gracia smiled slightly, sitting up and sighing as she rubbed her forehead.

She was wearing pajamas, Komui absently noted. And he was pretty sure she hadn't changed herself… He threw a look at Renault.

Renault stood on the other side of Gracia's bed silently, his hands at his sides and his face blank as he stared at them.

"…I was married…"

Komui turned his attention back to Gracia, blinking.

She was staring down at her lap, her hands lying uselessly, limply against the blankets, with her palms up and her fingers curled loosely. "…I was married…" She murmured again, head lowered, "But I… I don't remember how he died… The only thing I can remember about him is—" She flinched and shuddered, her hands clenching tightly against her lap.

Komui watched helplessly, dozens of questions coming to mind but none appropriate considering they weren't alone…

"…Renault?" Gracia started softly, "How did he… Mom said… he was… assassinated…?"

"…It is best I do not tell you, Little Mistress." Renault said slowly after a moment, "You were the one… who found him afterwards… If you do not remember yet, it would be best that remembering happened… on a day when you are not as stressed…"

"…I'm the one who found him." Gracia repeated, sighing.

"Yes." Renault nodded.

"…Did we have any children?"

Komui suddenly couldn't feel his legs, the question making a shock run through his body.

"…No, Mistress. If you had had any, you would not have run away, I promise you."

"…Yeah, that sounds right…" Gracia smiled slightly, a distant look slowly crossing her face, "I really… really wanted a child…"

Komui blinked slightly when a pained look flashed across Renault's face, the stoic man quickly looking away.

"…Komui… I still don't want to go back…"

Komui turned his attention back to Gracia and reached out, setting a hand on her back and easily making himself forget Renault's presence, "And I still plan on talking to her. Noblewoman or not, Gracia, you're an adult."

"And the Lady Mathilda will argue that Mistress is not mentally and physically sound enough to stay."

Gracia and Komui both turned their attention to Renault, who was expressionless once more and staring at them both.

"You are a fragile woman, Mistress." Renault went on, his hands clasped behind his back, "It has always been necessary for you to stay in a calm, stable environment to assure that your health remains at stasis. With the addition of an Innocence that seems to have robbed you of your memories, which is only destabilizing your condition, Lady Mathilda can safely call to attention the fact that your Innocence is endangering you. You are still a subject of the Solidor House; she would be fully within her right to call you back to the homestead."

"…What if you stayed with me?" Gracia suggested, her voice weak, "You know my condition better than anyone… If you stayed, even if something bad happened to me I'd be fine."

"…I serve you, Mistress." Renault bowed slightly, "If you want me to stay, I will. I have only remained at the Lady Mathilda's side to wait for you to be found."

Komui smiled slightly. "I'll talk to Lady Mathilda, then. Having Renault's support will definitely help."

Gracia turned to Komui, smiling, then leaned in and wrapped her arms around him.

Komui froze, his arms rising slightly, uselessly as he stared down at her with wide eyes, his face slowly reddening. When he found his arms slowly wrapping around her lower back, his blush only got darker.

After several moments of silence, a pointed cough saw them both twitching and jerking slightly.

"Mistress, you need your rest now; Supervisor Lee will have to leave." Renault said firmly, his tone broking no argument.

Komui stood quickly without further prompting, smiling down at Gracia nervously as he rubbed the back of his head, "Get some sleep, alright? I'll make sure Lady Mathilda is settled in and satisfied and try to talk to her again when she's calmed down a bit…"

"Alright…" Gracia nodded, smiling back slightly, sleepily, "Thank you, Komui…"

She had a slight blush on her face, and he was still feeling the lingering body heat from where she had been pressed against his chest… His chest, where 'it' was suddenly bubbling up once more.

Before he realized what he was doing, Komui found himself leaning in and pressing his lips to her forehead.

When he realized what he was doing, Komui jolted, and then may or may not have squeaked as he turned and fled for the door.

He was glad someone was there to open it for him, and he was just about to bolt mindlessly down the hall when a large, vice-like hand clamped down on his forearm.

Komui quickly looked up into Renault's face, actually shrinking back slightly at the icy glare the man was giving him.

"Watch carefully how you act around Mistress Gracia, _Supervisor_." Renault growled, his grip on Komui's arm tightening painfully, "If you get her into trouble with the Lady Mathilda over any misplaced affections, you will find I can be far more unforgiving than the Solidor matriarch."

Komui could only stare with wide eyes as the taller man shut the door in his face.

…For once, he knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of an angry 'older brother's' wrath.


	47. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XXXI

The contest you all didn't even know you entered is over! Ladies and gentlemen, the results are in, and the person who helped me reach two hundred reviews is— *drum roll*

…**Serendipital**!

d_(^ . ^)_b

Seriously, everyone, thank you all so much for sticking with me so far and reviewing as much as you have! I know I don't thank you often enough (unless people have questions, responding to reviews just makes me feel uncomfortable because I always worry about sounding fake), but I want you all to know I love ya and every review I get just makes me feel fantastic.

Here's to however many more chapters and however many more reviews! (Oh, and please don't kill me when you get to the end of this chapter. ^ . ^')

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia sat outside Komui's office silently, absently listening to the indiscernible screaming coming from inside.

On one side of her, Renault stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his face blank as always. On the other, Lenalee sat as quietly as she, the girl's head lowered and her knuckles white as she clasped her hands on her lap.

Komui's meeting with Mathilda was _not_ going well.

"RENAULT! !"

The physician/bodyguard sighed slightly, glancing at Gracia, "Mistress…"

Gracia nodded slightly, standing and giving Lenalee a strained smile, "Lenalee, you… shouldn't be here for this…"

Lenalee shook her head stubbornly, looking up at Gracia with her lips pressed into a tight frown, "I will not leave my brother or you alone with that woman." She then flinched slightly, remembering that 'that woman' was Gracia's mother, "Sorry…"

Gracia shook her head, sighing softly. She didn't blame Lenalee at all… Turning to Renault, she nodded and stepped forward as he opened the door for her, walking into Komui's office with her head lowered.

She tried to raise it, but she could already feel her mother's intense glare and instinctually kept it down.

Her body still remembered how to behave, even if her mind was behind on the details…

"Renault, did you allow Supervisor Lee to speak to Gracia after I instructed you to not allow anyone to see her?"

"Of course not, My Lady." Renault lied easily from Gracia's side, his voice as level and dead as ever, "I took the Little Mistress to her room, changed her into her sleeping attire, tended to her condition and stood guard over her room as she slept. None visited her."

Gracia released a soft breath of relief, stopping herself from smiling slightly. Renault had been serious when he said he served her above her mother after all…

"I see… Supervisor Lee seems to be under the impression that you would be perfectly fine with the idea of remaining at the Black Order with Gracia and watching over her health as she continues her duties as an Exorcist. Is that true?"

Gracia shuddered slightly as Renault's massive form doubled over as he bowed deeply, "Yes, My Lady, I would gladly do that for Mistress' sake."

"So, Supervisor Lee was able to draw a correct conclusion despite having never spoken to you before… How _perceptive_ you are, Komui."

The thinly veiled accusation hung heavily in the air. Gracia suddenly felt hot under her collar, the back of her neck starting to sweat and her lungs unbearably heavy…

"…Gracia, raise your head."

She didn't want to… She really, really, really didn't want to raise her head and meet her mother's eyes…

But… disobeying her mother…? No… That wasn't a concept she found easy to comprehend, despite not having obeyed her mother in several years.

Because of that, Gracia found herself raising her head slowly, lifting her eyes at an even slower speed until she was reluctantly, barely meeting her mother's eyes.

Mathilda was staring at her daughter icily, her eyes lidded slightly and her lips pressed into a thin line, "Have you really forgotten so much that you do not even remember your duty?"

Gracia shifted slightly, glancing away. Not necessarily… she might have remembered it by now; she just didn't know it because thinking about it had never crossed her mind. Now that she was being asked to remember, though, she couldn't; nervousness was keeping her from thinking about anything. And now she was starting to get a headache…

"Eyes, Gracia." When her eyes snapped back over to meet Mathilda's again, the woman's brow twitched slightly, "You are the daughter of the head of the House Solidor; it is your duty to marry into a family befitting your status to produce heirs that will some day take over for you when you and your husband become the family's new leaders."

Gracia nearly looked away again, still silent, but her body stopped her before she could even try; if she did, she'd only be ordered to look back again, and the next time her mother would be angrier.

"However…" Mathilda sighed, "Since you are incapable of doing that and your husband is dead, leaving you a widow, your duty is now to return to your estate, reclaim what is rightfully yours, and stabilize your finances. Remarrying can be saved for a later date."

"…Can't I just sign it all over to you?" Gracia drooped slightly, "I have no idea what Vincent did… And by now all of his legers would be in the hands of his colleagues, none of whom I know…"

Mathilda bristled at that, narrowing her eyes dangerously at her daughter, "You _do not know_ what your _own husband's_ business was after _seven years of marriage_?"

"I wasn't allowed to ask…" Gracia's eyes lowered and slid to the side, this time with no issue, "And I was never allowed in the room when he and his male friends began to talk about more serious matters, so I don't know which of his friends were business partners. I wouldn't even know where to begin searching for the answers… You'd be a lot more capable of having those things researched than I would, considering Renault is the only one of my staff left…"

"…What do you mean you 'weren't allowed to ask?'" Mathilda asked slowly, a hint of anger and suspicion creeping into her voice as her lips curled into a frown, her brows furrowing.

"My Lady," Renault interceded, "Mistress' initial attempts at questioning ended in her being physically silenced. After that, she learned to stop questioning."

Gracia was now squirming physically where she stood, her head lowered and her fingers working on slowly fisting her Exorcist jacket at her sides. She didn't want to talk about this anymore… All of this comprehensive topic discussion was making her memories line up more and more, and she didn't like it. She didn't even want to look up to see how the now silent Komui was taking this…

"…You mean he _hit_ her?" Mathilda growled, her voice taking a dangerous tone once more.

"Yes, My Lady."

"WHY WAS I NOT INFORMED OF THIS SOONER? !" Mathilda roared, making Gracia yelp quietly and nearly duck behind Renault, "RENAULT!"

"My Lady, after Mistress married Master Vincent and I was sent to live with them, Master Vincent held precedence over you, as you made very clear to me not long before I left the main Solidor estate."

"And what is your excuse, Gracia? !" Mathilda barked, quickly following it with, "And look up, you foolish girl!"

Gracia flinched and looked up, though she focused on looking at Komui, who was just behind her mother. She shook and almost looked away again when he saw the wide-eyed, stunned look he was regarding her with, but as soon as he saw her looking at him his expression softened and he nodded only slightly, but encouragingly. Gracia continued looking at him as she muttered.

"He was my husband, Mother, and I was living in his house under his rules… His only rules for me were to stay out of locked rooms, serve refreshments, personally, when he had friends and leave the room when the conversation was not fit for women to hear, inform him before I invited friends over for scheduling purposes, stay out of his offices unless circumstances permitted entrance, and to look directly at him when I spoke to him; all of which were almost exactly the same as the rules I had to follow at home… After listening to those, not being allowed to speak about his business didn't seem all that peculiar…"

"And the hitting?" Mathilda prompted heatedly.

Gracia kept her eyes locked with Komui's, setting her jaw firmly.

"…My Lady…" Renault started.

Mathilda turned her dark gaze on Renault, "What?"

Beside Gracia, Renault drew himself up a bit higher, rumbling, "You, yourself, used physical means to make points with the Mistress when your patience wore thin; how was she to know you would not allow her husband to do the same?"

Behind Mathilda, Komui smirked slightly, though it quickly faded and was replaced with guilty remorse as he cringed in Gracia's direction.

She, however, wasn't offended; Renault's comment and Komui's reaction relaxed her slightly. Mathilda had been caught in the wrong; she shouldn't have any further reason to yell at Gracia about that subject.

Mathilda inhaled sharply, her lips pursing and her eyes narrowing in indignation. She then sighed, shaking her head, "You have absolutely no common sense, Gracia Amberley…"

"I don't want to leave."

Mathilda twitched slightly, her eyes staying narrowed.

Behind her, Komui smiled slightly.

"I'm not giving you a choice." Mathilda drawled icily, "As a member of House Solidor, you are obligated to obey my orders."

"Technically, I'm a Carter." Gracia muttered, slowly moving her eyes to meet her mother's and clenching her hands at her sides again, "And I'm an adult… You can't make me."

Mathilda's eyes flashed, and she slowly turned away from her daughter to glare at Komui, "So, you have been talking to her…"

Komui squirmed slightly in his seat but kept his expression firm as he frowned at the woman, "The only thing I said to her was that she had the right to choose. That if she didn't want to leave, she didn't have to. That she would always be welcome here. And I stand firm by that."

"You overstep your boundaries, Komui Lee," Mathilda hissed, her body tensing as she drew herself upright, "In telling my daughter what she as the 'right' to do."

"Considering she's one of my organization's Exorcists, I don't think I have." Komui countered easily, his face neutral.

"My daughter is _not_ an Exorcist." Mathilda growled.

"Yes, I a—"

"Gracia, silence."

"…No."

Gracia shuddered slightly when her mother froze, Komui's eyes widening and Renault's hand flashing out to press against her lower back supportively.

"I will not silence myself anymore…" Gracia muttered slowly, "Not for your rules or Vincent's… or for any societal rules you think I should follow… I'm almost thirty years old; I have every right to make my own decisions. I don't want to remarry, I don't want to resume my position as head of the Carter estate, and I don't want to leave the Black Order. I want to stay here and be an Exorcist… and live with the people here."

Even though Mathilda was still facing him, Komui was practically beaming at Gracia.

It made that confusing, slightly annoying warmth well up in her chest, and she found her face heating up as she smiled back at him.

"…How dare you."

Gracia and Komui blinked, turning their attention away from one another and back to Mathilda, who was still facing Komui.

"How dare you meddle in the affairs of my family." Mathilda muttered, her voice slowly becoming poisonous, "How dare you turn my daughter against me after hiding her from me for so long… _How dare you act outside of your social class and meddle in the affairs of nobles._"

"Hey!" Lenalee's voice suddenly spoke up from behind Gracia, making her tense and spin around to try to silence her. Lenalee, though, looked furious, and she continued before Gracia could say anything, "Brother was only looking out for Gracia's best interests! And you have no right to hold status over his head! You can't blame him! If Gracia's rebellion against you is anyone's fault, it's your own!"

Gracia cringed and closed her eyes when she heard Mathilda's skirts swish, the woman spinning around.

"_Brother? !_ Are you telling me this man's own _sister_ is an Exorcist? ! And that she is allowed to speak out in such a disrespectful tone to one of the Black Order's shareholders? !"

"Mother, no." Gracia turned to face Mathilda again, "Don't bring Lenalee into th—"

"I will not stand for this." Mathilda turned to glare at Komui again, drawing her shoulders back when she saw the stunned look Komui was giving her, "I will not continue to throw my family's money into this organization if all you are going to do as Chief Officer is undermine my authority amongst my own successors and allow your officers to speak out of turn!"

"Lady Solidor!" Komui stood quickly, suddenly looking nervous, "I can assure you, it's not like that! The Black Order is greatly indebted to the Solidor family, and I would never dream of doing anything that would cause a disturbance in your familial affairs!"

"So you say, yet you have turned my own daughter against me." Mathilda waved her hand towards Gracia indicatively before going on, "Komui Lee, I will participate in this farce no longer. Where is Malcolm? I want to speak to him. If the Solidor family is going to continue to support the Black Order, then I will see you transferred and replaced. If what you've done to my daughter and how your sister acts are any indication as to how you handle professional affairs, it won't be long before you've run what I've just spent millions to rebuild back into the ground."

"Mother!" Suddenly, Gracia was awake, her eyes wide and her heart starting to hammer in her chest.

Her body, unused being so alert, balked and her head spun as she got dizzy, but she stepped forward and away from Renault's protective support, reaching out for her mother and grasping at the sleeve of the older woman's gown.

"You can't _transfer_ Komui! He's built a very complex mechanism of seeming disorganization within the Order! You take him out of the mix, and the whole thing'll fall apart until all you're left with is a smoldering pile of tomfoolery and robots and documents he never finished and stuffed away so people would stop harping at him about it!"

The room fell into a momentary silence.

Komui pouted/glared at Gracia.

"…What? !" Mathilda barked.

"…I said that out loud, didn't I?"

Mathilda just glared at her daughter flatly.

"Strike it, then." Gracia waved her hand, "But I still stand by what I said! You _can't_ transfer Komui! No one could run the Order like he does! If you just suddenly throw someone new into his place, do you realize how hard they would have it? Taking over Komui's position would require _months_ of training! And if what happened at the old Headquarters were to happen here while the building was under new management, the European Branch wouldn't recover. We only made it out of that _because_ of Komui!"

Thinking up that argument on the spot left her mind reeling; such things usually required at least tem minutes of deep thought. It had her so lightheaded she couldn't focus on Komui to see his reaction to her words; her focus remained on her mother and her mother alone.

She knew, though, that she definitely had one more reason she wouldn't let her mother do this; something much more personal that she wouldn't say aloud.

She would not be the reason the Lee siblings were separated from one another. She refused to let something like that happen because of her.

"…Well, Gracia," Mathilda turned to face her daughter, meeting her eyes evenly and speaking calmly, "If you think so highly of Supervisor Lee, and you honestly think he should remain in his position, then prove me wrong about him."

Gracia stared at her mother for several moments in stunned silence before she finally realized what had just happened.

_Shit…_

Her eyes glazing over and a blank look crossing her face, Gracia faced her mother a moment longer before she turned and walked out of the room, not even sparing Lenalee a glance when the girl reached out towards her slightly.

The Queen had blindsided her and caught her in check… She'd forgotten how good her mother was at Chess.

* * *

"Komui, what has happened?" Tiedoll asked as he walked up to the Supervisor, the older man sparing a pale, slightly shaking Lenalee a glance before stepping up beside her brother and looking at him, "Where is my apprentice?"

Komui didn't answer, his face drawn with stress and his lips pressed into a thin line as he stared at the elderly noblewoman in front of him, the woman in question staring off into space as she waited for her daughter.

He knew full well what had happened… but he was having problems processing it.

Gracia hadn't talked herself into a corner because of him… had she? That was just him being paranoid, as he usually got when he listened to political conversations. Hell, he had to be a bit paranoid in those situations in order to pick up on all of the subtext.

But that… that hadn't happened here… had it?

Gracia and Renault had simply walked off because Gracia had decided that she didn't want to play her mother's game anymore in favor of going off to take a nap. It was that simple.

…Wasn't it…?

Beside him, Lenalee was silent, her hands clasped in front of her and her knuckles white as she clenched them tightly. The girl wasn't even trying to answer Allen and Lavi's gentle, probing questions; she looked like she was going to be sick. Having been his former assistant, she, too, was geared towards being paranoid in political situations; Komui didn't even have to ask to know that she had come to the same conclusion he had.

Damn it… now he had to hope they were _both_ wrong.

"Komui…" Tiedoll muttered.

Beside the older General, Kanda was silent, his lips pressed into a thin line and his brows furrowed in a confused gesture.

His senses already sharpened, Kanda was the first to notice the door at the end of the foyer they were standing in open, his eyes widening as he looked over and saw who was coming out… and in what.

Gracia's face was blank and her eyes were lidded as she walked across the room in a long-skirted, long-sleeved tan dress, her hair slightly glossy, curled and drawn into a ponytail that was pulled over her left shoulder.

She was also wearing makeup… and heeled dress shoes… and evening gloves…

…Damn it… Komui's paranoia had been right…

"…Gracia…" Lenalee mumbled weakly, her arms shaking.

Komui watched her cross the room silently, and suddenly it seemed all the more final when she noticed something…

…She wasn't wearing Sleep.

"Mother…" Gracia murmured, nodding to Mathilda before turning to Komui and grabbing her skirts, curtsying slightly, "Supervisor Komui Lee, Chief Office of the Black Order, on behalf of the Solidor family I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of the pains you went through to take care of me while I had taken leave of my senses."

Komui stared down at her blankly, slowly starting to feel disconnected from his own body.

This wasn't her… This wasn't the Gracia he knew talking…

This was… wrong…

"Renault…"

Renault, who Komui hadn't even seen standing behind Gracia, leaned forward and held out his hand, Sleep's thick silver bracelet and ring resting in his palm.

…That didn't belong there…

"I'm returning the Innocence known as 'Sleep' to the Black Order. I… wish you luck… in finding a replacement Accommodator…"

Komui stared at her… unable to say anything…

"…Komui?"

Komui blinked slowly, and suddenly she wasn't curtsying anymore; she was standing straight and staring up at him imploringly.

He opened and closed his mouth slowly. He couldn't think of a single thing to say… _Komui Lee_ was _speechless_…

"Let's go, Gracia. It may be belated, but there is still enough time left in the year to celebrate your thirtieth birthday. It's a fine time for you to be reintroduced to society."

That said, Mathilda Solidor turned and started walking to the great entrance doors.

Gracia stared up at Komui a bit more, then smiled weakly, some emotion on her face…

_Heartbreak…_

"…Bye…"

Still not in his own body, Komui could only stare silently as Gracia and Renault turned and followed the Solidor matriarch out of the building and away from the Black Order.


	48. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XXXII

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

She couldn't sleep.

She hadn't slept in two weeks.

She hadn't stopped crying…

What was wrong with her?

What was this painful, twisting feeling in her chest?

And why, when she tried to localize it, did she think of Komui?

It took her a week to realize that she missed him.

It took her the other week to realize missing _him_ went far deeper than, say, missing Lenalee.

There was something about all of this she was missing, she knew, and it had something to do with that… emotion she hadn't identified that she felt for him and only for him. Though instead of annoying her, now it left her yearning.

She _wanted_ to see him again; she _needed_ to. If only so she could get annoyed with him for unleashing another Komlin or something…

But no… she didn't want to be annoyed with him again…

She wanted… something else…

And, again, Gracia felt tears well up in her eyes and spill over as she sat at the window seat in her room, staring through the stained glass.

Why was the world still spinning? The moment she walked through the door of her mother's house, things had gone back to as they had been before she had been married; her mother had sent her to her room to await any tasks the woman could possibly think of for her.

And that was it.

She sat around the house with nothing to do.

She flitted through the music room, but found she couldn't think of a single song to play. The weather outside was too cold for walking through the gardens. She'd read every book in the library as a child, and when she'd gone through to look at them again she found they held no interest for her. Her mother had tried to see if she needed any tutors hired to refresh her on her old subjects, but a quick review revealed that, yes, she did remember everything, they just weren't things that were on her clouded mind unless she was asked to think about them.

And so, while her mother planned out her belated thirtieth birthday party and, occasionally, called her down to reintroduce her to this person or that, Gracia did nothing but sit, dwell on what she had been forced to give up, and cry.

She wished she could sleep through it all, but again, she hadn't been able to sleep.

The day she'd given Sleep to Renault to hold for her so she didn't change her mind… she'd felt something… change…

Sleep had, initially, refused to let go. Once it had, though, and she'd taken it off… it had taken its sleepy fog with it.

Now all she was left with was a haze… an unpleasant, slightly terrifying haze; like a mist that looms in the air on a sunny day and hides everything in a thick, impenetrable miasma of white.

The sun was shining brightly in her mind; she was wide awake. But, as always, her perception was skewed, only now instead of there being a comfort waiting (the promise of a warm nap and an ever-present feel of never being alone), there was nothing to look forward to but…

…Emptiness.

And it would never clear, she realized the longer she dwelled on it. She and Sleep had not parted as they should have, and now she would feel the lingering effects in her mind the rest of her life… Serving as a constant reminder if what she had been. Serving as a constant call for her to come back and pick up where she had left off.

As a child, she would have been able to accept the bland life that sat stagnantly around her.

As an adult, as a former independent woman, as a former Exorcist…

No… She couldn't live like this.

If she had to sit in her room every day for the rest of her life, staring off into space and crying, regretting, she would go mad.

She wanted Sleep.

She wanted Komui.

She wanted things to go back to how they had been that one night… After Cross had dismissed her and sent her to Komui's room, and she had spent the night with him nearby. She wanted to go back to being annoyed with him for making her feel strange, warm things in her chest, she wanted to go back to fretting over why she felt like she wanted to kiss him like Cross had her, she wanted to go back to the way things had been…

Dear god, she wanted to _sleep_…

"Mistress…"

Gracia turned away from the window slowly and looked up at Renault, feeling hollow.

Renault stared down at her with a soft, worried expression on his usually blank face, frowning, "You cannot keep going like this… Change into your nightgown and lie down in bed; I am going to give you a mild sedative."

"I don't want a sedative…" Gracia muttered, looking out the window again, "I want Sleep…"

"…I know, Mistress." Renault sighed, "But you have to sleep…"

"…Let me take a walk, first." Gracia mumbled, standing and sighing, "I'm tired mentally right now, but not physically… You can sedate me after I've tired myself out a bit more."

Renault stared down at her for a moment, unmoving, then nodded slightly and bowed his head, the length of black hair in his ponytail slipping over his shoulder, "Very well, Mistress. Shall I come with you?"

"No, take a break…" She mumbled, slipping past him and heading for the door, "I can take care of myself for a bit…"

Gracia didn't bother taking in her surroundings as she walked down the hall; the house was exactly as it had been when she had moved out not long after getting married…

Dark wood in the halls, dark blues and browns and burgundies for the wallpaper, thick, heavy drapes with amber tassels, hardwood floors lined with long, thick rugs, tall ceilings and crystal chandeliers…

Where Barheim Palace, her father's house, had been slightly stark but orderly, Nalbina Estate, her mother's house, was heavy, dark…

…Oppressive…

She needed to get outside.

Gracia headed down to the kitchens, walking past the maids and cooks silently and taking the servants' door outside.

They were into the month of October, now; the trees were red and orange, the air smelled like dirt and rain, the winds were coming on and off and the air was chilly…

The servants' door led to a small staircase, the kitchen being below ground level, and a short walk up the stairs led out into the grand backyard, a large fountain (turned off for the coming winter months) off to the right, directly in front of the proper back door, gravel walkways and low hedges with rosebushes and trees trimmed into the shapes of animals…

Still, though, Gracia didn't pay attention to her surroundings, walking up the stairs slowly and along one of the many paths that ran alongside the back yard.

What were the others doing, she wondered…

Well, Komui would definitely be shirking his duties… again… And probably napping in a remote corner of the mansion…

Allen and Kanda would be at one another's throats, with Lavi egging them on passively, amusedly while Lenalee tried to break the fight up…

Tiedoll would be lurking around the corner, waiting for his 'sons' to need him…

Socalo would be disgruntled at the loss of his punching back (Judge-Sal)…

Reever would be doing his best to help Brigitte hunt Komui down… The poor woman was still so inexperienced with the fine art of Komui Hunting…

Johnny would be hanging out with that new woman, Cash, who looked so much like her late brother…

The Science Division would either be working themselves to death, or trying to hide Komui's more dangerous experiments from him…

…She wanted that back.

As Gracia walked along the cold, empty path, a brief burst of wind coming up behind her and catching her hair and skirts and making her wish she'd remembered to grab a coat, she realized she had never really… appreciated what she had had with the Order…

She'd been so lost in Sleep's haze, so worried about losing it, so worried about remembering what she wanted to forget, that she hadn't realized what they had let her have without even needing to…

That warm feeling she had gotten whenever she was around them…

…That was what being part of a family was supposed to feel like.

But… she'd given that up for a reason. She'd given it up to keep her mother from taking her anger out on Komui and doing something that would break that family apart.

Besides, they didn't need her, and she… she didn't need them. She had survived well enough on her own for the four years after running away and before joining the Order… She was used to being alone.

It was something… she'd just have to learn to deal with.

She was a bit ashamed that, two weeks later, she was still crying about it… But her perception of time was still off, and the white haze in her mind was persistent.

Eventually, the pain would fade. It always had before.

Gracia sighed and pushed the thoughts from her mind with some difficult, blinking and looking around to see where her feet had led her while her mind had drifted…

The house was far behind her by now, and she had walked into a small grove of trees, still following a path that seemed to lead to the—

Ah, the stables… She'd never really visited them when she was younger; she hadn't been allowed outside much.

Still, she knew they were well-used; her mother had been fond of riding in her younger years, and even now she could hear the loud nickers and neighs of the several horses inside.

Movement in the pen just outside of the stable caught Gracia's attention, and she blinked and walked over. Surely her mother wasn't riding…

Out in the corral, a young woman in tight, tan pants, a navy jacket, high black boots and a riding helmet rode astride a large, gray Andalusian, her shoulders rolled back and her head held high as she guided the horse with the slightest movements of the reigns and her knees.

Gracia blinked and watched as she trotted the horse down one side of the paddock, then turned him and urged him with a few clicks of her tongue, the horse surging forward with powerful, muscular strides. Gracia felt her breath hitch slightly as the horse took the first of several vaults aligned down the middle of the corral.

The horse, though, cleared the obstacle with ease, and Gracia slowly relaxed and watched silently as the duo jumped the rest of the vaults, each one slightly taller than the last.

The rider walked her horse in a few circles once they had reached the end of the line before directing it down the line to start over, but when she realized she was being watched, the girl blinked and balked slightly, pulling her horse to a quick stop that had it shaking its head and lying its ears back.

Gracia flinched slightly and took a few steps back to leave, feeling out of place even though this was her mother's property and she had no idea who the rider was.

She didn't make it far, though; that horse was damned fast, not to mention intimidating as it charged straight towards her, its rider leaning forward and pressed against its neck.

Gracia was just about to duck, knowing that any attempt to run on her part would just be laughable, but the girl was even faster than the horse; she pulled up alongside the fence and leapt straight off of her horse's back, making Gracia freeze.

"GRACIA!"

…Well, what else was she supposed to do?

Gracia went limp and let a hundred or so pounds of excitable blonde slam into her and take her down.

* * *

Gracia groaned softly as she blinked her eyes open slowly, blinking at the slightly cloudy sky peeking through from between the red-leaved branches of the tree overhead. Why was she on the ground again…?

Suddenly, a youthful, female face with a dark eyes and a head covered in an equestrian riding helmet leaned into her periphery, grinning widely.

Oh, right… that was why…

"Gracia!" The young woman exclaimed, bracing her hands against Gracia's shoulders and leaning in slightly as she straddle the older woman's waist, "Gracia, is that really you? !"

"…Yes?" Gracia questioned unsurely after a moment, managing a weak smile/grimace, "Sorry… I don't… remember you?"

"Considering we've never met, I hope you don't." The girl giggled. She then got slightly teary, her wide smile wavering slightly, "Oh, Gracia… I'm so happy I finally get to meet you!"

Gracia grunted softly as the young woman pulled her up into a tight hug, awkwardly hugging back, "It's… nice to meet you, too… Should I… have been looking forward to it…?"

"You probably didn't even know to…" The younger female murmured, pulling back and holding Gracia out at arm's length to get a good look at her, "You're prettier than I had imagined…"

"…" Gracia sighed softly. She wasn't going to be able to be polite for much longer if she didn't get a better grip on what was going on, "I'm sorry… but who are you?"

A sad look cross the young woman's face, "She really didn't tell you anything… Well, I'm not surprised; she wasn't planning on telling me, either." The young woman then perked, brightening, "I'm your younger sister, Lorelei!"


	49. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XXXIII

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"Miss Lorelei!"

"Miss Lorelei!"

Gracia stared at the young woman, stunned, as she glanced off to the side with a scowl.

"Crap, they found me?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Gracia saw several people running up, but she was still in shock, a sharp pressure in her chest and a lightness in her head keeping her from moving.

In fact, if Lorelei weren't holding her, she probably would have fallen back down.

All she could do… was stare at the girl sitting on her legs… in complete… and total… shock…

…Sister…?

She… had a… sister?

"Miss Lorelei, you can't keep—" A loud gasp.

"L-Lady Gr—"

"Miss Lorelei, you—! ! When did you two—? !"

"C'mon, Gracia, before they separate us again!"

A soft cry left Gracia's mouth as she was jerked to her feet and hauled up the side of the fence, Lorelei jumping onto the back of the gray Andalusian that was still waiting before reaching back and pulling Gracia onto the horse, as well.

English saddles, however, don't leave room for double riding, so she was stuck sitting on the bare part of the horse's back, just shy of its flanks.

And with the slippery material her dress was made of sliding right over the animal's coat as it started to trot forward, she had to lean forward quickly and wrap her arms around Lorelei's waist, riding astride in a dress limiting her ability to grip with her thighs greatly.

"Hold on!" Lorelei called back to her brightly over the shouts and bellows of the servants chasing them, turning her horse to face the other side of the corral and leaning forward to grip the reigns tightly, "Alright, Halcyon, go! Hyaa!"

Gracia cried out again, louder this time, and leaned forward to press herself down against the girl's (her _sister's_) back as the Andalusian surged forward powerfully, every muscle in its body seeming to be tightening under her thighs as he bolted.

She looked up, her eyes widening when she saw they were charging straight for the fence.

"MISS LORELEI, NO! !"

The horse, Halcyon, lowered slightly, and then they were airborne and Gracia felt a surge of motion sickness. She buried her face between Lorelei's shoulders and started imagining that she was anywhere else, that she was feeling anything other than what she was feeling, but…

…She had her… sister's… waist in her arms, as if she were hugging her…

…For the first time…

…Questioning the validity of it… never really crossed her mind…

Something about the girl just seemed… so…

Gracia's train of thought was shattered as Halcyon's hooves met the ground again powerfully, and she shuddered and held onto Lorelei tighter as they shot off into the trees in front of them.

She wasn't sure how long they rode; the only things she could be sure of were the muscles of the horse as they rippled against her legs and the feel of Lorelei's body as she leaned from side to side, guiding the horse with sure hand and knee.

When they finally stopped, she simply let go and tumbled right off of the horse's back, hitting the ground with a jarring but soft thud and curling up in a ball, hugging her pained stomach.

"Eep! Gracia!"

There was another thud next to her and gloved hands grabbed her shoulders gently, easing her onto her back and lying her head on a lap.

"Are you alright? ! I didn't hurt you, did I? !"

"Motion… sick…" Gracia groaned softly, peeling her eyes open and looking up at the young woman above her.

Lorelei sighed and smiled down at her, then reached up and undid the strap of her riding helmet, taking it off. A thick ponytail of long, wavy blonde hair fell down her back, a few pieces that had been loosened under the helmet framing her face but the top completely flattened. Helmet head…

"…Sister…" Gracia mumbled softly.

Lorelei bit her lip and wrung her hands slightly, smiling and nodded excitedly, "Yeah… conceived not long before Daddy—" She stopped herself, flinching slightly.

Gracia blinked, then frowned, "We… have the same father? How old a—"

"Nineteen." Lorelei nodded.

"…Mother managed to hide you from me for nineteen years?" Gracia's brow twitched slightly.

"Well, to be fair, you did run away for the past four… going on five years…" Lorelei paused, then shrugged, "And from what I've managed to gather on you, you're haven't always… been there…"

Gracia thought about it for a moment, then sighed and nodded, "Yeah… hiding things from me probably isn't very hard."

Lorelei giggled, then leaned forward slightly and smiled down at Gracia excitedly, "As for me, I've known about you for a while! Once Renault mentioned you in passing, it was really hard for the rest of the staff to keep the details hidden."

"…Why would she want to keep us hidden from one another, anyway?" Gracia mumbled, starting to relax as the pain in her stomach faded.

"Who, Mum?" Lorelei rolled her eyes, an annoyed look crossing her face as she scowled, "She's a bitch. She's afraid that being around you too much will make me weak and screw the family over when I succeed her."

Gracia blinked, the white haze in her mind slowly thickening as she got more and more confused, "Eh…?"

Lorelei blinked down at her, "She didn't tell you that, either…? You're not the one who will take over the Solidor family when she passes on… I am."

* * *

When her first child had been born, Mathilda Solidor had passed the child's care onto a wet nurse and gone straight back to guiding the affairs of the Solidor house through her husband, Silas.

When the child was six and she saw how sickly and weak willed it was, Mathilda realized her mistake.

Thus, when Gracia was ten, Lorelei was conceived, and the moment the second daughter was born Mathilda went through great lengths to hide her from her weaker, older sister, and even the world, starting her special instruction in private.

Silas died not long after, and Mathilda started giving Gracia the training she should have started much sooner in her life.

It was all a rouse, though; Gracia was a sickly child with far too many medical complications. A weak heart, persistent anemia, a disposition to respiratory distress issues…

And with her temperament, there was absolutely no way Gracia would ever become strong enough to lead the Solidor family to Mathilda's satisfaction, even if she had a stronger husband as a front.

No, a stronger husband would want to lock away his precious, weak wife and do things his way… Which would see the end of the Solidor way.

And that was not acceptable.

Thus, when Gracia was seventeen, a handful of years after her father passed on, Mathilda married her off and brought Lorelei to the main house.

Lorelei was the better daughter; healthy, vivacious, sharp, strong-willed…

Mathilda simply kept the outside world and her oldest daughter thinking that Gracia would succeed her to assure the safety of the Solidor name. Really, she had a powerful trump card hidden up her sleeve…

…If only she could control said card.

Whether or not Renault had mentioned Gracia on purpose was unclear (though Gracia, if asked, would smile and say he probably had done it consciously), once Lorelei found out she had an older sister… nothing else seemed to matter to her.

She brushed off her studies, questioning her tutors, instead, about her older sister. She would frequently cancel social dates to question the staff at the various Solidor houses, finding out who had worked at which house the longest and then hammering that person endlessly with inquiry. She would sneak back to the house during spring-cleaning and go through the paintings, looking for any pictures of her…

Lorelei even dared to ask her mother.

Of course, it got her nowhere, but… Where before Lorelei had been mildly rebellious, if only because she hated being ordered around, now her strong will was becoming an issue.

Because now her strong will was keeping her focused stubbornly on the need to meet her older sister.

And now she had… and she wasn't about to let her go.

* * *

Gracia blinked at the end of Lorelei's explanation, lying limply as her younger sister hugged her tightly, happily, and rocked back and forth with her, nuzzling the side of her head.

When she'd managed to… somewhat… comprehend it all… she sighed softly and smiled, hugging Lorelei back.

So, she was just a distraction? Her entire life was a lie? She wasn't even a necessary piece on her mother's chessboard…?

…Eh, fine.

Frankly, Gracia couldn't really bring herself to care; she'd never wanted to be the Solidor matriarch. And as long as Lorelei was fine with it, what did it matter if she was nothing more than a red herring…?

Her mother had been using her for years, as all nobles did to their children; there was no way something like this would be any different.

And she accepted it. Because she had been raised in an environment where such things were not expected to surprise her.

"…Sister, where have you been all of these years?" Lorelei asked as she shifted to lean back against a nearby tree, stroking Gracia's hair as the older woman continued to rest on her lap.

"…Mother married me off to Vincent Carter when I was seventeen…" Gracia mumbled, more out of route memorization than actual memory; the visual memories were still very, very blurry to her, "When I was twenty-four, he was murdered and I became a widow… Something about that… upset me so much that I ran away… I wandered Europe and parts of Russia for four years before I was found by the Black Order."

"The Black Order?" Lorelei perked.

"Yeah…" Gracia nodded, "Sometime… after I ran away… not long after, really… I came across a ring that turned out to be a piece of Innocence known as Sleep. It synchronized with me… And I was found by the Order and made an Exorcist."

Gracia jumped and squeaked softly when Lorelei suddenly sat up and grabbed her face, the younger woman making her older sister look her in her determined eyes, "Tell me everything."

Gracia blinked, then sighed softly and closed her eyes as they rolled back into her head, thinking.

Where to begin…

* * *

"So… you came back… to this living hell… to protect a guy?"

After a pause, Gracia sighed and nodded. Well, Komui Lee could really be considered more of a child than a guy, but…

"And the first time you… summoned the Judge-Sal thing… it was because of him?"

Again, a pause and then a nod.

"And when that Cross guy kissed you, you wished _he_ had done it, instead?"

Gracia blinked slowly, nodding yet again. Was she getting somewhere with this…?

"And this guy is the _only_ one who can make you feel those strange sensations in your chest?"

"I'm not going to nod again." Gracia sighed slightly, "It's starting to give me a headache."

"Oh, Gracia!" Lorelei squealed, pulling her sister to her feet and spinning her around before hugging her, "I'm so happy for you!"

Gracia groaned as the twirling upset her stomach, clinging to Lorelei and leaning against her heavily as her legs buckled.

How were she and this girl siblings again…? Even before Sleep, Gracia had never been this energetic, so why was this girl…?

…Wait, what was she happy about again…?

"Eh?" Gracia blinked, confused.

"You really are pretty dense, aren't you?" Lorelei giggled as she supported her sister, smiling down at her widely, "Come on, think about it! He stirs strong feelings of affection from you that aren't the same as the ones you feel for the other members of the Black Order that you've gotten close to, he makes your heart race, he makes you blush, you like having reasons to be around him, you like the things about him that annoy you, you'll do anything to protect him, even if it means giving up psychological crutches…"

Gracia glanced off to the side, thinking, then nodded slightly, "Yeah, that's more or less what I told you, isn't it…? …So?"

"Gracia, you idiot!" Lorelei laughed, smiling, "You're in love with him!"

…

…

…

"Eh?" Gracia quirked a brow.

"L-o-v-e." Lorelei spelled, pulling away from her sister and spinning around as she hugged herself, "And not the love of the familial variety! That special kind of love that two people who want to spend the rest of their lives together foster and grow as they get to know one another! The kind that can unite people from different cultural and social backgrounds so they can start their own family together, starting with just two people!"

In other words, a fairytale.

Gracia knew what kind of "love" Lorelei was talking about; she had read enough of books when she was younger to be able to recognize it by that flowery description.

She also knew it wasn't real.

Not, at least, for nobles…

Hell, familial love was hardly real for nobles; there was no way romantic love would be. After all, if romantic love was real, she would have been given the opportunity to date and fall in love when she was younger.

Love was an option for people who didn't have bloodline obligations; it had long since been bred out of noble families.

Of course, it was obvious the younger generations still fancied the idea…

Honestly, Lorelei had listened to just ten minutes of explanation and had come to the conclusion that Gracia… _loved_ Komui?

But… she was… right… on certain parts…

Komui… _was_ the only one who made her heart race and her face flush… He made her feel things even Cross, who was supposed to be the more handsome of the two, hadn't when the redhead had kissed her.

He was the driving force behind her Judge-Sal… She knew that had spoken volumes back then, but now that she was associating it with _love_…

…No…

Lorelei… couldn't be right… could she…?

There was no way that Gracia was in… with Komui…

When Lorelei turned to face her and giggled, Gracia pressed a hand to her forehead.

Great… Her face was heating up again because of him, and Komui wasn't even around this time.


	50. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XXXIV

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Their arms linked, Lorelei and Gracia walked back into the house, Gracia immediately looking down but Lorelei keeping her chin up in defiance as she met their mother's eyes, Mathilda glaring at her daughters with pursed lips.

"Hello, Mum." Lorelei greeted with false joviality, "Sorry Sis and I are back so late; we had a _lot_ of catching up to do."

Mathilda narrowed her eyes, then glanced at Gracia sharply, "Gracia, to the dining room. You have invitations for your birthday to fill out."

"Oh, I'll help her with those." Lorelei started leading Gracia off, brushing her mother off and remarking to her sister, "I have a few people I want to invite, if that's alright."

"Sure…" Gracia nodded slightly, "Not like I'll have anyone significant to invite…"

"Lorelei, who said you would be attending the party?" Mathilda called after them.

"As if I would miss my own sister's birthday." Lorelei called back snippily, leading Gracia through the house quickly and into the dining room.

Gracia glanced at Lorelei in slight shock, amazed to watch someone disrespect Mathilda so blatantly and without batting an eye.

It sent her reeling so far back she didn't notice that she and Lorelei were sitting at the dinner table, filling out envelopes until she had already finished thirty of them. Gracia blinked. Huh… she could write in calligraphy? There was one skill she didn't remember learning…

As she continued filling out envelopes, occasionally glancing at the reference paper next to her when she had to see who to fill out the next envelope for or double-check on how to spell something, she absently listened to the sound of Lorelei's pen scratch away and wondered who she would be inviting…

* * *

Komui sighed sullenly, flipping through the new batch of mail.

Junk, junk, junk, Komlin Restraining Order #67, junk, overdue tax form, subpoena, Threatening Letter from Lvellie #83(to be lumped in with the other 'junk'), junk, Invitation to Gracia's 30th Birthday Ball, electric bi—

Komui twitched, all of the envelopes falling out of his hands as he squeaked.

Brigitte looked over from her desk and quirked a brow as Komui scrambled through the newest pile of mess on his desk, the man carelessly tossing dozens of other envelopes aside and onto the floor until he found the one he wanted.

She then watched silently as he looked the envelope over slowly, running his hands over it as if to make sure it was real before tearing it open without using a letter opening, and getting a paper cut on his thumb for it.

When Komui scrambled to adjust his glasses and read, flushing as he did, she sighed.

"It's from the Lady Gracia, isn't it?"

Komui squeaked slightly and looked up from the card-like letter, his flush darkening marginally and his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose, "I beg your pardon?"

"You haven't been that excited about something since she left." Brigitte muttered, turning back to the document in front of her and dipping her pen into the ink well before scribbling on, "And you don't blush over just anyone."

"…I am _not_ blushing." Komui groused, looking back down at the paper in his hands, "…It's an invitation to her thirtieth birthday celebration… They're having a ball to commemorate her return."

"Hmm…" Brigitte hummed, sounding less and less interested the deeper she got into her work, "I wonder how she managed to convince her mother to allow you to be invited…"

Had the woman not had a point, Komui might have glared at her a bit harder.

When he noticed she wasn't paying attention anymore, though, he read the invitation again:

_Sir Komui Lee, Chief Officer of the Black Order Organization_

_You are warmly invited to join the Family and Friends of_

_Lady Gracia Amberley Solidor_

_in celebrating her 30__th__ Birthday and return to Society_

_at a commemorative Ball starting at 6:30_

_on the Eighteenth of October, 18XX_

_at_

_Nalbina Estate_

_Please R.S.V.P. before the Twelfth of October directly with Miss Lorelei at (xxx) xxx-xxxx (Ext. 2093); This invitation will admit you and three others._

_And this is a white tie event, so dress nice, ne? ;p_

…Something about that last line struck Komui as more than slightly odd (was… was that a little face made using a semicolon and a lowercase 'P'? ooooh… it was winking and sticking its tongue out at him… clever…), but he found himself unable to think about it too much…

He was being invited to the Solidor estate!

He'd be able to see Gracia again!

It was white tie… That was as fancy as these occasions got! He'd actually have to wear a top hat and tails!

Without even realizing it, Komui found himself clutching the letter in his hand, his paper cut thumb smearing a bit of blood on it as he stood and bolted from his office.

Brigitte may or may not have shouted after him (in all honesty, he'd stopped listening to shouts that involved phrases like 'Goddamn it' and 'get back here' a long time ago), but the door muffled most of it as he slammed it behind himself, taking off down the hall.

And he had no idea where he was going… physically or mentally… He had to find a suit, he had to find people to go with him, he had to talk to Lenalee, he had to find a suit and a top hat, hey, Lenalee would look nice in an evening gown, right?, did he even own a tailed suit?, had to think of someone other than Lenalee to take with him, maybe Kanda, the kid had gotten even more pissy since Gracia had left, that left one more person, could he even get Kanda into a tailed suit and top hat, what day was it?, he had to R.S.V.P., should they go as regular guests or members of the Black Order?, how had he even gotten invited…

During his mile-a-minute mental ramblings, Komui took a corner sharply and ran into Lenalee as she was walking with Allen, Lavi and Link. He wrapped his arms around her and spun around with her, comically, a few times before he regained his balance, holding her out at arm's length and speaking to the dazed girl in rapid, exhilarated Chinese.

Even Lavi, who was no stranger to foreign languages, various dialects of Chinese included, couldn't really keep up, and when Lenalee's eyes lit up and she started responding in equally rapid Mandarin, the conversation was lost on him entirely.

Lavi and Allen quirked their brows when the two Lee siblings let out extremely similar squeals, the two boys and Link watching exasperatedly as they parted ways and took off in opposite directions.

"…Allen, Gracia has to come back soon."

"…What makes you say that?"

"Lenalee and Komui are starting to… _act_ like each other. They both need the female influence back in their lives."

"Yeah… If Lenalee starts building robots, we're all doomed."

* * *

Yet another night she found herself sleepless…

…Only this time, she was pacing her room.

Gracia walked from one side of her room to the other, her hands clasped behind her back and a deep, annoyed, tired frown on her face as she stared at the ground, watching her bare and extremely (unhealthily) pale feet slap against the cold hardwood floors, her long nightgown swishing around her ankles.

Lorelei's suggestion was finally, really starting to sink in, and even though she could probably actually sleep that night, she was… thinking instead…

She _loved_ Komui?

No… that wasn't possible…

…Well, to be fair, she'd never been in love before, so she couldn't truthfully say that she was completely sure she had no feelings of that sort for Komui, but…

But…

…Yeah, she was dense, but she would have _noticed_ something like that developing, right? Love wasn't something that was instant; it took time to build up to.

It took… It… took…

…Well… she wasn't entirely sure what all it took; after all, she'd been married to her husband for seven years and she was sure she'd never loved him.

…She certainly hadn't felt for him what she was feeling for Komui…

But… really… Komui…? He was… He was…

…What exactly was wrong with liking Komui? Sure, there were times when he annoyed her… greatly… But even his annoying qualities were… kinda… what, cute? Was that the word?

And she could talk to him. She liked to talk to him. She liked to be around him. Being apart from him now, he was one of the people she missed the most, and when she thought about missing him, there was a…

Gracia paused in her pacing, pressing a hand in her chest.

…There was a pain… in her chest… right about where that feeling that had led to her summoning Judge-Sal had swelled.

She missed him. A lot. So much it hurt.

…So much that… when she thought about how much she missed him… it was hard to remember that she missed Sleep, too…

Sleep, who had been her only companion for four years… And she suddenly… found herself thinking about it less… in favor of thinking about someone she'd known for less than a year…

Sleep, part of her rationalized, was a largely inanimate object that, like all Innocence, had a questionable level of sentience.

Komui, however, was a living, breathing person. A warm… comforting… charming… annoyingly cute… handsome person…

Sleep had been a blinder as much as it had been a crutch.

Komui was a form of support that encouraged her to look at what she feared and was still something soft she could fall back on. He had played a large role in helping her… connect with people again… In helping her understand the emotions she hadn't registered in so long.

And still, he elicited emotions from her she didn't understand… and, admittedly, would probably enjoy if she weren't so busy being annoyed with them because she didn't understand them.

In fact… brushing that annoyance aside now and thinking about Komui, letting the feelings do what they would… she found her pulse increasing, her face flushing, her palms getting a bit clammy. She was suddenly more aware of her body and how she must look… And how she must _have_ looked to him all of those times she had been wearing her ratty, dirty traveling clothes.

And so many other things… some wonderful and some worrisome…

What was this?

Could… could she actually… with Komui…

Gracia slowly stopped pacing and sat on the end of her bed, biting her thumbnail.

When had this started to happen…? Why had it snuck up on her…

…Was this supposed to be this… exciting and scary at the same time?

Gracia slowly looked out into the empty, dark expanse in front of her, pulling her thumb from her mouth and lowering her hand.

She tried to picture him there… in front of her… as he would usually be; holding a cup of coffee, wearing his coat and beret, grinning deviously about something he had just done or was planning on doing.

"…I love you…" She murmured softly, experimentally.

…And, suddenly, if only slightly, it made sense.

The white haze cleared from her mind slightly, the pain in her chest somehow worsened and lessened at the same time, her heart hammered in her throat and her head throbbed with how hot her face was, as if she'd caught a fever.

"Oh… crap…" Gracia muttered, covering her mouth with her hand again, "Oh, crap, crap, crap…"

It wasn't supposed to have happened, she knew that, and because of that it annoyed her, angered her, terrified her, made her want to hide…

And, at the same time, without her permission, it made her feel so… happy and lightheaded… Or was the latter just from how much pressure had built up in her head from blushing?

This couldn't be happening…

…And yet it was… _had been_ happening.

These feelings she had been brushing off for such a long time… were something as important as _that_.

And now it didn't matter.

Because she would never be able to go back to the Black Order or see Komui again… because sooner or later her mother was going to marry her off again and she would become a housewife once more.

And besides that, Komui was completely (and rightly) devoted to his sister.

Gracia… couldn't imagine breaking up the Lee siblings.

Eventually (very, very, very eventually) Komui would calm down on his own, let his sister talk to boys, let her consider liking them (as if she wasn't already behind his back), and then, when she was eighteen and could threaten to… change her name (or something else she would never do) to keep him from killing the unlucky, nervous guy she would inevitably start dating, then be forced to break up with when Komui's psychological attacks drove him insane…

And then Lenalee would try again, and about four or five ruined guys later… Yeah, _then_ a worn down Komui would be more receptive to female attention.

And by that time, Komui would be… what… fifty?

She… definitely… would be married by then…

And he… he wouldn't remember her.

And beside all of that…

…Komui wouldn't feel the same way she did.

Gracia sighed softly as her excitement died, the white haze returning to her mind and dulling her thoughts, her senses.

Thaaat's right… Those kinds of emotions needed to be reciprocated for them to mean anything. And Komui didn't… like her like that…

…While there were those who would point out his odd, seemingly 'affectionate' behavior, to Gracia… Komui was just weird. Who knew why he did the strange things he did?

Well… that one… kiss to the forehead was something that still sent her reeling when she thought about it.

Gracia blushed, pressing her fingers to her forehead where she could hazily imagine feeling Komui's lips…

…No, she was not starting on this again. She had just calmed down and was starting to feel tired (and tired enough to sleep for the first time in two weeks); she wasn't about to get herself riled up again by getting her hopes up thinking about Komui…

Gracia sighed softly, then stood and walked over to her bedside, pulling the blankets up and slipping in one leg at a time before curling up and tucking down so the sheets nearly swallowed her.

Again, none of it really mattered, anyway… She'd given up her right to be in the Black Order and around Komui when she'd made the decision to come home and keep his position secure.

She'd willingly given herself back to her mother.

And Gracia wasn't about to taint the memory (however long it lasted) of what she'd done for Komui by regretting doing it in the first place over something as stupid as… unrequited… 'like' or whatever…

Gracia sighed again and closed her eyes, pressing a hand to her forehead as she fell into a light, uncomfortable sleep.

Still, light and uncomfortable as it was, it was still sleep, and… briefly… very… very briefly as she dozed off… she could have sworn the empty space around her right middle finger… heated…


	51. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XXXV

XD I had a few people congratulate me last update on reaching fifty chapters… I hadn't realized it until they'd pointed it out, but damn, this has been going on for a while, hasn't it? And I'm still not even caught up with the most recent chapters…

Getting close, though. Getting scarily close. And Hoshino didn't update this month… ^ . ^' I'm getting worried, to tell you the truth. But don't worry; I'm quite a few chapters ahead of what I'm posting, and I haven't even started working on the Timothy arc yet. You all can sit pretty and not have to worry about missing your regular updates just yet…

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Kanda… was going to _kill_ Komui.

Brutally.

The young adult glared at himself in the mirror harshly, scowling and picking at the white dress shirt with the frilled cuffs and collar and the tight black dress pants…

Yeah, Kanda was going to _kill_ that bastard Komui for making him wear this.

He was dressed as fruity as _Cross_ used to dress.

And like hell he was wearing his hair down.

…You know what? Screw it.

Kanda grabbed the length of cloth cord he used to tie his hair back and quickly pulled his hair up into its usual ponytail, storming out of his bathroom and snatching the jacket from his uniform off of his bed, jerking it on as he stormed out his bedroom door.

If he wasn't going to be allowed to wear the rest of his uniform _or_ carry Mugen, he was wearing his damned jacket. If Komui was going to take it from it, it would be from his cold, dead fingers, and even then the Chinese man would find himself eating Innocence-laced steel.

Kanda had only agreed to go to this damned party because it provided the perfect opportunity to make his team's support unit come back and get Tiedoll away from him; the old man had spent two days after Gracia had left glued to Kanda's side, hugging him and sobbing over the loss of one of his 'children.' No way in hell was Kanda going to go through that again when the General got back from his mission; Kanda would drag Gracia back bodily if he had to.

As he struggled to stuff the frills of his cuffs and collar into his Exorcist jacket, Kanda made his stormy, sullen way through the halls and to the foyer.

Once he made it to the foyer and got a look at Komui, his anger abated (only slightly) as he saw that the Supervisor could have made him do _much_ worse than wear a frilly shirt and some tight pants.

If Komui didn't look so nervous and awkward in his own skin, the tailcoat and top hat might have suited him.

Of course, Kanda wasn't focused on this; he was thinking about how thoroughly he would have skinned Komui if the bastard had tried to put a top hat on him.

Komui looked over when he saw Kanda, blinking, then whined, "Yuuu! I told you not to wear your uniform! I have an evening jack—"

"Shut," Kanda started to growl dangerously, flashing over to Komui and glaring up at him while one hand subconsciously twitched to draw Mugen (who wasn't there), "Up. I'm not wearing a damned tailed jacket and _don't call me Yu_."

Komui sighed and lifted his hands in surrender, glancing off to the side with an indifferent look on his face, "Fine, fine. But you look ridiculous."

Kanda grunted and took a large step away from him, going back to fiddling with his jacket and trying to make it so the frills of the damned dress shirt weren't so damned uncomfortable under the damned tightness of said damned jacket.

Beside Kanda, Komui sighed, the boy's fussing and fidgeting making him uncomfortable, as well. Komui fiddled with his gloves, adjusted his glasses, took off his hat and quickly resisted the urge to ruffle his hair before he put the top hat back on.

He wasn't unfamiliar with formal occasions, though he had, admittedly, been to more black tie parties than he had white tie, but social etiquette was social etiquette. The only real difference was the class of the guests and the clothes one was expected to wear. And, being the Chief Officer of the Vatican's prized Black Order, he could pull it all of well within the margin of acceptability for one of his class.

So, because of his experience, it was obvious he wasn't nervous about going to a social event…

No… Though he didn't want to admit it… Komui knew he was nervous about seeing Gracia again.

Because, as he had come to realize, he missed her. Desperately.

And it wasn't the wail-y, pathetic, overly dramatic sobbing, people-throwing-him-exasperated-looks 'missing' that he displayed when Lenalee had to go away for whatever reason. It was just as personal, but it touched him on an emotional level that was completely different (and he had a feeling that if he ever missed Lenalee in this way, it would be completely inappropriate).

And Komui was more than just slightly sure that the "missing" was related to 'it'.

And 'it'… was something Komui was gradually getting closer and closer to accepting.

And, because of that, Komui was worried that… when he finally saw Gracia again… 'it' and "missing" her would lead to him doing something that would get him in trouble, but he most certainly would not regret.

And that made him blush and feel nervous.

But an excited nervous; he was looking forward to it.

No amount of nerves, though, could keep Komui from squealing and fawning over his sister when Lenalee walked into the foyer in her gorgeous black and green ball gown.

And it only took the smallest amount of fawning for Kanda to smack Komui over the back of the head and storm out of the building.

All of the mush was starting to get to him…

Shit, how long was the ride there?

Kanda already missed Mugen.

…The woman had so better be worth this.

* * *

Gracia sat at her window seat, leaning back against the wall behind her and staring at the glass panes. The yard outside was lit up with lights, women in colorful dresses accompanied by the vague, black forms of men in full white tie evening dress moved along the paths and across the grass, the sound of the music ensemble was light from having to travel through all of the floors and walls to get to her…

Gracia remembered these.

She'd never really liked them, but she remembered them…

Unlike those parties, though, this one was in her honor; she couldn't avoid it, and as soon as all of the guests arrived they would all be gathered in the ballroom, where she would walk down the staircase, meet her mother partway down and be presented by her mother to the occupants of the room. Then she'd be insincerely welcomed back to society by so many people who only knew her name and status…

She sighed softly and glanced at the clock. Renault would come soon to escort her to the top of the grand staircase…

She should probably get to work on standing.

Pressing a hand to her tightly corseted waist, Gracia turned and set her feet on the ground, panting softly as she slowly started to try to stand upright.

It had been so many years since the last time she had worn a corset, and she'd lost quite a bit of weight since then… The maids had had to work hard to give her a figure, and her older body wasn't appreciating that her waist was now three inches smaller than it should be naturally.

Her spine and diaphragm hurt, her organs were riding up on her lungs, and there was absolutely no way she was going to be able to eat… She'd be lucky if she could drink.

Once she was upright, Gracia pressed a hand flat against her stomach, the other going to rest on her lower back, and panted shallowly, the back of her neck suddenly feeling a bit cold and sweaty and her head swimming a bit.

She knew she'd get used to it in a few minutes, though; as if a mere four years of lapse could undo Mathilda's rigorous corset conditioning exercises.

Gracia was just getting to the point where she could breathe a bit deeper without feeling like she was drowning when someone knocked on her door once before entering, Renault looking regal in his white tie evening suit.

"Mistress…" He bowed to her slightly, "Before I escort you to the grand ballroom, may I inspect the tightness of your corset? Lady Mathilda would not allow me to speak to the maids before they helped you into your clothes. She said I… intimidate them."

"…I wonder why…?" Gracia asked in a mildly sardonic, soft voice, unable to raise her voice above a stage whisper. She did smile and nod at him, though, leaning against her bodyguard/physician as he walked over, pulled a stethoscope out of one of his inner pockets and let her lean against his chest.

Renault pressed the chestpiece to her back and listened.

"…You will have to sit frequently." He reported somberly after a moment, pulling back and putting the stethoscope away, "Do not let men talk you into back to back dancing; one partner per song, rest every other song. If you are just standing and talking, no more than fifteen minutes at a time… And do not let yourself be guided outside and too far from the house. I will be watching you from the side; if, at any time, you feel you are about to pass out, look for me and I will make Lady Mathilda excuse you for the rest of the evening."

Gracia sighed softly and smiled, "Alright, Renault. I will…"

He nodded, then offered his arm, "Shall we, then?"

Once they were outside of her room, the sound of music and the buzz of conversation got louder… Gracia leaned against Renault slightly with her arm linked through his, her free hand hanging by her side and her gloved fingers brushing against the slightly full skirt of her dress.

It made her shudder slightly; without Sleep to dull her senses, she'd become so much more… aware… It was more than slightly disconcerting.

And there was so much around her to take in… so she tried to keep her focus, if only for the moment, on the feel of her dress. It hadn't been an issue before because of how empty and stark the house was, but now that the halls were alive with people, music, smells and sounds…

Gracia shuddered and closed her eyes, trusting Renault to guide her as she tried to focus on how numb she remembered Sleep making her.

She actually found herself hoping her mother would stay by her side for most of the evening; Mathilda always took over talking for Gracia, anyway, so maybe not having to think about conversation would make things a bit easier for her.

As they approached the final turn, the edge of the staircase that led straight down into the ballroom just ahead, Renault stopped and pulled his arm from hers.

"I will be down shortly, Mistress… Do not worry about descending too quickly; mind your breathing and keep your focus on staying well rather than impressing anyone."

"As if I've ever worried about impressing anyone…" Gracia mumbled softly before she started walking, absently noting as, ahead of her, one of the servants looked down into the room and made some sort of hand signal.

The music that was playing tastefully tapered off as she turned and started to walk down the wide, swooping grand staircase, one hand lightly trailing along the banister and the other holding at her dress to keep the hem up so she didn't trip.

The great room before her, bathed in a warm, soothing golden glow, was a splash of color due to all of the women in beautifully but tastefully colored gowns, dotted with the black, tailed suits of the men.

Staying focused on them, though… made familiar feelings of anxiety ride up in her chest, and again she felt the back of her neck getting cold and clammy. So, Gracia dragged her slow gaze to focus on something else… like her mother, who was waiting for her three quarters of the way down the staircase.

Mathilda seemed to hold her head up a bit higher (if it were possible) when she saw her daughter looking at her. The elder Solidor woman held out her arm when Gracia was just a few steps away, and Gracia numbly let go of her dress and raised her own arm, laying it on top of her mother's and walking down with her.

The formal show of the two Solidor women, the current matriarch and her 'successor,' descending together and stepping out onto the floor, towards the edge of the crowd, summoned a round of applause from all who knew what the action meant; the long lost Solidor girl was home once again, back where she belonged…

Even as she and her mother were approached by the first of what Gracia knew would be an endless barrage of small groups who would insist on idle chatter, she fell back in step behind her mother slightly, where she always had been before. Where her conditioned mind told her she belonged.

"Gracia, darling," An older woman in a burgundy dress stepped forward and took her hands, pulling subtly and making Gracia automatically lean in and turn her head from side to side to accept one kiss per cheek, "It has been far too long, my dear. Where have you been hiding?"

Mathilda immediately started speaking for her, and Gracia lowered her eyes slightly and stopped listening, stepping back as her hands were released without a second thought.

These people who all knew her by name… be they immediate relatives, distant relatives or 'family friends'… She knew none of them. She wouldn't pretend to know them… That was her mother's job. Tonight… Gracia's job was simply to show that the errant Solidor daughter hadn't forgotten her place or done anything that would sully her family name.

Rumors would be abound, but if she acted like nothing was wrong and fell back into the role as if she'd never gone missing, then talk would die down…

That was all she needed to do… Keep her mouth shut, her eyes low, smile and nod and dance with whoever her mother told her to…

And, once it all was over, she could go back to pretending she was asleep… Pretending that she was somewhere else…

* * *

Komui stared at Gracia in shock. Even after she and Mathilda had stepped down from the staircase and into the crowd, he found himself easily following her movements, his eyes easily able to pick out the exact hue of blue she was wearing that made her hair seem even redder, able to pick out her finely painted face, her up-done hair, her downcast eyes… And her distinct, slight slouch that no amount of silk, makeup or forced posture could hide.

But… even though he knew, without a doubt, that it was her… it was hard to see the person she had been in the Black Order underneath all of the 'noblewoman' facade, and that made him feel a stab of pain in his chest.

"…They broke her…" Lenalee murmured tearfully from his side, having noticed what he had.

"Che." Kanda snorted from his chair, fiddling with a silver butter knife he'd managed to snatch from a table (likely some passive, childish attempt to replace Mugen), "If she grew up in this, they broke her a long time ago. Now they're just reminding her of her place."

The Lee siblings flinched. All too true…

"Oh my gosh, you actually came!"

Komui turned just in time to yelp and stiffen when a blonde girl, not much taller than Lenalee, in a gold dress threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around Komui in a tight hug.

"Yee, I knew it, I knew it!" She pulled back and grinned up at him widely, starting to babble, "I mean, Gracia is absolutely _terrible_ at explaining things, not to mention her severely lacking grasp of emotions made what she was trying to describe even harder to discern, but even _with_ her skills as terrible as they are I could _still_ tell that you would care enough to come! You can't even _begin_ to imagine how happy she'll be to see you! Yeah, it'll be really, _really_ hard to tell because she's so emotionally stunted, bu—"

"Woman!" Kanda snapped, making several women nearby squeak and shy away from him, "Who the hell are you? !"

The blonde stopped and blinked at the three, smiling widely when she saw the looks she was getting from them.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry… She's just told me so much about the three of you that introductions slipped my mind." She giggled, then stepped back and grabbed her dress, curtsying slightly, "It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Lorelei Lynn Solidor, Gracia's younger sister."

Komui twitched and gapped down at the girl as she stood straight, grinning and brushing some hair out of her face when she saw the look on his.

"And you… Well, of _course_ you're Komui." Lorelei giggled and clapped her hands, squealing slightly, "My god, you're so cute!"

Komui blinked slowly and stared down at her, opening and closing his mouth a bit before starting slowly, "Wait… Lorelei…? You're the one… on the invitation… You're the reason I got invited here?"

"Of course, _genius_." Lorelei rolled her eyes, taking Komui's hand and starting to pull, "My sister has been absolutely _miserable_ since Mother brought her here; as if I would pass up the chance to make her feel better. Now, let's go! If Aunt Irma gets to her before we do, there will be absolutely no way in hell we'll be able to pull her aside so you can catch up before the clock strikes midnight."

Komui stuttered slightly, but was helpless as the small blonde forcefully pulled him into the crowd.

Even before they got halfway, though, the music started up again and people began to filter towards the edges of the room, those who remained in the middle partnering up and starting to dance.

"Damn it." Lorelei grumbled, pulling Komui off to the side and sulking, "She's out on the floor with that Hulbert kid…"

"Well…" Komui started, looking out amongst the dancers and finding Gracia, "I could go cut in…" Even though he was still a bit stunned by Lorelei's sudden appearance and everything that came with absorbing that information, the opportunity to see Gracia that she was presenting took precedence at the moment.

"This is white tie, Komui, not black." Lorelei sighed, "You don't just walk across the floor and cut in… Here, we'll do it this way—"

Komui yelped when he found himself swung out onto the dance floor, Lorelei quickly positioning his hands before positioning her own and nodding to him when a new beat started in the music, quickly stepping back. His frazzled mind still managed to pick up the beat, though, and he quickly took the lead from Lorelei, guiding her in time with the other partners on the floor.

Even though Komui was no stranger to these types of social occasions (and was certainly no stranger to ballroom dancing), he had to admire his young partner; she managed to keep time, dodge his feet when he slipped up and nearly stepped on her, hum, correct his stepping when he came close to going in the wrong direction _and_ keep her eyes locked on her sister.

Frankly, Komui had troubles believing that they were related.

"Wh-Why did you go out of your way to invite me?" He asked, flinching slightly when she tightened her grip on his shoulder and took the lead for a moment, guiding him through a quick circle and avoiding bumping into another pair.

"If you can't talk and dance at the same time, don't try." Lorelei quickly muttered, as if it had been ingrained in her (which it likely had). She then looked up at Komui and smiled sadly, "And you're the one Sister missed the most."

Komui felt his face heat up, "I-I beg your pardon?"

"She missed you, dummy." Lorelei grinned, rolling her eyes. She then sobered and looked back over at Gracia, a sad look crossing her face, "She's been having _such_ problems sleeping lately… And I think that, literally, for the first several days she was here, all she did was cry… I could hear her from my room late at night; she lost her voice several times."

Komui swallowed a bit as his throat tightened slightly. He would have glanced over at Gracia, himself, if he wasn't so sure he'd trip…

"I'd like to be able to comfort her, myself…" Lorelei sighed softly, "But even though we're sisters, she hardly knows me, and I have an unfair advantage… I found out about her and have been looking forward to meeting her for years. By the time she found out about me, her heart had already been set on returning to you…" The girl snorted and laughed bitterly, "Well, that's not really an advantage, is it? More like a handicap…"

Komui suddenly found himself possessed by such a strong urge to hug the girl before him that it took every fiber of his self-control not to. He couldn't even begin to _imagine_ what it would be like if he had to live having known about but never meeting Lenalee, and thinking about knowing of her when she was completely oblivious to his existence?

That thought, alone, was pure torture, and it almost had him crying.

And now thoughts of taking Gracia back to the Black Order also had him feeling pangs of guilt… What right did he have to separate the siblings for his own selfish reasons when the girl in front of him had been waiting so long to meet her older sister…?

"Hey, you ready?" Lorelei asked, suddenly sounding excited and playful, "Here comes the fun part!"

…Lorelei's transition between Komui and Gracia's partner was executed expertly and smoothly.

When Komui transitioned from Lorelei to Gracia, though, he let out an undignified squawk, not having been given enough warning for the sudden partner change, and he crashed into her.

_Gracia_ actually had to keep them from falling and stumbling back into any other partners.

As they stopped dancing, the others on the dance floor having to skillfully twirl around them to avoid tripping, Gracia groaned softly at the pain in her abdomen from the sudden contact, and Komui groaned as he stood straight and adjusted his glasses, his stomach churning from the nervousness and that quick tailspin Lorelei had sent him on.

Once they'd recovered, they both looked at their new partners, Komui's mouth going dry when Gracia's eyes widened as she registered who he was.

"…Hi?" Komui squeaked.


	52. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XXXVI

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia was in such a state of shock that when a new song started up, all she could do was take Komui's left hand with her right, set his right hand on her waist and then rest her left arm and hand on his right. She then started moving her feet in time with the steps.

When Komui stumbled and botched the first few steps, she numbly muttered, "If you're not going to do it right, assume the following position and I'll lead…"

Komui's grip on her weakened meekly, and Gracia found herself guiding him through the steps.

Absently, she noticed that Komui was so much easier to dance with than her previous partner, who had known the steps so well…

"…Aren't you going to say anything…?" Komui asked in a low voice.

"Hnn…?" Gracia blinked up at him slowly, having forgotten she was looking directly into his eyes. She then tightened her grip on his hand slightly, muttering, "I would… but I don't seem to have a coherent train of thought at the moment…" She paused, then asked in a weak voice, "Are you… actually here this time? Or is this… is this another dream… or hallucination… or whatever…"

Komui blinked, then smiled down at her slightly, "No, Gracia… this isn't any form of your mind playing tricks on you. I'm really here…"

Gracia stared up at Komui silently, then took his hand once the song was over and quickly ducked into the crowd with him as the dancers stopped to applaud the musicians. How little she was actually known as an individual became slowly obvious to her as she managed to pull Komui off of the floor without anyone sparing them a second glance.

"G-Gracia?" Komui spoke up as she pulled him through the left side of the long, low arch and stretched out along the wall on either side of the grand staircase, "Where are we going?"

She ignored him and continued pulling him one hall over, up another, smaller staircase that connected to the hall above that lead to the grand staircase and down a dimly lit corridor lined on the left side with wide, sweeping arches that overlooked the ballroom below.

Gracia pressed herself close to a pillar and looked down into the ballroom, her eyes sweeping the floor slowly until she found her mother. She then sighed. Good… Mathilda hadn't noticed that she was gone yet…

"…Gracia…?"

A pause, then she blinked slowly and turned to face Komui, staring at him silently.

After they stood in silence for several moments, Komui started to flush and adjust his glasses. He was just opening his mouth to say something when she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him.

Gracia absently felt Komui tense against her, but she didn't let go, her temperature spiking rapidly and the back of her neck on fire as she rested her forehead on his shoulder.

"…How did you get here…?" She asked weakly after a moment.

"…L-Lorelei sent me an invitation…" She heard Komui mumble quietly, shuddering slightly when he slowly moved his arms to wrap them around her waist, "After that I… I couldn't stay away…" He paused, then stuttered, "Y-You know, because Lenalee and the other kids were so miser—"

"I missed you so much."

Again, she felt Komui tense in her arms, his hands twitching against her corset-thinned waist.

Gracia heaved a shuddering sigh and closed her eyes, thinking slowly and carefully about what she wanted to say. It had taken her this long to figure out what she was feeling, and it all had culminated so quickly when she had bumped into Komui on the ballroom floor… Her heart was pounding in her throat, breathing was slowly getting harder and harder to do, and that feeling in her chest… the one that had let her summon Judge-Sal… it was slowly starting to swell again.

She had never… wanted to be more careful about how she approached something… And she didn't even know what she was trying to tell him.

"It took me… a week to figure out… that the reason I couldn't stop crying when I came here… was because I missed you as much as I did…" She pulled back slightly and looked at him, putting on a slow, slightly distant smile, "You definitely… gave me your weird… like some kind of contagious disease…"

Komui, his face flushed, blinking quickly, looking caught off guard, then snorted and chuckled, "Oh, we're back to that, then…"

"Yeah… We are…" Gracia reached up on impulse and cupped his jaw, "But I don't think your weird is the only thing you infected me with…" Whatever it was… if it really was _that_… it was much more pleasant than the weird…

Komui stared down at her, the grin on his face from chuckling fading slightly. "I… uh…" He shuddered slightly, squirming, "I… missed you, too…"

Gracia's hands twitched slightly, the feeling of her pulse in her throat increasing, "R…Really…?"

"…Yeah…" Komui paused, then asked as his voice rose in pitch a bit, "Hey… could you… um… close your eyes for a minute?"

Gracia blinked up at him, the happy, swirly sensations in her stomach abating a bit as she felt confusion. Still, she nodded slightly and complied, sighing in relief as she did. The bright lights pouring up from the ballroom lit up the corridor they were in oddly, and it burned her—

Something soft and warm pressed against her mouth, and it took her a few moments to realize what was happening.

After all, when Cross had done it to her, her eyes had been opened and she hadn't been able to focus solely on the sensation…

Now, though, she could… And the feeling of Komui's lips against hers had that warm, warm, slowly turning hot swell of emotions in her chest cresting even higher.

As he moved his mouth, she twitched and slowly raised her hands, opening and closing them awkwardly. She didn't know what to do with herself. Then, his lips parted only to close around her lower one, pulling slightly and making her arch and gasp.

She then grabbed his face with both hands and stood back down on her heels, pulling him down slightly and pressing her mouth more harshly against his, finally managing to haltingly, awkwardly kiss back.

Gasping again when Komui pulled her tightly against him, Gracia shuddered and slowly went limp in his arms, feeling like she was floating…

…No… wait… that was her about to pass out from oxygen deprivation…

Stupid corset…

Gracia pulled away from Komui weakly and stayed leaning against him as static rang in her ears and her vision started to gray a little, staring up at him blearily and panting. She barely managed to keep from hyperventilating, knowing she would pass out if she did but not completely able to focus on it at the moment…

Komui stared back down at her, his face crimson and his glasses sitting on the tip of his nose, close to falling off. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, and Gracia blinked and stared up at him silently, her mind still hazy, but pleasantly so.

"…I don't want you to come back."

"…Eh?" Gracia quirked a brow at him. Aaaand there went the pleasant…

Komui stuttered a bit, looking away before managing to go on, "I-If you come back, I'll have to treat you like an Exorcist and send you out on missions… Missions you might not come back from. Call it selfish, but I'd do the same thing if Lenalee had an out like you do. She doesn't, though, so I have to stay… But you, at least, I can keep safe."

"…Komui, I'm coming back." When he looked back at her, his eyes widening slightly as he choked on protests, she glared at him, starting to get annoyed, "You're the one who told me to prioritize, weren't you? Well I did. I've been on the outside, I've been in the Order and I've been on the outside again." When he tried to look away, she made him look back at her, his face still in her hands, "And my life isn't worth living unless I can protect and be with you. I've…" She paused and shuddered, her head spinning a bit, then opened her eyes and looked back up at him, "Up until four years ago… I had spent… my entire life living how I had been told to… and feeling nothing for it. But with you…" Her hands trembled slightly as she splayed her fingers out against his cheeks and jaw, "And the others back in the Order… I've felt enough to make up for the lifetime I spent being numb. Not even my father… made me feel as warm as you do, Komui… And my father was the only one in my family at the time who truly cared about me."

Komui stared down at her, biting his lip. Something about the look on his face made her feel happy and annoyed at the same time…

"If you think I'm going to give that up… just because you want to hoard me and keep me safe like you do Lenalee…" Gracia glared at him, "You've got more issues than I thought you did."

When Komui kissed her again, Gracia found it easier to respond; she shuddered and closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around his neck.

She stumbled slightly when Komui slowly turned her, relaxing and leaning back as he pressed her up against the pillar they were hiding behind so the occupants of the ballroom below wouldn't see them through the two wide arches on either side of the pillar.

Komui's hands settled on her waist, next, though, and applied too much pressure as he squeezed.

Gracia arched and pulled her mouth from his, cringing and crying out softly next to his ear. She then relaxed with a pained flinch as he quickly let her go but didn't step away.

"…You shouldn't be wearing a corset…" Komui observed in a low murmur, one hand slowly, nervously stroking her side, "Not with your condition…"

"And yet I am…" Gracia mumbled back, her face warm with a blush as she pressed her hand against his.

"Mistress."

Komui's eyes widened and his head snapped over, Gracia's following at a much slower rate. She blinked at Renault slowly.

Renault stared at her evenly, not even bothering to acknowledge Komui, "Lady Mathilda is looking for you. Shall I tell her you've retired to your room for medical reasons?"

Gracia thought about it slowly, then sighed, "No… I need to go back down, anyway… and hit Lorelei…" Little brat… inviting Komui without warning her.

"…And I left Lenalee and Kanda alone!" Komui squeaked, "Kanda might have stabbed a too-friendly female with that butter knife! Or," He gasped dramatically, "Lenalee might have been accosted by a debonair male and could be dancing with him right now, getting her poor, innocent body felt up!"

Again, the twinge of annoyance returned. Gracia sighed, mumbling, "I somehow dou—" Before she could finish, Komui was gone in a flash.

But not before he kissed her forehead.

Gracia blinked at the now empty space in front of her, slowly lifting her hand to press it to her forehead. Once again, she felt herself starting to blush…

"…I will have you know that I do not approve of him."

Gracia smiled slightly, "You wouldn't approve of anyone, would you…?"

"…" Renault sighed, then held out his arm for her silently.

Gracia walked over to him slowly, slipping her arm through his and letting him guide her back towards the ballroom.

As they walked in silence, it slowly dawned on Gracia… that Komui… had kissed her…

…And that she… had kissed back…

Wait… _Komui_ had been the one… to initiate the kiss…?

But… that meant that he…

"…Renault…?" Gracia squeaked after a moment.

"Yes, Mistress?"

"…Komui kissed me."

"…" Renault sighed slightly, "Yes, Mistress, he did."

"…Why would he do that?" Gracia looked up at him slowly, blinking when she saw the slightly stunned look her physician/bodyguard was giving her.

Then, the stunned look abated and Renault sighed again, looking ahead as he continued to lead her, "I suspect the Supervisor is very, very fond of you, Mistress. Much like you are of him."

Gracia blinked up at Renault slowly, "You can… tell…?"

"I can tell that you care for him much more than you did your late husband." Renault answered simply, "And you care for him in a way that, had you been allowed to marry whoever you wanted, you would have cared for whatever husband you had chosen for yourself."

"…" Gracia slowly looked ahead again as Renault lead her back into the ballroom.

Maybe… Lorelei had been right about how Gracia felt about Komui…

…And maybe… it wasn't as unrequited as Gracia had thought it was…

* * *

"Gracia, the man you're about to talk to is a distant cousin of yours, Walter. His wife passed away two years ago, leaving him the only parent of two children—"

Gracia didn't really listen as her mother introduced her to every single father (most of whom were related to her, but distantly enough that no one would think twice about it) in the room. Even if it had meant something (which, considering Lorelei's existence and willingness to inherit the Solidor 'throne,' it didn't), meeting all of the men was more for Mathilda's benefit than it was Gracia's.

The Solidor matriarch would have the final say in who Gracia married…

…Or so the woman thought, at least.

Now that she… had a better idea of how she and Komui felt, Gracia had absolutely no intention of remarrying, especially not for the sake of staying within the Solidor family.

She wanted to go back to the Black Order.

Of course, telling her mother then and there was a terrible idea… Yes, there was a certain level of safety in making her angry around so many people; she wouldn't be able to strangle Gracia then and there. But at least if Gracia waited, she would actually be able to explain her reasoning, rather than having her mother block her out for the rest of the evening only to backhand her when they were alone.

Sometimes, Gracia wished Mathilda wasn't one of the only people she had little difficulty reading…

Still not really listening as her mother talked to 'Walter,' Gracia glanced around, perking and smiling slightly, tiredly when she saw Komui, Kanda and Lenalee sitting off to the side.

Lenalee perked and smiled back, waving happily, while Komui blushed darkly and looked away. Kanda never looked up from the butter knife he was fiddling with and muttering over.

Gracia continued smiling at them. She'd have to remember to have rooms set up for them so they could stay the night…

"Pardon me, but may I borrow the leading lady of the evening?"

Gracia jerked and stumbled slightly when someone took her hand and, without waiting for an answer, swept her out onto the dance floor as a waltz started.

Her face was pressed against a lean, well-muscled chest as her partner pulled her close, setting his hand on her lower back gently and lacing their fingers as he raised the hand he was holding onto the air.

When he made the first step, Gracia immediately followed without needing to think about it, removing her face from her partner's chest with a soft sigh and letting him elegantly lead her across the floor.

Well… while he might have been a better dancer than all the others… he was still just another man reaching for her hand and the title it held. She didn't even bother looking up into his face, simply staring at his shoulder…

"It's been a while since we danced together, hasn't it, darling?"

Gracia stiffened, her eyes widening. She knew that voice…

"…Vincent…?" She croaked, looking up at him slowly. Her eyes widened even more…

Her late husband smiled down at her, raising his hand from her waist to cup her jaw as they stopped dancing, "Gracia…"


	53. HPPD Flashback: Record Overload

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Komui pouted slightly as Gracia was led out onto the ballroom floor by a rather debonair-looking man with dark hair and a slender, handsome waist.

Lenalee noticed the look on her brother's face and giggled, "Why don't you go cut in again?"

"Can't…" Komui sighed, "Her mother is watching her like a hawk now… I don't think Mathilda would like it if she found out we wer—"

"Chief Officer Komui Lee!"

Komui cringed. Speak of the devil…

Mathilda Solidor stormed over to the supervisor and the two Exorcists with an absolutely infuriated look on her face, her lips pressed into a thin line and her hands clenched tightly at her sides.

"What are you doing here?" Mathilda seethed, coming to a stop as Komui stood and turned to face her.

Komui sighed, "Well—"

"I invited them."

Both adults turned to the source of the proud, feminine voice, Mathilda narrowing her eyes when she saw Lorelei grinning smugly at her, the girl's arms crossed and her weight shifted to one hip in a very unladylike way.

"Lorelei…" Mathilda started, only to have their conversation interrupted once more.

"Lady Mathilda!"

Komui looked over with wide eyes as Renault ran up. The man had never raised his voice before, never mind shown any emotion… Now he was shouting and panicked.

Mathilda noticed, as well, glancing over at the physician when widened eyes, ignoring the attention they were attracting, "Renault…?"

"The Mistress!" Renault pointed out towards where Gracia was dancing.

Komui looked out, as well, scowling when he saw the debonair man holding Gracia close, cupping the side of her face, but otherwise not seeing any cause for such an emotional stir…

Mathilda, however, did.

The woman froze up, her eyes widening and all of the color draining from her face.

"Vincent…? !"

Lorelei turned to her mother, frowning, "Mother…? Gracia's husband…? But I thought he was—"

"Oh, don't worry. He _is_ dead."

Kanda and Lenalee leapt into action as soon as they saw Lulu Bell standing directly behind Komui, the woman seemingly having congealed out of nowhere.

The Noah, though, only smiled and closed her eyes, disappearing as quickly as she had come.

Lenalee scowled and lifted the skirts of her gown high, turning towards Gracia and activating her Dark Boots before surging forward. Before she made it halfway, though, a sudden, strong pulse of hot air burst out from around Gracia and Vincent, making the people still on the ballroom floor scream as they were tossed towards outward and slammed into walls roughly, some flying out the windows as the force of the blast shattered the glass.

Komui's eyes widened and he instinctually grabbed Lorelei, jerking her close as Kanda leapt in front of them to shield them with his body.

Renault, reacting just as quickly, wrapped his arms around Mathilda tightly and spun around, grunting as he took the brunt of the invisible, hot blow to his back. As soon as the wave had past, he let go and turned around, starting to run towards Gracia, "Mistress!"

Komui, who had lowered his head, looked up from the tight embrace he still had Lorelei in, his eyes widening when he saw Gracia and Vincent standing just where they had been left, Vincent with one hand pressed against the small of Gracia's back as the other kept her head tipped up with his thumb against her neck as he kissed her.

Gracia looked out of it, her eyes heavily lidded and glazed and her hands grabbing weakly at his upper arms.

Off to Komui's side, Lenalee, who had been knocked back by the invisible blast, jumped back up and threw herself back at the two once more, catching up with Renault quickly and about to pass him when they both seemed to… slam into an invisible, very sturdy wall.

Renault fell back and skidded back a few feet while Lenalee landed on her feet with a pained grunt, jerking her head back up to glare at Vincent.

"Gracia! Wake up! !"

* * *

She tried to pay attention to what was going on around her… She honestly did.

But it was… so hard… She just… couldn't focus…

Vincent smiled down at her gently, rubbing the side of her face with one hand, "Gracia… It's been too long."

"…I buried you…" Gracia managed to mumble after a moment, "I walked… into your office… You'd been shot in the chest… You… You were gone…" She started to tremble, "I _buried_ you…!"

"Hmm…" Vincent chuckled, "But that's not all, is it? I didn't stay buried… did I, Gracia?"

Gracia started hyperventilating as she felt it creeping up on her… from the back of her mind…

No… No, she didn't want to remember this…

No…

And yet it—

* * *

_She had gone to visit his grave again… Maybe if she cried in front of it a bit more, what he would have wanted her to do would come to her…_

_As she had walked up the path, something had caught her attention…_

_Was someone… already standing in front of the grave…?_

_Who?_

_When she had gotten closer… she saw it wasn't just one person… but two._

_And she knew one of them._

"_Rhea…?" Her best friend? The only one of her friends who had stayed friends with her after she had married?_

_And… who was that man? That large man… with the large grin…_

_Her eyes had widened when the large man had, seemingly, pulled a metal skeleton out of nowhere._

_Rhea had embraced the skeleton, sobbing, and then—_

_Her eyes had widened._

_She knew what was happening…_

_But it… it couldn't be…_

He_ only turned those who loved one another into Akuma…_

_So why was her best friend… and her husband…_

_When the creature had seemed to have noticed her, turning towards her slowly, she had only been able to think of and do the one thing her father had always told her to do if she had ever met an Akuma._

"FLEE! !"

* * *

"…I thought it was a dream…" Gracia mumbled weakly, "And when I had found Sleep not long after… I had managed to turn it into a dream… And then, it had gone away…" Her shaking worsened, "You… and Rhea… There had always been… something odd… Lulu… would always take me for walks… when… And she… had always had… such a pitying look on her face…"

"Rhea and I hadn't _always_ been." Vincent corrected gently, running a thumb across Gracia's lower lip, "It had only happened when—"

That's right… it had… only happened… after…

* * *

"_I will not allow you to continue to do this to her. If you keep making these demands of her, she will end up institutionalized."_

"_What else am I supposed to do, Renault? ! It is _imperative_ that she provides me with an heir!"_

"_And yet she clearly cannot. You will stop pressing this matter or I will have to report to the Lady Mathilda for the sake of Mistress' health."_

"…_One way or another, Renault, I will have an heir."_

_This was… the eighth time… the pregnancy hadn't taken…_

…_Honestly… she didn't care what Vincent did anymore…_

* * *

"Solidor women are only useful for their wombs." Vincent murmured gently, kissing Gracia's forehead and pressing a soft hand to her stomach, "What use could I have possibly had for you… if you were barren?"

Gracia closed her eyes, her head spinning.

Barren…

Barren…

She'd worked… so hard… to make sure that _that_ detail… most of all… was wiped completely from her mind.

And it had worked.

It had worked so well… that, after she had come to possess Sleep, it had never even crossed her mind to wonder why she hadn't had her menstrual cycle in four years.

So much… so much was now looming over her head… she wasn't aware of what was going on around her anymore… She could hardly feel Vincent's form shifting, changing in her arms…

"I'm glad that you survived for this long…" Vincent murmured, his voice the same even has his body warped, "I have been waiting so long… for Lulu Bell to give me the opportunity to finish you with my own hands."

Gracia blinked her eyes open slowly and looked up at Vincent, meeting his eyes even as his body mutated into the white, grotesque form of a Level 4, "Lulu Bell… That's right… I only met her… because if your business associates…"

Vincent smiled, "That's right… The Earl. He sent her to befriend you, distract you, while I did my job. While I wormed my way further into the Solidor family so I could break the Black Order's main source of support from the inside out… and so I provided him with what he needed and received a very, very handsome paycheck in return."

That… struck something in Gracia's mind…

Something… her mother had taught her… about the Earl…

"…You were a Broker." Gracia whispered.

Vincent's smile widened, his longish black hair and burgundy eyes morphing to be replaced with a chubby, bald white head with a halo and narrowed, glowing red eyes.

"GRACIA! !"

She almost didn't have the strength to break out of the Akuma's grasp, stumbling backwards as it let her go teasingly.

Something silver flashed out of the corner of her eye and she glanced, her eyes widening slightly when she saw Sleep careening towards her.

Behind it, Kanda was glaring at her with narrowed eyes, his hand still outstretched from throwing it at her.

The world… seeming to move slower than usual… Gracia reached out for Sleep as the Akuma slowly raised its arm and pointed its palm at her, a flickering orb of purple forming.

Gracia's hand closed around Sleep's chain as it hit her palm, and as the Level 4 fired its attack sleep washed over her mind, blacking out her vision and summoning her back to the familiar realms of Sleep-induced slumber.

When she felt Judge-Sal's ethereal presence surround her protectively, she welcomed the abyss.

* * *

With whatever protective shielding that had been surrounding the Akuma broken by the massive bulk of Judge-Sal, Lenalee threw herself forward again and hiked up her skirts, finally landing a successful blow to the side of the Level 4's head.

That matter taken care of, Komui turned his attention to more pertinent matters; the Noah that had reappeared before them and was smiling at them coldly.

"Lulu Bell…" Mathilda growled angrily.

"Lady Solidor." Lulu Bell bowed slightly, "It is an honor to be in your presence again."

"How long? !" Mathilda demanded, becoming furious, "How long have you been one of them? !"

Lulu Bell slowly raised her head, her cold smile widening slightly, "The whole time, of course… Really, marrying your daughter to a Broker? You should have done a bit more research into your son-in-law's past…"

"RRRAAAAGH! !"

Komui jumped slightly, his eyes widening in shock as Lorelei suddenly went flying past him and towards the Noah with a glaive in her hands.

Lulu Bell's eyes flashed and she dodged, her hand turning into a whip that she snapped out towards the young woman.

Lorelei skillfully dodged, intercepting the whip with the pole of her weapon and making sure it wrapped around a few times and jerking it towards her to make Lulu Bell stumble forward before thrusting the bladed end towards the Noah.

Komui was about to shout at her when Kanda ran past him, next, the Exorcist wielding a sword he definitely hadn't had a moment ago.

Where were these kids getting these weapons from? !

Komui glanced back, his brow twitching slightly when he saw a suit of armor that had previously been hidden by a curtain that was now torn aside. It hand was empty, as was the sheath at its side…

…Fine.

"Lady Solidor! Renault!" Komui called out, turning his attention back to the two, "We have to evacuate everyone!"

Renault nodded and started running towards the bloody, dazed, confused and horrified nobles.

Mathilda, however, stayed frozen in place, her eyes wide with shock as she watched the battles in front of her.

"Lady Solidor!" Komui barked, running up beside her. He paused, though, at the look on her face… and the tears gathering in her eyes.

"I… married my daughter… to a Broker…" She murmured, her voice hoarse.

Komui stared at her for a moment, then shook his head and grabbed her wrist, pulling, "You can apologize to her later! Right now we have to get you and the other nobles out!"

Mathilda's eyes widened and a decidedly ungraceful look crossed her face as Komui pulled her along, the supervisor ducking and weaving past fallen and broken furniture before turning to her and hefting her out one of the many shattered windows.

Once someone who was already on the outside grabbed the noblewoman and pulled her back to join the huddle of the other partygoers, Komui rushed to help Renault get the remaining few to safety, biting his lip when Renault turned to the massive doors that lead out to the garden and delivered a powerful kick to them. The debris that had kept them lodged shut shattered, and the hinges nearly burst as the doors swung open.

As the people began to file outside, Komui turned back to observe the fight, his eyes widening as he watched the massive Judge-Sal slide backwards on its heels as the Akuma landed a heavy blow on its chest that it followed through on dramatically.

Lenalee zipped down from whatever confrontation she had been having with the Level 4 up until that point and covered Gracia's body with her own, a bit awkwardly as the many layers of skirts on their dresses made pressing close difficult.

The younger girl was just about to pick Gracia up and take her off to the side when Gracia's body suddenly thrashed underneath her.

Komui's eyes widened and his heart dropped when the woman arched her spine sharply, her eyes opening and rolling back into her head as she let out a loud, shrieking gasp, her hands flying up to gasp at her chest.

"GRACIA!"

Komui hardly noticed the Judge-Sal's edges wavering as it threatened to break, Lenalee's shriek making him jar before running towards the two females on the floor.

He knew what was going on with her, even though he'd never seen it happen to her…

A panic attack. A panic attack only worsened by her bradycardia.

His mind already rattled, fuzzy, jarring in his shock and confusion at all of the noises and fighting around him, Komui found himself not really thinking as he dashed towards Gracia, focusing only on the fact that she needed to be calmed down. She was having a psychological-driven cardiac arrhythmia attack, and without drugs available she needed to be calmed down.

Komui fell to his knees and slid to a stop next to Gracia as he grabbed her face in his hands, murmuring to her rapidly, unintelligibly and in alternating languages as he desperately tired to get her to breathe, to stop convulsing, to open her eyes and be able to focus on him without half of her mind swimming in psychological trauma.

He was so focused, he didn't notice the Akuma shatter Judge-Sal and dive for him and Lenalee…


	54. REM Cycle: Full Record Recovery Complete

**Broker**: A person, neither Akuma nor Noah but rather regular human being, who supports the Millennium Earl and the Noah Family by providing information and human sacrifices in exchange for money. (Volume 18, Chapter 177, Page 104)

Brief summary of the past:

After the eighth failed pregnancy of his wife Gracia Amberley Carter (_nee_ Solidor), Vincent Carter resorted to having an affair with Rhea Carlyle, Gracia's best friend, in hopes of producing an heir. Lulu Bell, the Noah of Lust who had been assigned by the Earl, Vincent's master and benefactor, to befriend Gracia to keep the Solidor family unaware of the plot (though she unintentionally became closer to Gracia than was necessary), covered for the two and distracted Gracia while this extramarital affair went on.

Vincent, however, was assassinated before a child could be conceived. Though his body was discovered by Gracia and she mourned his death (though out of fear, helplessness and guilt rather than love and the sorrow of loss), it was Rhea who the Earl came to. Using Vincent's corpse as the human shell, Rhea and Vincent became an Akuma, which has been under Lulu Bell's command, and has matured over the four/five years that have passed and has been waiting for the opportunity to kill the person it feels closest to (as Akuma often do):

Gracia

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

_Pain… pain… pain… Pain! !_

_Her chest was on _fire_! !_

_Her heart was beating rapidly, slowly, then slower and even slower… Her body was relaxing… No oxygen… Hyperventilating, but it had no effect… Couldn't get enough air…_

_Shock…_

_Shock…_

…_Vincent… Broker… Akuma…_

_Lulu… Noah… Distraction…_

_Rhea… Affair… Betrayal…_

_Images… so many… locked away… coming back… flooding… like before…_

_Only now… it hurt more…_

_Because these… were memories… she absolutely… had never… ever… wanted… back…_

_But… they were…_

_Sleep… wasn't blocking… them anymore…_

_Couldn't deny… not… anymore…_

"Gracia…? Gra— … —an you hea— … Gracia…! !"

_Voice… voice…?_

_Voice… Komui…_

Her focus being directed, she managed to swim out of the spiral and look through her body's eyes and up at Komui.

He looked so desperate… and scared…

_Komui…_

_He brought… other memories… newer ones…_

_Images of his… silhouette hovering over her… flashes… of the feeling of his mouth… on hers…_

_Ah… now her heart rate was going back up… Body getting warmer again…_

_But now… behind… Komui…?_

She could vaguely see it… Even though it was so obvious, so well defined, she couldn't focus on more than one thing at a time at the moment.

When the Akuma reached for Komui, though… her range of focus widened.

And her eyes narrowed.

Gracia reached up and wrapped her arm around Komui's neck, jerking him down against her and reaching up with her right hand to grab the fist the Akuma had tried to put through the back of Komui's head.

The panic she had felt at the idea of fighting her late husband, the shock of figuring out her husband's identity, the upset that had come from learning what Lulu Bell really had been to her that had led to her cardiac attack to begin with fled immediately at the idea of the Akuma trying to hurt Komui.

The Level 4's eyes widened when Gracia grabbed its fist and stopped it in midair. It jerked slightly as Sleep flashed, its eyes rolling back into his head as a quick shudder ran up its arm from the numbness the Innocence was infecting it with, and the Akuma could barely jerk its hand out of Gracia's and stumble back as it nearly passed out.

Absently noticing the shocked look on Komui's face, Gracia pushed him aside and stood slowly, her breathing still loud, labored and painful and Sleep burning hotly around her finger and wrist.

"Judge-Sal…" Gracia seethed, glaring at the Akuma of her late husband and former best friend.

Behind her, she heard Komui and Lenalee squeak and yelp as Judge-Sal landed behind her heavily, likely just shy of landing on the Lee siblings, but the armored judge hadn't hurt them and Gracia was too focused on the Akuma, so she didn't look back.

The Level 4 stumbled around awkwardly, glaring back at Gracia while its arm hung uselessly at its side. It then started to raise its other hand, the entire limb transforming into some kind of machine gun.

Gracia, just teetering on the edge of passing out with Judge-Sal summoned, pulled herself back from the brink and finished speaking.

"Judge-Sal : Full Invocation. Libra Exchange… Ultima."

Gracia then closed her eyes and let Judge-Sal grab her and slam her back against its ethereal, armored chest.

* * *

Komui's eyes widened as Gracia's body melted back into the Judge-Sal's form, the judge's armored body quickly turning black. He cringed back when, in front of the Judge-Sal, the Level 4 started firing the gun that now made up its arm at them.

Lenalee grabbed her brother and hugged him close, but the bullets didn't make it past Judge-Sal, whose armor reflected them all. When the air started to become dense and heavy, Judge-Sal starting to radiate heat, Lenalee wrapped her arms around Komui's waist and shot backwards with him, the siblings watching with wide eyes while skidding to a stop as the Judge-Sal began to morph.

When the Akuma lunged at Gracia, screaming angrily, Lenalee let Komui go and flashed forward, flipping over the transforming Judge-Sal gracefully as the back heels of her crimson Dark Boots unfurled two, butterfly-like flaps that sped her up drastically as she flipped around again and slammed her heel down on the Akuma's head.

Lenalee continued fighting the Level 4 as the Judge-Sal continued transforming, Komui watching with wide eyes as its cape wrapped around its body and its bulk began to thin, some of its armor plating melting away…

Then, a loud noise to his left caught his attention, and he looked over to see Lorelei and Kanda still fighting Lulu Bell, the Noah unable to shapeshift with the speed of the successive attacks the two teenagers were unleashing upon her. Kanda's skill was a given, but Komui was shocked at how aggressively and artfully Lorelei used the polearm she was wielding, especially considering she was in a heavy dress…

The Noah, though, seemed distracted; she kept glancing towards the fight with the Akuma with a scowl, directing it more often than not at Judge-Sal, in particular.

Then, there was a bright flash of light and Lulu Bell's expression changed to one of fury. Almost effortlessly, she threw Kanda and Lorelei aside and lunged towards where the other battle was going on, making Komui's attention shift back quickly. His already wide eyes widened further.

Judge-Sal had been replaced by another ethereal being, this one an equally large but far more slender and somewhat shorter female made of a soft, golden light. She wore a long, pale dress with a darker gold pattern of diamond shapes down the front and around the hem, and her hair was long and pale, a fine chain circlet draped around her crown and keeping her hair out of her face.

The being (Ultima, Gracia had called her?), had her eyes closed until Lulu Bell, who had shapeshifted into a dragon, got too close, at which point her eyes snapped open and she turned.

In her dragon form, Lulu Bell screamed when Ultima reached out and grabbed her, the being's hands burning the dragon's throat and scaled, clawed arm where she grabbed them.

Ultima spun around quickly, her dress billowing out as she swung Lulu Bell around and threw her across the room, the dragon taking out an entire wall when she crashed into and through it.

Lulu Bell recovered quickly, the dragon roaring as it spread its massive wings and waved them backwards to speed up as it surged forward again.

Ultima's face remained level as she lifted her hands, several bracelets on each wrist chiming softly as she lightly pressed her wrists together and thrust out her palms, spreading her fingers.

"_Eschaton : Purifying Shot._"

A narrow beam of pale blue light formed in front of Ultima's palms first, shooting out and focusing on Lulu Bell's scaled, dragon chest, and then it quickly widened and was followed by a thicker, white beam of light that shot forward with the speed and sound of a bullet being fired.

Lulu Bell's dragon form body snapped backwards, her wings spreading with a violent, audible crack of air, the roaring scream that came from the beast as the attack landed being a mix of the same earlier bestial roar and Lulu Bell's own, human scream. She was thrown backwards through the massive hole in the wall again, and through several more if the cacophony of crashes that followed were any indication, and this time she didn't come back.

Ultima let out a long, low sigh as she lowered her arms, and she lowered her head and closed her eyes as her body flashed blindingly, Komui needing to cover his eyes.

When he looked up again, Gracia and Judge-Sal were separated again, Gracia slipping out of the armored being's chest and falling.

Komui dashed forward as she collapsed heavily on the ground and fell to his knees at her side, pulling her limp body into his arms and looking her over. His mouth dried as he took in her tattered appearance, her once fine gown reduced to shreds and her arms and hands, particularly her palms, marred with burns from the elbows down.

"KOMUI! !"

Komui's head snapped up at Lenalee's scream. His eyes widened when he saw the Akuma flying straight for him and Gracia, Lenalee right behind it but… she wouldn't be able to catch up in time.

"You care about her so much? !" The Akuma screeched, grinning as it drew its hand back, "Then you can die with he—"

There was a sound, like metal sliding against metal, and the Level 4's words were suddenly caught off as it was stopped in midair.

The Akuma's eyes slowly wandered down to the massive sword that had been rammed through its chest, following the blade up to the giant, transparent armored hand that held it and up to the Judge-Sal's face, the armored knight kneeling behind Komui and with its sword thrust forward. The Akuma then looked down at Gracia's face, a move Komui mirrored.

Gracia's eyes were opened slightly and locked on the Akuma, her face blank.

"Stay buried this time…"

Lenalee suddenly appeared behind the Akuma, her foot slamming down and cleaving the Akuma's skull in two.

The Level 4 shuddered, then slowly sank to the floor as the Judge-Sal lowered its arm and slipped the Akuma off of its blade.

Lenalee stood by tensely when the Akuma didn't break down right away, and Gracia tensed slightly when the Akuma's form began to change.

Komui… wasn't able to read Gracia's expression when the Akuma took the form of Vincent again, the injury that had been on its head moving to the curve of his neck, instead, and staining his suit with blood.

Komui could only watch… as Gracia shakily pulled away from him and sat up, her eyes locked on the hole in Vincent's chest as he slowly sank to his knees.

The hole… that had been caused by Gracia… when she had had the Judge-Sal stab him…

Hadn't Vincent… been shot in the chest…?

"G… Gra… cia…" Vincent rasped, his voice rattling and his eyes vacant, "Gra… Gr… acia…"

Komui's heart dropped as Gracia crawled over to Vincent slowly, kneeling in front of him and murmuring in an empty voice.

"Vincent…"

"…Die…" Vincent croaked, "…Gracia… die…"

Gracia's shoulders tensed slightly, then sighed and lowered her head, "Alright…"

Komui was numb as she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Vincent, setting her chin on his good shoulder.

Off to the side, Lorelei and Kanda were silent, and behind Vincent, Lenalee's eyes widened slightly when Sleep flashed around Gracia's burned wrist and finger.

"Final Rest : Quietus…"

Vincent's eyes widened and he slowly stiffened against Gracia, then just as slowly relaxed, his hands twitching at his sides and his body starting to slump backwards.

"I finally… found something good in my life…" Komui heard Gracia mumble as she fell with him, "So please… this time… stay buried…"

Vincent fell onto his back and Gracia fell on top of him, neither of them breathing.

* * *

_She couldn't believe it…_

_She didn't know what to think…_

_Her husband… and her best friend…_

_An affair…_

_And then… the Earl…_

_And now… they were… an Akuma…_

_An _Akuma_…_

_And it… had seen her…_

_She didn't… know… what to do…_

_So she did… what her father had always told her to do…_

_She ran…_

_She didn't know how long she'd been running; with the tears and the shock, the scenery had all bled together. Her heart… her heart hurt… She could feel how slow her pulse was in her throat…_

_When she finally stopped… she knew… she was going to be in a very bad way…_

_Then, she tripped and slammed into the ground heavily, gravel digging into her palms, the side of her face, she heard her dress tear…_

_Gasping desperately, her ears ringing and her vision tunneling and turning gray, she must… have passed out and woken up several times, lying there… Every time praying, begging that it wasn't real. That she would wake up… in her bed… with a husband she didn't love… but depended on… in a house she felt out of place in… but could never leave…_

_When she finally stopped passing out, it had started to rain again for the third… fourth time that day? And her legs were soaked… Had she… landed in a puddle…?_

_Her arms weak, it was all Gracia could do to push herself upright, her body in pain and her chest on fire._

_Her eyes were cold from the tears she had shed, and when she remembered she had been crying she also remembered why, and started crying once again._

_It wasn't a dream… it was real…_

_She would give anything… anything… for it all… to just be… a dream…_

"Anything?"

_She lifted her head and looked around. A voice? But… there was no one…_

"To have your life up until this point be nothing but a dream… You would give anything?"

…_She must be getting delusional…_

…_But… thinking about it… yes… There was nothing in her life… she truly treasured… so…_

"Nothing… You poor child… You have things, and will have things, that you will cherish… But until this point, you have never had a reason to think of them as things to be cherished."

…_Truly… she didn't care anymore…_

_Besides… who had the right… to say if she did… or did not have things she should cherish?_

"I do, of course. I have been watching you… for quite some time… Waiting for the opportunity to take care of you… And now, it seems, it is that time."

"…_Take care of me…?" She was… confused… and definitely delirious… "Why…?"_

"Because I love you."

_She blinked slowly. Love…? What was… Who could say that… so easily…_

"I can."

_Suddenly, something underneath one of the hands she was using to hold herself upright burned. She lifted her right hand and looked down at the puddle her palm had been in, blinking when something… glowed…_

"If you cannot stand to remember what you have lost," _She reached into the water, pulling out… a ring…?_ "Give to me your past and I will blank your slate." _The ring flashed and she dropped it, her eyes widening as something white grew up out of the ring and took a small… vaguely humanoid form… A headless human… with wings…_ "In return, I will use your body to do His work. Just don't get too attached…" _The form seemed to lean towards her slightly, and… what felt like hands cupped her face gently, invisible lips pressing against her forehead,_ "Because our relationship cannot last. And do not forget… I love you."

_She watched as the winged form faded, blinking down at the ring in the water._

…_She was delusional…_

_But… those words… made her feel…_

…

…_Gracia reached into the water and picked up the ring again, sliding it onto her finger…_

…_And passing out immediately after._

"Worry not… When the time comes, I will teach you what in your life you must cherish… I will teach you what it is to love.

"All I ask is that you serve during the most crucial time of this war.

"For now… you shall have a short break… And I shall guard you against what it is you wish not to remember. You really have earned a rest…

"And someday… when you have rested… when you have remembered… when you have learned… when you have loved… when you don't need me anymore… you and I shall part.

"Someday, you will face the most painful test of all and be forced to let me go.

"I will force you to let me go.

"Because I love you."


	55. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XXXVII

Quick Latin lesson:

Quietus: noun

1. death or something that causes death, regarded as a release from life.

2. (archaic) something that has a calming or soothing effect.

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Lenalee looked up as her brother walked out of Gracia's room, biting her lip, "How is she, brother?"

"Battered, bruised, beaten and burned…" Komui sighed, "But she's not unconscious or asleep."

Beside Lenalee, Lorelei perked, "Then Sister's awake? !"

"No…" Komui adjusted his glasses, looking reluctant, "She's in a coma."

Both girls paled.

Off to the side, Renault's lips pressed into a thin line and Mathilda tensed. Off to the other side, Kanda glanced off down the hall, the muscles in his neck straining slightly.

"Not opening her eyes to verbal or painful stimuli, not making any sounds, not having any response whatsoever when I apply what should be painful levels of stress to areas rich in nerve endings…" Komui muttered, looking down at the floor and crossing his arms over his stomach, "If she weren't experiencing an REM cycle and if Sleep weren't glowing… I would call her vegetative."

Mathilda slowly exhaled, then glared at Komui and hissed, "If it is caused by her Innocence, say so in the first place!"

Komui just sighed, then continued talking, "With the strain of forcibly releasing Sleep's synchronization rate to the highest level she could handle, using the Libra Exchange to turn Judge-Sal into Ultima, it's not entirely shocking… After all, the first time she released Judge-Sal, she also went into a coma."

Lenalee nodded, remembering that. She'd spent quite a bit of time waiting for Gracia to wake up on that occasion, after all.

"But I think it's actually the fault of the final technique she used, Quietus." Komui sighed, crossing one arm over his stomach and using his free hand to adjust his glasses as he looked at the ground, "She's never used it before, and what the name implies… The Akuma comprised of the body of Vincent Carter and Rhea Carlyle fell unconscious at the same time as her… And they broke apart some time after. Just like Gracia… it didn't respond to outside stimuli. It's like a strengthened form of one of Gracia's other abilities, the Drow Poison offshoot Sopor… Only the target doesn't wake up."

"A euthanizing technique." Lenalee muttered, "An extreme attack… Like my Falling Shackles and Kanda's life-sapping techniques, it takes a heavy physical toll on the user…"

"Exactly." Komui sighed, "And taking out a Level 4 while using the ability for the first time definitely counts as extreme. Though it's worrisome, I'd be more concerned if she weren't in a coma right now."

Lorelei frowned slightly, "So… She's in there, more or less dead, and that's normal."

"Yep." Komui actually smiled widely at her conclusion, "She'll recover in no time!" He paused, then amended, "At least, from her point of view. For us it will probably seem like a dangerously long time."

Mathilda pressed her lips into a thin, harsh line, "I want that Anti-Akuma Weapon removed from her person. Now."

Komui paused, twitching, then inhaled deeply before turning to Mathilda with a flat smile, "Actually, I think Gracia would much prefer to keep it on."

Oh, sure, he _could_ have said that it was probably much safer to leave it on her until she woke up, but wording it like that didn't seem appropriate.

Not now that Komui was intent on bringing Gracia back to the Order with them, no matter what Mathilda threatened to do to his career.

"…I beg your pardon?"

Ignoring the chilly, poisonous tone in the woman's voice, Komui pressed on, "I spoke to Gracia earlier this evening, and she made it perfectly clear to me that she wants to return to her place in the Black Order. If she's going to be coming back, then now is a good time for her to start reuniting with her Innocence."

"…Gracia will not be going back to the Order." Mathilda said evenly after a moment, her voice becoming dangerously calm, "Regardless of what her childish desires are, she has a place and duty here. If she insists on trying to run from it, I will use my full authority as the Solidor matriarch to make sure she stays." Her eyes narrowed at Komui slightly, "And I will make sure that _no one_ who wishes to oppose me remains in a position where they think they are free to do so."

The air got chilly, those bearing witness to the incident either silent out of propriety or shock.

Komui's jaw tightened slightly. Back to threatening his position in the Order…

"I have held my position in the Order for six years." He said after a moment, doing his best to remain calm, "In that time, I have been presented with plenty of opportunities to meet people like you. I don't like to play the status game, but if you're going to be like that, then I can assure you I have several friends who are just as influential as you who I am sure would be happy to back up my placement and credentials. You may be a benefactor, but I'm the one who can rewrite how things work. If you want to challenge me, be prepared to be blocked by years of red tape." He smiled slightly, "Just ask anyone. I'm _terrible_ at doing paperwork on time."

Mathilda's eyes flashed and she seemed to balk slightly, a stunned look crossing her face.

…Was it Komui's imagination, or did he just see Kanda smirk out of the corner of his eye?

"Alright, that's enough, you two." Lorelei sighed, shaking her hand and standing as she put her hands on her hips and glared at the two adults, "Honestly, when _I_ think something's childish, you know it's bad."

Mathilda threw the younger of her daughters a glare, "Lorelei—"

"No, Mom." Lorelei cut in, glaring back at her, "You want me to take over for you, right? Want me to learn how to run things? Well, there's no damned way in hell I'm backing down from this, so here I go with my first official executive decision." The young woman crossed her arms over her chest, declaring, "Sister's going back to the Black Order to be an Exorcist!"

Komui blinked and stared at her in shock, and beside her Lenalee covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes widening slightly.

"…" Mathilda's glare flattened, "Dear, while your input is valued, I'm afraid you don't really have the authori—"

"Oh, but I do." Lorelei grinned, "As much authority as money can buy me at least."

"…What?" Her mother's voice flattened dangerously, making the air seem absolutely frigid.

Lorelei, though, continued grinning, undaunted, "You know, you've taught me a lot of things, Ma. Especially things like… how important documents, wills, in particular, can be. And I've familiarized myself with Daddy's will very, very thoroughly. And it seems that, while he left you several of his estates, he actually left a majority of the money to me and Sis."

Komui's eyes widened slightly. The girl couldn't possibly be thinking of…

"Now, while the estates he left you are pretty damned expensive, that money's only tangible if you sell the property." Lorelei went on, shifting her weight to one hip and tipping her head slightly, "Which you won't do. And because Sis and I were so young when Daddy passed away, you became our executor and took charge of the accounts. And because Sister got married and I still live with you, neither of us bothered to go through the legal proceedings of claiming our inheritance. Then, Sister disappeared and her share of the money, legally, became yours…"

As the young blonde had spoken, her mother had slowly become more and more tense, her hands clenching at her sides and the tendons in her neck standing out.

Komui was tempted to take a step back…

"And then," Lorelei went on yet, her lips pressing into a thin line, "When Sister was presumed dead, all of the land and money she had inherited from Vincent went to you, as well. While you're rich in your own right… the reason you've been sitting so pretty in your own status and in your status with the Order is because neither of us have contested the wills." Slowly, Lorelei started to grin again, "Of course… we could do that at any time, couldn't we?"

Komui felt a finger of ice crawl down his spine.

So… she was going to do it…

She'd been… bubbly and nice so far… but this girl… really was a Solidor…

…And, with the exception being Gracia, Solidor women seemed to be quite poisonous…

"Teaching Sister would be easy…" Lorelei murmured, "And the law is clearly on our side in both of our cases… We could easily seize over half of the money in the accounts in what… a month? And you…" Lorelei's smile turned cold, "You couldn't do a thing about it, could you? Because you still need me to succeed you…"

"…You cunning little snake." Mathilda muttered.

"Learned from the best." Lorelei cocked her head, stepping forward between Komui and Mathilda confidently and striding towards the door to Gracia's room, "Besides, Mother, you really should know by now…" The girl paused at the door, then glanced back at her mother with a dark grin, "No one comes between Solidor sisters; not even their mother."

The door slammed behind her loudly.

* * *

"Miss Lorelei…?"

"Hmm?" Lorelei glanced over at Lenalee from the window, blinking innocently, "Yes?"

Lenalee paused, then asked hesitantly, "What you said… do you really… plan on…" She trailed off, nervous. Lenalee knew some families didn't get along, but what she'd just seen…

"Eh?" Lorelei blinked again, then smiled, "Oh, you mean the screwing my mother over financially thing? God no! I just wanted her to take me seriously!"

At the other end of the room, Kanda, who had been glaring at the wall, twitched slightly, his eyebrow inching up. That girl…

"And that was certainly one way to go about it, wasn't it?" Komui asked softly, sardonically, from Gracia's bedside, glancing at the clock and timing as he took her pulse using her wrist.

"Bite me, Pencil-boy." Lorelei snorted, smirking, "I did what I did so my sister could be by your side again. Don't be cynical with me."

Komui sighed heavily, a strained smile twitching on his lips, "Yes, Miss Lorelei."

Lorelei nodded seriously, looking slightly pleased, then blinked, "How is she?"

After staring at the clock a bit more, Komui set Gracia's wrist down gently and sighed, "Well, her heart rate is slowly increasing and her REM cycles seem to be evening out to regular intervals… She should be fit to travel soon. Which is good." Komui frowned slightly, "We'll need to head back to the European Branch before tomorrow."

"Really?" Lorelei blinked, "But you've only stayed one night…"

"Unfortunately, we're always extremely busy." Komui shook his head, "We can't afford to waste too much time…"

Kanda snorted as Komui said that, rolling his eyes.

Komui threw him a glare, then pouted and whined when Lenalee giggled.

"What? ! I'm serious!"

"Right." Kanda muttered gruffly, "You're 'serious' about _paperwork_."

"Hey, it's one thing when I'm in the building and slacking off." Komui huffed, turning to face the teens in the room and crossing his arms over his chest sullenly, "Even I don't approve of being several counties away and leaving my work on others."

"Shocker." Kanda said flatly and with great disinterest.

Lorelei and Lenalee giggled, making Komui twitch.

After muttering to himself for a moment, Komui glanced at Lorelei with a frown, "Will your mother really let us leave with her?"

"Oh, she's not gonna stop you." Lorelei shrugged, "But she probably won't help either. I'll have your transportation from here to the dockyards taken care of personally." She then stood, brushing the skirt of the light dress she was wearing straight, "In fact, I'll go get started on that now, before Mom decides to be difficult again." She waved to Lenalee, then walked out of the room.

"…It's sad." Lenalee murmured after Lorelei had left the room, "That they're going to be separated after just meeting each other…"

Komui's eyes lowered and slid away slightly, and he turned back to Gracia, "I already tried… to suggest that she stay here." He paused, then smiled slightly, "She got angry with me and said I have more issues than she thought I did."

Lenalee blinked, then giggled. Then, a thought crossed her mind… "…Brother, have you finally realized that you love her?"

Komui's shoulders tensed up and his ears turned red.

Lenalee smiled at his back as he stayed frozen in place, twitching and sputtering, and when he turned to face her, his cheeks aflame, she laughed.

"Lenalee!" Komui burst, flailing oddly and amusingly, "H-How could you—? ! What makes you thi—? !"

"Ooooh, so you have." Lenalee giggled, "And has she realized she feels the same about you?"

"Lenalee? ! ! Where are you ge—"

"They've already sucked face." Kanda grumbled from his seat, glaring at the arm of the chair he was in and picking at the fabric, "At the party. I saw them." He then threw Komui a nasty glare, "Do that in a more private place; I don't want any more memories like that burned into my eyes."

Komui looked fit to pass out, his blush going clear down his neck and beneath his collar, his eyes wide and his mouth gaping as he made odd noises, trying to speak.

"Aww, you two kissed? !" Lenalee pouted at her brother, looking happy but miffed, "When were you planning on telling me? !"

Komui gapped at the two teens, then pointed at the door and squeaked out in a shrill voice, "Out! ! Both of you! ! Go secure the perimeter or something! !"

Lenalee and Kanda blinked, then exchanged equally flat looks before they stood and walked out, Kanda rolling his eyes and Lenalee smiling wryly.

Komui stared after them, then whined when the door shut behind them and turned to face the wall next to Gracia's bed, slamming his head against it and scrambling at it with his hands as he keened and slowly sank to his knees.

Teenagers… nosy and perverted… And his precious Lenalee was one of them! !

He'd been letting her hang out around boys too much…

After taking a moment to mourn the declination of his sister's 'purity,' it hit Komui that he was alone with a very… very unconscious Gracia.

Memories of the previous night had him covering his mouth with his hand, and Komui looked back at her over his shoulder, his blush receding slightly but remaining dark on his cheeks.

He had kissed her… And, more than that, she had _kissed back_…

And what she had said… Komui realized that Gracia liked him in the same way he liked her, even if she hadn't completely realized it yet.

Komui pressed his hand more firmly against his mouth, slowly standing.

…What would they do now?

Should… should he pursue her properly? Ask her out on dates, but wait, where would he take her? The island the new European Headquarters was on had a town, yes, but times when he could take her there would be few and far between…

Would she even be interested in a proper courtship? After all, her marriage to Vincent had been arranged; she probably hadn't ever gone out on a date before in her life. She would probably just think he was weird and silly (again) if he asked to court her…

Ooooh, why had it come to this? !

Komui keened and rubbed his forehead.

Even before he'd joined the Black Order, Komui had never been… one for dating. He'd been too busy taking care of Lenalee, building robots, researching the random things that caught his interest… and women had never been one of those interests.

Besides, his odd habits and interests had more or less resulted in all of the females in his hometown avoiding him, and in the rural area he and Lenalee had lived in families didn't approve of their daughters dating males without the intention to marry, so… Yeah.

In short, Komui wasn't well versed in the practice of romantic relationships. Theory, yes, but researching romantic theory was all too easy, so it didn't really count; all that mattered anymore was practice.

Of course… even being as poorly learned in romance as he was, what he had done with Gracia the other night had… come so naturally…

…After the initial awkwardness where he'd had to tell her to close her eyes, of course. He hadn't… been able to muster the courage while she was looking at him.

Maybe if he… didn't panic about what to do, it would come as easily as… doing what he had had.

…Why did even thinking the word 'kissing' suddenly seem juvenile?

Komui whined pathetically, tugging at his hair.

Dear lord, what had he gotten himself into…?

…Still… when he thought about the possibility of taking it back… Komui knew he wouldn't want to.

He really… really liked Gracia… and as confusing and flustering as it all was, he didn't mind the emotions or the fact that they had happened. It was the emotions that had come about as a result of the 'liking' that he was having issue with…

Embarrassment, confusion, shock, mortification, uncertainty, nervousness…

But it all stemmed from something much warmer, much more pleasant and comforting, much larger than the rest of that, so…

"…We'll sort this out when you wake up, eh?" Komui smiled weakly at Gracia's unconscious form.

He was much better at sorting out her emotions than she was on her own, and she was pretty good at doing the same for him…

"…Just, _please_," Komui lowered his head, whining, "Don't… forget me… like you tend to forget so many other things after you let Sleep knock you out…"

Komui did _not_ want to end up going back to square one.


	56. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XXXVIII

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Sometime between the carriage ride Lorelei had arranged for them from Nalbina Estate to the dockyards where they would board a barge that would take them back to the Black Order and the boat ride, itself, Gracia went from a semi-comatose state to just sleeping, her breathing deep and even and her eyes flickering back and forth beneath her lids as she experienced a normal REM cycle.

Komui would have liked to continue an ongoing analysis of her (and maybe, just maybe, he would admit that it was for more than just medical reasons), but… when her vitals leveled…

…Renault had taken over.

Komui eyed Renault sullenly from across the cabin, the large bodyguard/physician sitting in a chair dutifully at Gracia's bottom bunk bedside with a book opened before him.

With Gracia stable, there was no reason that Renault, who had far more experience caring for her than Komui, shouldn't relieve Komui of his temporary duties of watching over Gracia. After all, Komui wasn't even a real doctor; while he did know the basics enough to work with Exorcists and their physical relationship with their Innocence, strictly medical problems, and ones of this level, were beyond him.

Renault, however, was a trained physician, and one who had been Gracia's personal physician for years.

Really, Komui should have been happy that they not only had Renault on hand, but that Renault would also be coming back with them to the European Branch to continue taking care of Gracia…

…But he wasn't. And now, he could consciously admit why.

He didn't like the fact that he couldn't help Gracia with this.

He… he liked her, right? A lot. And he wanted… something more with her… so if he was going to be the man in her life, then he should be able to take care of her.

Without needing the help of another man (not to mention one she didn't mind touching her).

…What ridiculous, testosterone-fueled thoughts.

As a scientist, Komui knew that no one could ever truly go through life without help; everyone had shortcomings that others didn't, that others could fill. Everyone could find a way to help one another; it was part of what made humans such an amazing species:

Their abilities to possess a myriad of skills and vocalize their needs where their skills fell short.

And Komui was a very social person; he loved giving and getting help, if only because it was a reason to bond with others.

But… with the females in his life… it seemed he could be just as protective as any other muscle-headed, stubborn, overprotective jerk.

He _didn't_ like Renault needing to be so close to Gracia for _any_ reason.

He _wanted_ to have a reason to be closer to her, a need that was only strengthened by the fact that he was only just now becoming more and more willing to admit that he had romantic feelings for Gracia.

And now Komui quickly felt himself switching from passive, shy thoughts about concerning how he wanted to deal with Gracia and their building relationship to far more aggressive ones.

Of course, as aggressively romantic thoughts tend to, Komui's thoughts quickly veered from beating Renault off and passionately declaring his feelings to Gracia to… less than pure images, most of them involving a chair/bed/desk/shower and none of them involving even the smallest shred of clothing.

…And Komui's aggressiveness quickly dissipated and he keened, covering his head.

He then whined when something smacked the top of his head, looking up slightly to see a shoe on the ground and then throwing a sullen glare over at Kanda, who was sitting in the middle of the room.

Kanda glared back harshly, growling an irate "Quit twitching" before closing his eyes again and going back to meditating.

Komui pouted, then quickly glanced around the room.

Lenalee was sleeping on the bunk above Gracia, so she hadn't seen it, Gracia was still sleeping (a given), and Renault…

…Hadn't even looked up from his book.

…And that annoyed Komui slightly.

How in the hell could that guy be so stoic? !

And why did Komui envy him (other than the obvious reason that he could take care of Gracia's health)? !

…Komui then realized something. Something that made him chuckle mirthlessly and shake his head before falling silent.

He and Gracia hadn't even properly admitted their feelings to one another yet and he was already feeling inadequate.

* * *

As soon as they arrived back at Headquarters, Renault carried Gracia off without another word.

Komui had wanted to dash after him, but Brigitte had smacked him over the head with a binder, grabbed his ear and dragged him off to his office the moment he'd walked through the watergate door, so he hadn't been able to do much…

Usually, teasing his still green Chief Assistant was amusing, but today she looked downright murderous. Complying with her had seemed like the right idea…

Several mind-numbing hours later (during which time he had actually done very little paperwork while making it seem like he had done a lot by reading extremely long documents that only required one signature), Brigitte took a dinner break and Komui waited five minutes before fleeing.

He stopped at an intersection in the hallway that had a staircase that would lead downstairs and towards the medical ward, thinking for a moment. Infirmary or her bedroom…

Well, it wasn't as if she required any medical equipment…

Komui turned and hurried towards Gracia's room, gnawing on his lip.

He couldn't help but be fixated on wanting to see her; wanting her to wake up, wanting to talk to her, wanting to explore more of this pleasant relationship… Years of denying his hormones was catching up, and like he was with Lenalee when she got back from extended missions, he wanted to be clingy, latch on to Gracia and wail about never wanting to let go.

If only he could get past that ungodly mass of bodyguard… How did guys like Renault end up physicians, anyway? It just wasn't natural! (Or fair.)

When Komui got to Gracia's bedroom door, he danced around outside of it, wringing his hands and squirming in his skin.

Maybe he should get backup before he went in… A nice, well-placed Komlin always acted to dissuade people from getting physical with him.

Grinning and empowered by the thought, Komui was just about to turn and shuffle off when the door opened. At that, Komui froze, staring up at the hulking figure waiting there. Komui, himself, was really quite tall, but the way Renault was looking at him with his expressionless face and harsh, hazel eyes made him feel three feet shorter.

…He should have thought to bring the Komlin beforeha—

"Are you coming in or not?"

"Eh?" Komui blinked up at him.

Renault's eyelids slid down partway as his stare flattened, and he stepped aside to give Komui room to walk into the room.

Komui blinked up at him again, wide-eyed and childish, then shuffled into the room. He then quickly glanced back (to make sure the imposing man wasn't going to hit him over the head) and blinked as he watched Renault step out of the room.

Before closing the door, Renault pinned Komui with an icy stare, "Do anything perverted to her, and I will break your legs." He then shut the door heavily, but almost soundlessly.

Komui stared after Renault nervously, his mouth drying a bit, then turned to face Gracia's bed and immediately relaxed.

As he had done before, Renault had changed her clothes, leaving her in a sapphire blue nightgown. Her hair was twisted loosely and pulled over her shoulder, tied with a hairband, and… was she actually wearing a bit of makeup? Her lips looked like they had been glossed…

Komui sighed slightly. Oh, how the vanity of nobles tended to carry over to their servants…

Still… beneath the clothes she normally wouldn't wear, the hair she wouldn't normally take that much care of, the makeup she would probably feel uncomfortable wearing to bed… she looked… fragile…

…Komui didn't like it.

True, she was usually dangerously out of it and not a physically strong person, but Gracia was usually a mildly stoic, unemotional shield. Yes, it was only because she'd been deprived of affection when she was younger, and yes she had been opening up, but… seeing her this weak…

Komui bit his lip and shuffled over to the bed, sitting on the edge slowly and leaning in to look her over.

"Nnn…"

Komui squeaked and jerked back as she let out a soft noise and rolled onto her side. He blinked, then smiled slightly as she nuzzled her pillow, messed up her hair and curled up into a ball under the blankets.

Good… No, that was better than good… It was excellent… She had control over her motor functions again… He'd been a bit worried when she hadn't gotten sick on the boat ride over, but people who were in even mild comas often weren't able to move, so since she was recovering from one it had been normal. Now that she was moving on her own again, she was that much closer to waking up.

When she made a face and kicked the blankets off, Komui immediately slapped his hand over his eyes, only parting his fingers and peeking when the sounds of shuffling cloth ceased and she let out a soft, content sigh. Komui flushed darkly.

She was now lying on her left side (facing him), her arms bunched against her chest and her right leg drawn up against her stomach, leaving her left to lie stretched out on the bed… and bared because her dress was hiked up… leaving her soft-looking… white left leg and thigh… right out… in the… open… Dear lord…

Should he reach out and pull the hem of her nightgown down? Should he risk touching her and waking her up?

…Could he touch her and avoid waking her up?

Komui squeaked and slapped himself.

Bad Komui!

Still, he couldn't tear his eyes away… She was looking a lot healthier than she initially had. She had a healthy amount of fat on her thighs, her skin was a nice color, the curve of her hips and up to her stomach was—

Komui squeaked and slapped himself again.

_Bad Komui! !_

How had one kiss and a few romantic ideas turn him into a pubescent teenager? !

Honestly, he's left alone with her in a room for four minutes and he's thinking about the soft curves of her body and how she must look underneath her—

Wait, no, that hadn't crossed his mind until just that moment! !

"Oooh, it's getting wooorse…" Komui whined, backing away a few steps and clapping his other hand over his eyes.

Ugh, he really was a male, such impure thoughts coming so soon after the realization that she was a feasible love interest hit…

"This would be so much easier if you were awake…" Komui muttered, his voice muffled slightly by his hands, "I'd be much more in control if I could look into your eyes; it's hard to imagine sexy things about you when you have your dazed look on your face…"

Not to mention her glare really was quite intimidating and she was armed with Sleep…

Once he had gotten himself under control again (marginally), Komui inched forward and reached out nervously, grabbing the hem of her nightgown and gently tugging at it, sliding it over her leg and covering her up properly.

His face nearly caught fire when his knuckles brushed her leg, but he managed to swallow harshly and get it done, jumping back when she was sufficiently covered and heaving a relieved sigh.

He then sat on the edge of her bed again and sulked.

This was exactly the reason why he didn't let Lenalee date; he wasn't even all that experienced in matters of the heart, himself, and he was _still_ being perverted! Males were just wired for sex, and Lenalee was completely surrounded by angry, hormonal boys who could easily turn their frustration into a dangerous sex drive…

And Komui was just as bad as any one of them (except maybe Kanda; a sexually frustrated Kanda could probably break pelvic bones).

Komui was just starting to mentally prove to himself that it was, indeed, medically possible for Kanda to break his hypothetical sexual partner's pelvis (Komui snickering as he thought about this) when Gracia stirred again.

He jumped off of the bed again but hovered nearby when she groaned and slowly pushed herself upright, his hands twitching at his sides and wanting to reach out to touch her when she nearly fell over.

He smiled slightly when she blinked her eyes open slowly and looked up at him, a blush flushing his cheeks at the sleepy, helpless look on her face.

* * *

She blinked slowly up at the (admittedly) handsome, flushing Asian man standing beside the bed she was in, her sleepy, muddled mind taking several moments to register her surroundings.

She was in her bedroom at Barheim Palace… But what was she doing in Barheim? Her mother had had the building closed up after her father had died…

"…Gracia?"

Gracia blinked at the handsome Asian man, coming out of her thoughts and tipping her head slightly at the worry in his voice, "Yes…?"

"Are…" He started, then paused before going on in his very, very lightly accented English, "Are you alright?"

"…Yes, I'm just fine." She smiled up at him. Ah… he was starting to become… a bit familiar… "Should you… be in my room when I'm in my nightclothes?"

The man she was slowly starting to recognize more and more flushed darkly, shuffling back shyly and adjusting his glasses as he muttered, "W-Well, a-about that… I… ah… Eh…"

Ah… Now she knew…

"…And who are you?"

She continued smiling as the man's face fell, amused by how easily he went from being flustered to being crestfallen. A little mean, yes, but she planned on making it up to him…

"O-Oh… I… I, uh…" He paused, then rubbed the back of his head, "I'll… go get Renault… He'll…" Without finishing, he turned and started to walk away.

Gracia sat up quickly and knelt at the edge of the bed, grabbing his wrist and pulling him back, "Komui, wait."

Komui paused, the tips of his ears turning red as he slowly turned back to reveal his flushed, stunned face. "Wait… you—"

"You're such a nerd." Gracia giggled, pulling him down and cupping his jaw as she pressed her lips to his.


	57. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XXXIX

I've been asked a few times what will happen now that the main conflict in Gracia's life is over…

XD Who said it was over? Trust me, I can be one damned twisted person; I will probably find a way to make Mathilda come back to try to ruin Gracia's life some more.

But, really, this whole thing with Gracia's mother was just an... arc, if you will. This whole story's kinda-sorta been done in arcs; the Introduction arc, the Iceland arc, the Rescue Tiedoll/Bond With the Tiedoll Unit arc, the Eurasia arc, the Lost (Singapore) mini-arc, the Attack on Headquarters arc, the Apprehension (Intro to the Solidor Family) arc, the Matriarch arc, the Self-Realization (End of Sleep Dependance/Liberation from Vincent) arc... And, right now, we're in a "the Building Relationship/Fluff" mini-arc. I still haven't even introduced Timothy or the Third Exorcists, gotten to the canonical Mystery of Kanda arc (which Gracia will definitely play a part in), or any of the shizz that follows…

And just because Komui and Gracia have pulled their heads out of the sand and vocalized their feelings (to a definite extent), their relationship isn't automatically going to be magical and worry-free. Komui's still a romantically retarded, Gracia can still be pretty darn dense, and because of their vastly contrasting upbringings, they both have different approaches to relationships.

Oh… and by the way…

Lulu Bell isn't dead.

Gracia still hasn't met Tyki (again [I'll leave you to ponder on what that means… ;p]), or Road (ooooo, don't even get me started on Road).

The separation of Gracia and Sleep that Sleep prophesied still hasn't happened.

No… No, this isn't over yet. Not by a long shot.

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"Wait, so you two are dating now?" Lenalee blinked, looking between her brother (who was sitting at his desk, blushing) and Gracia (who was lying down on the sofa in front of said desk, idly reading a book).

"Yeah, sure, why not." Gracia smiled and shrugged indifferently, turning the page she had just finished.

Komui twitched and looked up from the paperwork he had been distracting himself, sputtering before whining, "Can you not say it like that? !"

"I don't see why I can't." Gracia mumbled, her smile twitching slightly, "Considering you can't even bring yourself to define the nature our relationship, I'd say I'm free to be as nonchalant about it as I care to be…"

Lenalee blinked, then turned on her brother with a serious frown and crossed her arms, an admonishing tone in her voice, "_Ko-mui_!"

"Noooo…" Komui keened, thick, comical tears starting to gather in the corners of his eyes, "Lena-leee! _She's_ already mad at me; don't you turn on me, too!"

From the small desk she had set up in the room where she was filling out certain pieces of paperwork she was qualified to, Brigitte Fey sighed heavily and looked up, her lips pressed into a thin line, "I think it's time we stop talking about personal relationships and get back to work, Supervisor." Her brow then twitched slightly and she lowered her voice, "Especially considering the relationship in question is interoffice, which is strictly prohibited…"

Komui froze at that, then glanced at Brigitte with wide eyes, "…You won't report us, will you?"

Brigitte stared at him for a moment, then sighed and turned back to her paperwork, answering with vague disinterest, "We have enough paperwork to catch up on without making more fretting over such petty things." Actually, Brigitte passively approved of Gracia; Komui actually listened to her when she threatened to use her Innocence on him if he didn't work.

After staring at his assistant for a moment, Komui smiled widely, "Thank you!"

"Well, would you look at that…" Gracia mumbled, "You just indirectly admitted that we're in a relationship…"

When Komui started sputtering and twitching again, Gracia felt a surge of annoyance that made her brow twitch. She sighed heavily and stood, staring at Komui flatly for a moment before throwing the book she'd been reading at his head.

Without waiting to see if he would dodge or not (though judging by the ensuing cry and Lenalee's flinch, she actually had managed to hit him), Gracia turned and walked out of the office.

Before, she had thought that the feelings of annoyance that arose in her were from her confusion about how she felt for Komui… But now she realized that was only part of it.

Komui was also good at genuinely annoying her.

She had _thought_ that things were supposed to… get better now that they were doing… whatever it was that they were doing…

And in some ways… it kinda had. Even when he was annoying her, being around Komui made her happy, she wasn't crying anymore, the pain in her chest that had come with missing him as much as she had was gone now that she was back in the Order…

But when they interacted on a personal level, when they were alone, things… were…

…Gracia… wasn't sure what she had been expecting from their relationship, but… things being as they were annoyed her.

Komui was fine with talking to her, touching her, being close to her… But whenever she tried to talk to him about anything related to 'relationships,' he got twitchy.

And initially, he'd really wanted to talk about it. He'd actually seemed desperate to talk about it. And judging by how much he'd ramble to her (right after she'd woken up from her coma and remembered him, no less, so it was understandable that she'd nearly fallen asleep several times), he'd been dwelling on what he'd needed to talk about for the entirety of the time that she'd been unconscious.

Of course, she hadn't really been able to follow a lot of what he was saying, and for more than just the reasons that she was exhausted and he tended to mutter and occasionally lapse into Mandarin when he was nervous. He was just concerned about so many… seemingly pointless and confusing things.

The man practically wanted to consult an actuary and lay out their life plan with the help of a star chart…

And in that instance, Gracia found a new, easy way to shut him up; he was easily distracted when he was getting kissed. Not to mention she liked the way it felt, so it was a double win for her…

Gracia sighed slightly, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she walked back to her room slowly.

Even though she had Sleep back, there was nothing left in her life she was blanking out anymore, and now that she was starting to get in touch with her… feely side, her cognizance had never been more acute, even though she was still very, very tired and slow to observe things.

Already, she could feel subtle changes in her personality… and how she perceived things…

…She had the oddest feeling that, while he had been rambling to her, Komui had wanted to say something to her… Maybe that had been why he had been rambling. He was having problems finding the right way to say what he wanted to…

…And maybe that was also why he was so twitchy.

Gracia looked up and blinked as she stepped inside of her room, closing the door behind her with a sigh.

That was an example of one of the things that had come with the change; had she been in her old mindset, it would have taken her forever to draw that conclusion.

Now, it only took her two days (for that was how long it had been since she had woken up to find herself back in the Black Order).

(Of course, it completely slipped over her head that someone, _anyone_, really, would have taken far less time to draw the same conclusion.)

Now, _what_ he could have possibly been trying to say was something she definitely wouldn't be able to figure out; reading people that deeply was something she would probably never be able to do, and with Komui being as indirect about it as he was, she was even more clueless.

So, until Komui decided on just what it was he was trying to say, shutting him up with her mouth or avoiding him when that was inappropriate due to the company they were in were the two tactics she would be using.

Sighing and shrugging off the jacket she was wearing, Gracia walked over to her bed and laid down on it, taking a moment to think about what had happened two days ago, then smiling and blushing as she did.

She had kissed him that time… And not just once or twice, but several times. She had still been tired while they had done it, but she felt like she… had been holding it back for so long…

And in a way, she had; ever since Cross had shown her how pleasant kissing could be, that is.

She hadn't realized it before, but now she could remember that semi-lucid, sleepwalking daze she had been in when she had stumbled into Komui's room that night, and now she could somewhat remember what she had been thinking about…

Of course, Komui had ruined the mood by wanting to talk more than explore the pleasant activity that was kissing, and she'd only been able to shut him up with her mouth again so many times before his rambling had simply put her to sleep, but… Eh.

There would probably be more chances in the very near future…

Gracia was about to drift off (no matter how much more aware she was becoming, thinking for too long still made her tired) when someone knocked on her door.

She groaned and whined, then rolled over to the edge of the bed and crawled upright, standing and stumbling over to the door.

Her grumbling and grousing, though, immediately stopped when she saw a pale and obviously tired Allen standing outside of her room.

Gracia blinked and stared at the boy in shock as he looked up at her briefly before he looked at his shoes, shifting back and forth.

"Uh… Sorry… I… I know you were probably sleeping, but I…"

"…I wasn't sleeping." Gracia mumbled softly.

Allen nodded slightly, swallowing, then went on, "You know… how you said that… you'd… listen… if I needed someone to talk to…?"

Gracia automatically stepped aside to let him in, smiling slightly when Timcanpy landed on her shoulder and nipped at her ear softly but frowning right after when she noticed Allen wasn't being tailed by his perpetual shadow, Link.

She still shut the door when Allen was inside, though, and turned to follow him over to the sitting area.

Allen still wouldn't really look at her once they were settled, absently petting Timcanpy when the golem flew back over to him and staring at the surface of the coffee table.

"…How do you tell…" Allen started slowly, his voice low and his words obviously being carefully considered, "When a dream is… more… than just a dream…?"

Gracia's eyes widened slightly.

When she didn't answer for a moment, Allen looked up to meet her eyes, only to flinch and look away once he had met them. "I'm sorry." He stood, "Never mind. That probably doesn't make any sense."

"That," She started when he tried to walk away, making him pause, "Makes more sense to me… than you could possibly imagine…" When Allen was slowly returning to his seat, now looking at her, Gracia leaned back and closed her eyes, sighing softly, "It's just… a bit hard to explain… I've experienced flashbacks because of Sleep for so long that I've forgotten what regular dreams feel like."

"…So you… don't know?" Allen sounded a bit crestfallen.

"No, I do…" Gracia paused, then lifted her hands slightly, keeping her eyes closed, "First… everything is lucid… But even though it's lucid, you can't tell it's a dream. You're not thinking you're living the moment; you _are_ living the moment. Even though it's already happened… nothing is scripted. You're experiencing it for the first time, so your reactions are genuine. Then… the things that happen the dream… don't make sense. In a regular dream, you could see something ridiculous… like a purple elephant… and not think twice about it. But in a dream that… _means_ something… things that you would normally find shocking _do_ shock you. You're aware of when things are… out of place… You feel fear when you should, sorrow when you should, shock when you should. And when you talk… to people who are dead…" She paused, then opened her eyes slowly, "They don't remember that, in the real world, they're dead. And neither do you. Not until… you're waking up… and they're fading away… and you don't think to grab for them until it's too late…"

Allen was staring at her silently, his eyes rimmed with red and wet.

"…And when you wake up…" Gracia murmured, glancing at him, "You may or may not remember it… Either way… there's a certain way these dreams make you feel… that normal, nonsensical dreams don't. And you'll be able to recognize these dreams for what they are… because of that certain way you feel…" She tapered off, her mind wandering slightly.

Allen stared at her a bit more, then lowered his head.

"…And… these… special dreams…" He mumbled, his voice a bit thick, "C… Can't you… make them go away?"

"…No, sweetheart." Gracia murmured, staring at him, "These… are the only dreams… you can't force yourself to wake up from… and no amount… of will or medication will make them stop."

When Allen's hands clenched against his legs, his head lowering further, Gracia stood and stepped over to him, kneeling in front of him and wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug.

"…They do stop of their own accord, though." She murmured, stroking his back slowly, "Even though you may not notice it at first… But one day… you'll wake up and realize… that it's been a while since you woke up crying… And then… slowly… things will get better."

Sitting on Allen's shoulder and in a good position, Timcanpy nuzzled them both.

Slowly, Allen relaxed against her.

And slowly, Gracia realized that, unlike before, comforting someone didn't feel awkward or forced.

* * *

Gracia woke up, a prickly feeling on the back of her neck telling her she wasn't alone.

She had to twitch slightly at that.

She'd never had those prickly feelings before… And she didn't like them.

Sighing slightly, she lifted her head out of the pillow she was trying to smother herself with and glanced over to the side, her eyebrow twitching slightly when she saw a nervous and blushing, shuffling Komui standing at her bedside.

He smiled weakly when he saw her, lifting one hand and waving slightly, "Hi… I… uh… managed to sneak out while Brigitte went around to deliver some departmental forms and decided to… come visit you."

"Is this going to be like the visit from two days ago where I woke up from that last coma just to listen to you try to ramble for three hours and then avoid me for half a day after?" Gracia mumbled, not bothering to sit up just yet, "Or do you actually have what you want to say planned out today?"

Komui blinked and balked slightly, then twitched and hissed, "Well, I'm sorry, but I'm not used to this!"

"Well, maybe if you'd tell me what it is you're not used to," Gracia grumbled, pushing herself upright and crossing her legs under herself as she turned to face him, "Maybe we could figure out how to help you acclimate." She sighed and leaned her elbows against her legs, looking up at him tiredly, "I don't like the pussyfoot game. Wastes too much energy."

Komui twitched again, then sighed heavily and sat on the edge of her bed, "You… like me… right…?"

Gracia blinked, staring at him. "…I'm sorry." She started slowly after a moment, frowning slightly, "Have I not made that clear?"

"…Well…" Komui smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, "Certain things you… do… kinda speak for themselves, but—"

Gracia easily reached out and cupped his jaw, leaning in as she pulled him close and kissing him. "You mean like that?" She asked calmly, blinking up at him slowly, somewhat blankly.

Red as a tomato, Komui sputtered a bit before nodded, "Y-Yeah, th-that… But," He reached up and took her wrist, pulling away slightly, "And not that… I don't like that and all… but…" He paused, then asked haltingly, "How… How much would you… would you say that you… ah… like…"

Gracia stared at him silently, taking a moment to realize what he was asking and taking several more to think about it.

"…I don't know."

Komui flinched slightly at the blunt answer, looking away.

"…Komui, I've never felt genuine love of the kind you want me to say for anyone before." Gracia mumbled, still staring at him steadily, "You have to remember… my mother arranged my marriage to Vincent for me. I had never met him before we were engaged… and I wasn't expected to love him. Nobles don't marry for love. I was simply expected to be his link to the Solidor family so his estate would become my family's, and that was it. Nothing bloomed from that. Lorelei thinks I'm in love with you, and I was inclined to believe her for a bit there, but now… I just don't know."

"…I see…" Komui murmured, looking away.

Gracia stared at him a bit more, then took her wrist from his hand and grabbed his collar, pulling him close and kissing him again. When she pulled back, she just smiled slightly when Komui frowned at her, "But I do know I like you. A lot. And believe me… I wouldn't do this with anyone unless I liked them as much as I do you, which isn't likely to happen with anyone other than you."

Komui flushed darkly, a small smile curling on his lips before he leaned in and kissed her.

Gracia smiled and closed her eyes, purring and leaning against him.

Oooo, this was nice… It made her feel warm and comfortable, and the way he moved his mouth… She felt it all the way down in her stomach.

Of course, there was one thing she needed to say.

Gracia pulled back with a sigh, glaring up at him sardonically, "Besides, why in the hell are you digging for a confession? By your standards, we aren't even a couple."

Komui flinched, then rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "S-Sorry about that… Lenalee tells me I can be quite the… Ah…"

"Idiot?" Gracia filled with a smile, "Pinhead? Jerk? Dork? Ner—"

"I get it, I get it!" Komui cut her off with a whine, pouting dramatically.

"Well, if you get it, then ask me properly."

Komui balked, blushing darkly and twitching, "E-Eh? !"

"You heard me." Gracia sighed, "Start the courtship properly and ask to see me exclusively."

…Komui must have spent five minutes just sputtering and staring at her, his face an unhealthy shade of red and his glasses actually starting to fog slightly.

When five turned into seven minutes, Gracia was angry again.

"Goodnight, Komui." She said loudly, turning away from him and flopping down on the bed with her back to him.

She felt particularly satisfied when Komui whined loudly and a loud thunk was heard, smirking when she imagined him hitting his head against the wall.


	58. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XL

XD Wow, Lorelei was pretty well-received… I hadn't really expected that; I modeled her somewhat after my sister, and while I do love my sister dearly, I'm not nearly as impressed with her as you all seem to be (though this could be because I've grown up around her and know how she is).

So, since I've gotten a few questions about whether or not Lorelei will be coming back (and since I was already toying with a few ideas, anyway), I've made a poll on my page. Don't ask if she can come back, just not an an Exorcist, because while I could probably write around it, I don't want to go around bending Order rules drastically out of sheer poetic license; if Lorelei isn't an Exorcist, she has no logical reason for being at the Order.

So… Go ahead and vote~! I don't have a set date on when I'll close the poll; when I get to the chapters where Lorelei will come in again, I'll look at the poll, then make it disappear from my page completely. You all won't even know the results until you get to the chapter were it will become clear… Don't worry, you won't be able to miss it.

^ . ^ Now, go ahead and enjoy yourselves some more… fluff… *cackle*

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"I'm a loser." Komui mourned, slamming his forehead on the kitchen counter while nursing a bottle of clear liquid in his hand.

Jeryy, glad that the morning breakfast rush was over, crossed his arms and sighed down at Komui heavily, shaking his head. It was a good thing he'd had the foresight to give Komui a bottle of nonalcoholic plum juice; his poor little Komu really had no alcohol tolerance. He was getting loud and whiney just _thinking_ it was alcoholic, for god's sake…

"No, Komu, you're not." Jeryy sighed, patting Komui on the back.

"…I'm not?" Komui sniffled, looking up at Jeryy with wide, watery, pathetic eyes.

"No, you're not." Jeryy smiled down at Komui kindly, "You're just a bit stupid." When Komui wailed and slammed his head on the counter again, Jeryy rolled his eyes and threw the other cooks an exasperated look, walking over to a nearby sink and starting to wash dishes, "Well, it's your own fault, Komu. You like her, she likes you, you two want to have a go at a relationship, but when she asks you to make it official you freeze up on her. Repeatedly."

Komui said nothing, his face still pressed against the counter.

"I mean, for all she knows, you could just not be interested in being in a serious relationship." Jeryy went on, "But that isn't going to cut it, Komu. She's been married before, and it was a bad relationship. She's on her guard, and even if she likes you a lot more than she did her late husband, she's not going to stand for being played with. At her age, and after what she's been through, the only relationships she'll be interested in, if any, are fully committed ones that will be working towards marriage. She's a noble, Komu, not a commoner; nobles don't do casual. Really," Here, the chef threw Komui a flat look, "You're lucky she became interested in you at all, considering your flippant nature."

Still, Komui remained silently, his head still down.

Jeryy sighed heavily. This was like kicking a puppy… A stubborn, nerdy, dense puppy.

"Komui…" Jeryy started gently, changing tactics as he walked over and sat next to the Supervisor, "Why are you having problems committing?"

"…'m not good enough…" Komui mumbled pathetically into the countertop.

"…Eh?" Jeryy blinked.

"Neeeh, you said it yourself!" Komui flicked his wrist, raising his head and glaring sulkily off into space, "She's a noble, not a commoner like me! She's sickly and needs to live a safe, stable life that I can't provide her with! I mean, look at where we are!" Komui reached up and moved his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I brought her _back_ to the Black Order to be an _Exorcist_ where there are other Exorcists who would give _anything_ to be able to get out! And even if we… did get out together or something, where would I take her? ! Back to that little house I shared with Lenalee in China? ! She has serious medical problems that I can't take care of there! Not to mention she's…" Here, Komui tapered off, biting his lip.

"…She's what, Komu?" Jeryy urged gently.

"…Jeryy, she's infertile." Komui looked up at Jeryy with wet eyes, "She can't have kids."

"…Komui…?" Jeryy started to frown at Komui admonishingly. He didn't want to think his friend would refuse a woman just because of _that_… But if Komui didn't elaborate soon, it could _easily_ be interpreted that Komui didn't like the fact that Gracia couldn't give him kids…

"And I can't fix it…"

Aaah, there was the elaboration he was waiting for.

Jeryy relaxed, his expression softening.

"I can't fix it…" Komui muttered again, taking another drink of his (nonalcoholic) plum juice before dropping his face down on the counter once more, "What good's knowing anatomy, medicine and science if I can't use it to fix the one major medical issue about herself that she's dissatisfied with? She wanted kids so badly, Jeryy, but _I can't fix her_…"

Jeryy sighed, "…Komu, did she ever _ask_ for you to fix her?" When Komui looked up and blinked at him owlishly, Jeryy smiled at him, "She's been infertile for a long, long while, Komu. She probably accepted the fact that she can't have children a while back, and have you ever once heard her mention it since she got her memories back? She probably doesn't even care anymore. And if she had wanted a safe, stable life, she never would have said that she likes you, and she never would have come to like you at all; she's known you long enough to know the hazards. You're worrying about things that haven't even come up yet."

When Komui started to blush after thinking about it for a few minutes, Jeryy giggled.

"If you're worrying about her _this_ much before you've even officially started anything, I'd say she's in good hands. Now, go try talking to her again."

"…Can't." Komui sighed, drooping, "I'm drunk."

Jeryy stared at him in disbelief, then rolled his eyes, "No, Komu, you're not. This," He reached out and took the bottle from Komui, shaking it indicatively and quirking a brow, "Is nonalcoholic."

Komui's eyes widened, and he seemed to sober in a flash as he started sputtering, keening and flailing indignantly. "J-J-J-Jeryy! ! H-How could you? !"

"You came in here wailing and searching for wine." Jeryy rolled his eyes, turning back to his dishes as he set the bottle of plum juice aside, "Like I was about to give you alcohol. The last time you drank, Komlin SIN was born." He then picked up a clean spatula and glanced over at Komui, waving the utensil at him threateningly, "Now go!"

Crimson and embarrassed, Komui stumbled to his feet, still feeling some of the effects of his self-induced, pseudo drunken state. He swallowed, braced himself, then hurried out of the kitchens.

He had to find Gracia! He was finally going to properly verbalize the status of their relationship!

* * *

She wasn't going into the room because he slept in it; she was going into the room because it was linked directly to the terrace that led to the observatory.

And she wasn't pausing and closing her eyes to relax because she enjoyed the feel he had given the room by living in it; she was pausing and closing her eyes to keep from sneezing at the smell of _him_ everywhere.

Sleep pulsed softly around her wrist and Gracia sighed softly, reaching up and rubbing the bridge of her nose tiredly. Who in the hell was she trying to kid; Komui's smell was pleasant and it made her sleepy.

There was, though, another, more powerful smell in the room that was making her feel nauseous…

Forgetting to head to the observatory, Gracia glanced over at Komui's dresser, blinking slowly when she saw the faded and slightly smashed box of Icelandic coffee she had gotten him, sitting next to his blue mug with the caricature of the pink rabbit.

Oh, so that's what the more than slightly overwhelming scent was… Black coffee.

Making a face, Gracia shuffled across the room and over to the mug, leaning over it and sniffing experimentally when she was standing over it. The scent flooded her nose, coated her tongue unpleasantly and made her _taste_ it.

Gracia turned her head away and gagged.

Then, against her better judgment, she turned back and picked the mug up, eyeballing it distrustfully before taking a sip.

Why?

She had absolutely no idea.

She knew she hated coffee, she knew she would never like coffee.

She really couldn't explain it…

But Gracia did know she regretted it.

She set the mug down and swallowed, staring off into space contemplatively… then slowly turned green.

When her stomach made a very, very unhappy noise, Gracia made a beeline straight for the bathroom.

Even though Sleep wasn't blocking her long-term memories anymore, Gracia was glad it still blocked her short-term ones when she asked… She did _not_ want to remember throwing up.

In fact, she blinked, heard some… organic, watery noises, and when she opened her eyes again someone was holding her hair back with one hand and flushing the toilet with the other.

Weakly, Gracia glanced over her shoulder and back up at Komui.

Komui looked down at her with wide, worried eyes, "What's wrong…?"

"…Coffee is evil…" Gracia mumbled in answer, lowering her forehead onto her arm.

Komui hissed sympathetically and started to help her to her feet, "You drank my coffee? It's black, not to mention cold from sitting there for so long… That's not something someone who doesn't like coffee should be drinking…"

"Curious, I guess…" Gracia shuddered and cover her mouth, heaving a little, "Ugh… it's still in my mouth…"

"Hold on." Komui pulled away from her and walked over to his medicine cabinet, pulling out a bottle. He then filled the glass next to the sink and set it down, reaching over and pulling Gracia towards the sink gently while offering the bottle, "Rinse with this, then drink the water."

Nodding groggily, her head spinning and making her feel a bit drunk, Gracia unscrewed the cap of the bottle and tipped it to her lips. A strong, minty liquid she could only assume was mouthwash washed over her tongue, quickly overpowering the taste of the coffee.

Even as she relaxed, though, she noticed something odd…

The mouthwash was fizzing like soda, little bubbles flying out of the top like tiny fireworks…

…Actually… the comparison wasn't made just for imagery… The tiny bubbles were actually _lighting up_ in different colors and _exploding_ into smaller bubbles just like fireworks.

Gracia blinked, positioning her tongue in the back of her mouth carefully so she couldn't swallow, and slowly pulled the bottle away from her lips, staring at the glowing, colorful fizz bubbles.

"…Oh, crap…" Komui muttered.

Gracia's brow twitched and she leaned over the sink, spitting whatever the liquid was (because it obviously wasn't mouthwash) down the drain before turning on Komui and narrowing her eyes slightly.

"Komui… what is it?" If this was something serious, she was going to use Alucinari on him and make him confess his undying love for Kanda in front of the entire Asian Branch Science Division. (Wouldn't Bak get a kick out of that…)

"Uhhh…" Komui twitched, then smiled nervously and rubbed the back of his head, "Ah… I… uh… Don't know… Never got to test it…"

Gracia deadpanned, something much stronger than just irritation welling up inside of her, "…So, it's one of your experiments." Now… now she was getting a bit scared…

Komui laughed nervously, then bit his lip and shuffled, "We… should get you to the medical ward and get your stomach pumped… Just in case you swa—"

She wasn't able to hear the rest of what he was going to say before her stomach pitched violently, her eyes widening and her upper body jerking forward as the bottle fell from her hand, spilling the contents all over the floor.

Gracia vaguely heard Komui yelp, vaguely felt him grab her, but she couldn't focus as a hot pulse ran through her body, starting from her mouth and working outward in a flash.

Her consciousness faded and—

* * *

Komui flinched as Gracia doubled over, groaning in pain. He quickly picked up the bottle, desperately searching for a label he may or may not have put on it. Not finding one, he turned back and went to pick Gracia up, only to yelp when she suddenly swooped up from underneath him and seized his forearms, pushing him back roughly and pinning him to the wall.

Squeaking and squirming when she pinned him with force he hadn't thought she had in her, Komui quickly looked into her eyes, "Gracia, wha—" He froze, his stomach clenching.

Gracia's eyes were heavily dilated, and a wide grin that… _definitely_ didn't belong to her stretched across her lips silkily. "Hello…" She purred, her voice low and rough.

Komui blinked down at her in shock, twitching slightly, "Uh… Gracia…?"

"Is that what you want my name to be?" Gracia purred, arching a brow suggestively.

When she ground her hips against his, Komui's eyes widened and he yelped again, flushing darkly and squirming against her.

"G-Gracia! ! I-I don't th-think you're feeling well…! !"

"I beg to differ, Handsome…" Gracia chuckled, rubbing her body against his slowly, subtly, "I feel _fantastic_…"

Suddenly, Komui was looking at the ceiling, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head as Gracia nuzzled up under his jaw and brushed her lips against his neck. Trying desperately to not… uh… _react_… Komui bit down on his lip harshly and squirmed, trying to free himself.

Then, Gracia sank her teeth into his neck and he yelped, looking down at her with wide eyes.

"G-Gracia…? !"

"Hmm…" She grinned, licking a bit of blood off of the corner of her mouth, "Best not call me that anymore, Handsome… It's very misleading. Why don't you just call me by my title…" Gracia's grin widened, making her bare her teeth at Komui in a more than slightly intimidating way, "Call me the Vampire Queen."

…Oooh, that didn't sound good.

Actually using his full strength to push her away, Komui turned and dove for the door, only to yelp again and fall onto his stomach when something heavy slammed into his back.

Gracia giggled in his ear when he struggled to get upright again, her hand slipping around his waist and grabbing his belt buckle, undoing it deftly.

Komui squeaked, managing to scramble out the door and into his room with Gracia riding on his back. He then fell face down into the carpet, Gracia jerking his arms behind his back and tying them in place with his belt.

"None of that, now…" She chastised slightly, leaning in and giggling into his ear, "You attract too much attention and you'll ruin my fabulous plans for this entire building and everyone inside…"

Is that so? "KOMLIN! ! COME TO MY AID! !" Komui writhed and screamed. He then grunted and gerked when his face was pressed back into the carpet, Gracia snorting over his head.

They both froze and glanced over when Komui's bedroom door creaked open, Miranda poking her head in nervously.

"S-Supervisor? Are you—Eeek! !" Miranda's face turned crimson when she saw Gracia pinning Komui to the floor.

"Miranda!" Komui cried out in relief, comical tears pouring down his face, "Stop Gra—"

Gracia threw herself off of Komui and over to Miranda in a flash, grabbing the woman's shoulders and dipping her deeply with a leering grin, "Feeeeeemaaaale…"

She then did something that made both Komui and Miranda freeze.

Gracia pulled Miranda up against her body and kissed her harshly.

Miranda's eyes widened, her face turning white.

Komui watched in horror, his jaw cracking painfully as it fell to the floor.

Then, Miranda's eyes slowly rolled back into her head and closed, her body going limp… When Gracia pulled away, Miranda's eyes snapped back open…

…And she smirked.

Komui felt like there was a ball of ice in the back of his throat as he watched the two smirk at one another knowingly, evil looks on their dazed faces.

"Harem…" Gracia murmured.

"Yes… my Queen…" Miranda agreed, "Harem…"

"We need more females… for our Sexy Sister Harem…"

"More…"

"Come, newly turned Sister… we hunt!"

Komui was still gapping as the two females turned and ran out of the room, cackling and muttering about expanding their 'Sexy Sister Harem.'

…Reever… was definitely going to kill him this time.

* * *

_(XD All of you had best remember to thank Inuyoshie for her part in helping think up the Vampire Queen Mouthwash, for without Inuyoshie… The Sexy Sister Harem and the girl-on-girl action would not exist! !_

_…Seriously, though, none of you out there are offended, right? ^ . ^' I swear, it's just for humor! Besides, it's Komui's damned experiment! *pst* If I tell you something hilarious happens to Kanda, will it be funnier? *pst*_

_P.S. Please vote, okay? I don't ask for much from you all… Your input really, really would be appreciated.)_


	59. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XLI

Just as a fair warning; I may or may not have to go back to updating every three days again. I dunno… I'll have to see how writing the next chapters plays out over the next two days. TT . TT I sowwy…

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Klaud looked up from the meal she had been trying to enjoy (the task made difficult by Socalo's presence across from her), blinking up at Gracia and Miranda with an expression of passive curiosity. "Gracia? Exorcist Lotto? Did you need something?"

"…You…" Gracia started slowly, starting to grin down at the General slowly, dangerously… "Are a strong female… correct?"

Klaud quirked a brow slowly, and across from her Socalo stopped telling whatever graphic prison story he had been going on about this time and quirked a brow, as well.

"…I suppose." Klaud ceded with a slight nod, "Why? Do you need help with something? Training? Or d—"

Socalo's eyes widened and his jaw dropped when Gracia seized Klaud and pulled the woman flush against her chest, kissing her savagely.

The female General's eyes widened in shock and, on her shoulder, Lau Jimin was shrieking and about to smack Gracia upside the head when… Klaud, unexpectedly, relaxed, her eyes glazing over and a smirk twisting on her lips, which were still pressed against Gracia's.

Socalo snapped his mouth shut just as the jaws of others in the cafeteria dropped, the male General starting slowly, "Not that this isn't hot… But just what are you…"

His words were drowned out as Gracia pulled back from Klaud and started speaking to her and Miranda, the females all ignoring him completely.

"You two know what we must do…"

"Convert more females… expand the Harem…"

"Good, good… Instruct all Sisters to assist, and tie up the men as you go."

"Yes, My Queen."

"Yes… My Queen."

The three exchanged knowing, leering, dazed grins, then took off in different directions, Miranda and Gracia dashing out of the cafeteria and splitting up while Klaud marched straight over to the nearest female, grabbed the poor girl by her collar and jerked her upright, seemingly trying to smother her with her mouth.

By that point, everyone in the room knew that something odd was up, most were guessing it was Komui's fault, and nearly everyone was fleeing.

Socalo, though, just sat back and grinned, watching.

_Free_ girl-on-girl entertainment? Like he was about to pass that up.

…Of course, he'd regret not running when Lau Jimin transformed and smacked him over the back of the head with its giant fist.

* * *

Reever sprinted towards Komui's room at full speed, his eyes narrowed and his chest heaving as he fled the screams of terror behind him.

He didn't even need to know the full extent of what was going on; it was _Komui's fault_, and after making the Supervisor fix it, Reever was going to kill him. Plain and simple.

After managing to avoid a few small mobs of rabid females who were either kissing 'unturned' females or hogtying groups of men with evil cackles, Reever dove into Komui's room and slammed the door shut behind himself, panting as he locked it.

Some bumping and scuffling behind him made him tense and spin around, his eyes narrowing when he saw Komui flailing around on the floor desperately, hands tied behind his back and pants twisted around his ankles.

"Supervisor…" Reever hissed venomously.

"Nyu?" Komui froze and looked up at Reever with wide, innocent eyes.

…Nyu.

Exactly that sound: Nyu.

There was a pack of raging females outside, rapidly increasing their numbers by violating the mouths of every other female they came across, and all because of something Komui _must have_ done, and all the man can say is 'nyu.'

…Reever's hands itched to throttle Komui's neck.

"If this is some twisted intimacy game the two of you are playing…" Reever hissed darkly, a vein standing out against his temple, "I'll see you demoted and transferred. To Oceania."

Komui flushed and twitched, shrieking, "It's not an intimacy game! I thought it was mouthwash!"

"_Why_ would you keep an experiment you could mistake for _mouthwash_ in your _room_? !"

"You were throwing all of my things away! !"

"And incidents like _this_ are exactly why! !"

"You just have no sense of humor! !"

Reever twitched, falling silent as the hallway outside thundered, several shrieking voices zipping past before the noises dimmed again. "…You think this is _funny_?" Reever growled.

Komui twitched, then slowly, guiltily looked away, mumbling a sullen, "No…"

"Good." Reever stormed over and started to free Komui, jerking the man upright once he had, "Alright, so what exactly is it?"

"…I don't know." Komui admitted sheepishly, looking away as he buttoned his pants and slid his belt back on. He then rubbed his red and sore wrists, going on, "I've never had time to test it, and I don't even really remember what I put in it… I was pretty coffee-deprived at the time."

"…Great." Reever grumbled, running a hand through his hair.

"But fear not!" Komui declared, striking a pose and grinning, "For I have witnessed and understand the general mechanisms."

"Well, that's a start." Reever nodded, sighing and crossing his arms as he frowned at Komui, "Go."

"Well, obviously, it's transmitted orally." Komui started, adjusting his glasses and trying to make himself look as smart as possible, "It's also a strictly same-sex instance. It affects the psyche and makes the infectee more aggressive, more driven to expanding this… 'Sexy Sister Harem'…"

"The infection's primordial need to spread." Reever nodded, now getting into a more scientific mindset as he rubbed his jaw and frowned contemplatively, "So, just like a virus or bacteria, it won't stop until it's smothered the area or exhausted its resources…"

"…You suppose it could be like what happened to Arystar?" Komui asked thoughtfully, "If we can isolate Gracia, derive a vaccine…"

"You remember how magnificently that worked last time." Reever threw him a glare.

Komui pouted and was about to whine when someone banged at the door loudly.

The two scientists jumped and looked at the door nervously, tensing when it slammed open and Brigitte stormed in. They both then relaxed when they saw how sharply she was glaring at Komui.

She wasn't infected yet.

Reever stayed relaxed, but Komui tensed at that thought.

She wasn't infected yet…

"Supervisor…" Brigitte seethed dangerously, "What. Have. You. Done? !"

"…Not the time to worry about that!" Komui declared dramatically, striking a pose, "Quickly, now! We must head to the lab! Away, my team!" He then bound past Brigitte and out the door.

"…How have you survived this long around him?"

"…I'm on a lot of different antidepressants."

* * *

Gracia (the Vampire Queen) and her 'Sexy Sister Harem' crept up on Lenalee slowly, reaching out with wriggling fingers and grinning.

"Join us, Sister…"

"Come with us… We'll take out all of those nasty boys…"

"Join us, Lenaleeeee…"

Twitching, slightly green and all alone, Lenalee continued backing away slowly. On her ankles, the Dark Boots were heavy, Miranda's Time Out having stopped them partway through their transformation and leaving pixilated hexagons of crimson frozen in place around her legs.

On the floor all around, hogtied and gagged males watched in shock, most flailing and letting out muffled shouts, trying to encourage Lenalee to run.

Lenalee, though, could hardly step backwards without staggering…

"Your Majesty!"

As one, the entire group of 'vampiresses' paused and glanced over, blinking as an unnamed female hurried over.

"I'm almost completely sure this one is a female, but I can't turn her!"

The hogtied and gagged males did everything they could to keep from reacting as Kanda, his hair down, his arms and legs bound and a piece of cloth clamped between his teeth and tied behind his head, was swung around and presented to Gracia.

The Vampire Queen blinked slowly, then walked towards Kanda, tipping her head and looking him over.

Kanda eyeballed her murderously, but that look was quickly replaced by wide-eyed shock and a crimson face as she groped his chest.

"…It's flat." She reported dully.

"Flat?"

"Flat? Yes… yes, it does look flat…"

"Male?"

"No… Hair… facial structure… waist… all female…"

"Couldn't be turned, though…"

"That Sister is new… maybe she isn't potent enough…"

"Queen's Kiss…"

"Yes, yes, the Queen's Kiss!"

At the urging, Gracia nodded and reached out, removing the gag from Kanda's mouth.

"You do it and I'll skin you and make you into a lampshade." Kanda hissed dangerously as soon as his mouth was free.

Gracia blinked down at him with her dilated eyes and dazed expression, then smiled and tipped her head, taking his face into her hands and pressing her mouth to his.

…Kanda was saved the embarrassment of having his expression seen by Gracia's hair and his own fringe forming a curtain around their faces. The only thing that was obvious… was the fact that his blush got even darker.

Then, when Kanda didn't become another mindless member of her Harem, Gracia abruptly pulled back, staring down at Kanda with a flat, bored expression, "Male. Bind, gag, toss aside."

And after Kanda had been chucked into a pile of similarly hogtied and gagged males, the entire harem turned back on Lenalee.

"Gracia, I don't know what Komui gave you…" Lenalee mumbled slowly, backing away, "But I know you can overcome it… Sleep is way, way more powerful than any drug my brother could possibly give you, right?"

"Sleep?" Gracia tipped her head, smiling widely, "What are you talking about? Sleep likes this!" She then threw her arm out, an entire pile of men falling asleep in an instant.

One of the men, Marvin Huskin, managed to work his gag out of his mouth, shouting, "Forget us, Lenalee! Just run!"

Lenalee immediately shook her head and glanced at him, shouting back, "I won't leave you all to whatever they—" Before she could finish, Gracia had lunged forward with a crazed grin and wrapped her arms around the girl, cackling down at her and dipping her slightly. Lenalee yelped and struggled, but Gracia (in her Vampire Queen mindset) was just too strong…

"KOMLINS, CHAAAAAARRRRGE! !"

As one, the entire harem froze and glanced over, their eyes widening as one body as Komui crashed through the wall and rode in on a large robot, dozens of smaller ones pouring in around the giant robot's ankles. The man had an absolutely crazed look on his face, a crowbar raised triumphantly over his head before he swung it forward like a saber, the army of tiny robots lunging forward.

Gracia, still holding Lenalee tightly, watched flatly as a dozen or so of her 'Sisters' were taken out…

"…Klaud, kill them."

From somewhere in the group, a head of blonde surged forward, Lau Jimin transforming from Klaud's shoulder as she leapt onto its back, the two easily taking out the small robot army in moments.

"Nooooo! !" Komui wailed as Lau Jimin punched straight through his giant robot's chest, "Komlin Raizer! !"

The entire group, consisting of both the harem and the bound and gagged males, watched flatly as Komui and his Komlin army blew up, Lau Jimin easily reaching up and plucking Komui out of the air of flying debris.

The monkey and its Exorcist then presented Komui to Gracia, the Supervisor's hair frizzed nearly beyond recognition and his body charred. He coughed up a bit of smoke, then looked up at Gracia pathetically, his cracked glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose.

"….Sorry, Cutie." Gracia smirked at him, "But I'm afraid it's all over for you. This building is mine…" She shuddered and hugged Lenalee close, an insidious look settling on her face as her eyes glazed over even more, "And then I, the Vampire Queen, will make the ultimate Harem of Sexy Sisters by taking over the world! !" Grinning, Gracia threw her head back and laughed insanely.

Komui watched her, shocked.

…When she acted like that, it really wasn't hard to imagine that she was under the effects of something he had made…

Still… the whole taking over the entire female population of the world thing was bad, so… he had to stall her while he thought up a new plan.

"A-And then what…?" Komui started slowly after a moment, flinching slightly when Lau Jimin squeezed him a bit too much, "What do you plan on doing when you've taken over the world?"

…

…

…After a long while of silence, during which the eyes of all of the harem had widened in vapid shock, Gracia blinked at him slowly, the glaze clearing from her eyes slightly as she tipped her head.

Komui jolted slightly at that. There! She looked tired and out of it, but conscious! It was adorable! ! _That_ was the Gracia he knew! !

"…I dunno. I just feel like I really, _really_ have to make a harem…" Gracia swayed slightly on her feet, her voice lowering and slurring slightly, "Maybe we'll all do some baking? Start a knitting group? Bring cannibalism back into style?"

Komui quirked a brow. Reasoning with her was waking her up… He had to keep going to save his Lenalee and Gracia! "A knitting group? Really." Komui sighed, shaking his head, "You don't have this whole 'world domination' thing planned out very well, do you?"

Gracia balked slightly, letting Lenalee go, then pouted and glared at him sullenly. There! That look fit Gracia so much better! "Hey, when I dominate it, it'll be my damned world to do with as I please…" She groused, her shoulder slumping forward and her eyelids slipping down partway, "Besides… I really don't care about the domination part as much as I do expanding my harem…" She drooped slightly, her face blanking and her jaw going slightly slack, "I really… _really_ need to make my harem bigger…"

Komui twitched. There it was… The infection's base need to spread… "Come on…" He urged gently, "A huge harem means you'll need to devote large amounts of time to governing different groups and sections of the world… You'll hardly be able to rest…" Komui paused, then pouted, "And if you're too busy ruling the world, what about me…?" He genuinely blushed a bit at that when she blinked at him, blushing, herself.

"Well… Well I…" Gracia swayed a bit more, slowly lifting her right hand and pressing it to her forehead, "…Komui…?"

"Gracia, wake up." Komui leapt at the opportunity to talk to her without the Vampire Queen mindset in the way, "I'm sorry… I'm sorry I'm awkward, and I'm sorry I can't say what we both want me to. I want to try again and make it right this time, but I _can't_ do that if you kiss my sister!"

Gracia twitched slightly, her eyes slowly narrowing to glare at him, "You can't… be serious with me for two goddamned minutes, can you?"

Komui blinked, then whined, "I am being serious! If you take my Lenalee's mouth chastity, I'd have to destroy you!" Like he would. But his quirkiness seemed to annoy her (though he had no idea why), so maybe he could draw more of her out…

Gracia twitched again, the dazed look leaving her face a bit more and her teeth showing as she grinned at him angrily, "Please… stop… talking…"

"Oh, why? !" Komui lamented dramatically, lowering his head and sobbing, "Why, when I finally find a woman, must she want to kiss my sister? ! Curse my curiosity and inability to keep the people around me sane for more than ten minutes at a tiiiiiiime…"

Gracia groaned loudly and covered her ears with her hands, whining, "Can't… keep… listening… So… _annoying_! !"

"Graaaaciaa! !" Komui whined, his sobbing getting more dramatic, "Don't make me choose between you and my Lenaleeee!"

Around them, the hogtied and gagged males watched in exasperation.

Over in the hole Komui's Komlin had created in the wall, Reever and Brigitte were twitching and glaring at the scene in front of them, the idiocy of it all… knocking a few points off of their IQs…

"To hell with this…" Gracia mumbled, shaking her head slowly, "I'll worry about it… after a nap…" She then collapsed, falling asleep.

Komui immediately stopped sobbing when the rest of Gracia's 'harem' collapsed right after her, all of the females who had been under her influence falling asleep, as well. Lau Jimin passed out the same time as Klaud, and Komui yelped when the giant monkey nearly fell on top of him.

"…It seems the virus exhausted itself." Brigitte remarked after a long moment.

"Or Komui annoyed it to death." Reever rolled his eyes, moving around and starting to untie his fellow males.

"Hey, at least she stopped." Komui defended himself sullenly, standing and brushing himself off primly. He then sighed, "Well, I think that'll be the last time I mess with hallucinogens, hormones and mouthwash…" He twitched and froze up when he felt dozens upon dozens of angry glares being directed at him.

"…Brother." Lenalee's voice came from behind him, filled with forced cheerfulness and slightly tight.

Komui, though, didn't notice her tone and turned to his sister with a bright smile, "My little Lenalee~! You're sa—"

"Think about what you've done."

WHAM! !


	60. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XLII

Okay, after thinking, writing new chapters and reasoning with myself… I've decided to go ahead and go back to updating every three days. While plot material isn't exactly a major concern for me for the time being (I'm several chapters ahead of what I'm posting, and I still haven't started Volume 18), it will become one in the future, especially if Hoshino keeps going months at a time without coming out with new material, not to mention we in the US won't see Volume 21 until the end of this year and Volume 22 won't be out until 2012.

It may seem like I'm worrying about this all a bit too much to some, but… I'm doing it for your benefit, really. And, yes, for my own, as well; I don't want to deal with the stress of feeling like I'm disappointing everyone.

And so, hoping I have your understanding, here's chapter 60~! WOOT~! 60!

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Later that same day, on the verge of evening, a tired, charred and bruised Komui carried a still unconscious Gracia to her room, ducking his head sheepishly in the face of all of the glares and angry mutters that seemed to follow him as he walked.

Some extensive examinations of Gracia and several of the females who had been in the 'harem' (not all of them, because that would have taken far too long) showed that all traces of what Komui was now calling the "Vampire Queen Mouthwash" had been flushed from the bodies of the victims, replaced with massive amounts of Sleep's special chemical.

Gracia, it seemed, had recovered enough in the final minutes to respond as she always had when Komui annoyed her too much with his ramblings and experiments; with a quick and deep sleep.

Komui thought his diversion tactic had been a stroke of genius.

Reever had punched him over the back of the head, told him he was just damned lucky, then ordered him to take Gracia to bed.

Komui, not wanting Reever to slit his throat while he was sleeping, had bitten back a few harmless jabs about rank and simply, sheepishly complied.

And he probably should have been using the time to think about what he had done… In fact, he knew he should have…

But…

…Well…

…Having a woman you find yourself increasingly attracted to curled up against your chest, resting her head on your shoulder can be very distracting, especially when she mumbles your name and presses her face against your neck.

And no, the fact that she was muttering his name out of anger and followed it up with a curse didn't make the situation any less enjoyable; actually, it was kinda cute.

And as he walked into Gracia's room and set her down on her bed, Komui's resolve firmed.

He was going to ask her… properly.

He was going to ask her to… date him? Go steady? Court…? …Why hadn't they thought up a better term for this…

Getting off topic!

He was going to ask her.

He was going to stop being nervous and twitchy, he was going to stop restraining himself and do this right.

Komui shuddered and grinned down at Gracia's unconscious form, blushing.

Now all he had to do was wait for her to wake up.

Giddy, Komui pulled a chair over and sat beside Gracia's bed, his charred jacket crunching and flaking but his grin never fading.

* * *

Ugh… pounding…

Her head… was absolutely _pounding_…

She wanted to sleep longer… She could have easily slept longer… if her headache hadn't woken her up.

Gracia let out a loud, pained groan, weakly lifting her hand and covering her eyes against the overbearing brightness of her room.

When the lights flickered off, the shades being drawn shut soon after, she sighed softly in relief and relaxed. Slight but heavy footsteps made her pull her hand down from her face, and she blinked slowly when she saw Komui…

…And the state he was in.

"…Did something blow up on you again?" Gracia drawled slightly, quirking a brow.

Komui blinked at her as he sat in the chair beside her bed, then smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head, "You could say that… You don't remember?"

After a pause, Gracia's eyes widened slightly before they narrowed at him, "No… And it's not the usual forgetfulness that's caused by Sleep. It doesn't feel the same… What did you do to me?"

Komui's sheepishness increased and he looked away shiftily, "Can we… talk about that later? After you've recovered from it a bit more…"

After staring at him for a moment, feeling like she should probably be annoyed with him, Gracia sighed slightly and nodded, her annoyance abating. She couldn't bring herself to be annoyed with him… Not when she was worried…

"Are you alright?" Gracia asked with a frown, sitting up and reaching out to carefully touch the skin next to a cut on Komui's temple.

"Eh?" Komui blinked, seeming to blush a bit through the black ash on his face. "Oh, that." He smiled and shrugged, reaching up, "Yeah, I probably just got caught by a bit of shrapn—Ow!" Komui cringed when his fingers touched the injury, directly.

"Don't touch that." Gracia immediately muttered, slapping his hand away, "Your hands are dirty… Come here, there's a first aid kit in the bathroom." She stood flinchingly, aggravating her headache a bit, but took Komui's hand, anyway, and pulled him to his feet and towards the bathroom door.

"I'm fiiine!" Komui whined, dragging his feet a bit, "Really! I've gotten hurt by the Komlin worse than this before!"

"Komlin…?" Gracia sighed, pulling him into the bathroom, "So, whatever it was was your fault… There." She pointed to the toilet lid, "Sit."

When she heard Komui start to protest again, Gracia stopped and turned on him with a glare.

"Do I need to sedate you with Sleep?"

Komui paled slightly, shaking his head, then quickly dashed over and sat on the toilet lid, clasping his hands on his lap and perking like a good boy.

The scene made Gracia smile slightly before she turned and knelt in front of the sink, opening the cupboard and digging around until she pulled out a white box with a red cross on it. It was only when she'd opened it and turned her attention back to Komui that she actually registered his appearance…

Gracia sighed, "Never mind… You should take a shower before we do this." She nodded over to her shower slightly.

"…What?" Komui blushed, "Here?"

"If I let you leave, you won't come back." Gracia muttered, standing, "There's a robe on the rack over there…" When she noticed how shifty he looked, she glared at him slightly, "I mean it, Komui. Take a shower and let me look at that when you're done… I don't…" She paused, then blushed slightly, muttering, "I don't want you walking around… hurt…"

Komui blinked at her, then grinned in a way that had her blushing darker and twitching.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Komui sang brightly, standing quickly and lunging forward to grab her shoulders and kiss her.

Gracia's eyes widened and she tensed slightly, her face burning. She blinked, and when she opened her eyes again she was facing out into her room, the bathroom door shutting behind her and Komui singing… something as the shower started.

After taking a few moments to comprehend what had happened, Gracia sighed heavily and twitched, still blushing as she walked back over to her bed and flopped down.

She wracked her brain, trying to remember what had happened… Hadn't she last been in Komui's room? She'd drank some coffee and…

…Nothing much after that. And not in a way she was familiar with, which made her uncomfortable. Forgetfulness that wasn't caused by Sleep was very, very uncommon, and very, very unsettling.

Sleep burned in an almost comforting way against her wrist and finger, but it wasn't a feeling she could shake. Gracia sighed, bringing her left hand around to fiddle with Sleep's ring.

It was a bit ironic that she was suddenly fretting about forgetting things… But at least with Sleep, the forgetfulness had been voluntary and welcome…

Her stomach twisted a bit as she worried, and Gracia didn't even notice the sounds of the shower stop a bit later until she was shyly prodded in the ribs.

Gracia twitched slightly and glanced over at Komui, blinking slowly when he quickly looked away and squirmed, his face reddening. She quirked her brow, then noticed he was in a bathrobe and nodded slightly, standing and leading him back into the bathroom.

As Komui sat on the lid of the toilet again, shifting awkwardly as the hem of the robe rode up over his bony knees, Gracia distractedly fiddled with the contents of the first aid kit, finding some cotton balls that smelled of rubbing alcohol before turning her attention back to him.

Komui flinched and hissed, whining slightly as she dabbed at the now clean gash on his temple.

"Stop being a wimp." Gracia mumbled distantly, dabbing at the cut a bit more before looking through the first aid kit again.

"I'm not a wimp!" Komui whined, "You're hurting me!"

"Which wouldn't be happening if you hadn't done something stupid again."

When Komui pouted at that, Gracia rolled her eyes slightly, smearing some antibiotic over the wound before starting to pinch it shut with butterfly strips.

"…Why _do_ my experiments annoy you so much?" Komui asked as she worked.

Gracia paused, thinking about it, then shrugged and answered honestly, "Because when they backfire, you get hurt." Just as Komui started to perk, grinning stupidly, she added, "And because they're stupid."

Komui deflated, pouting again. "You know, if I didn't know you like me, I'd be hurt."

"I guess it's good that I like you, then." Gracia mumbled as she turned away, grabbing a towel and wiping the grease from the antibiotic ointment from her fingers, "I'd hate to see how far you can take pouting." She was just walking to the door when a pair of surprisingly strong arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her back against a chest. "Komui…" She whined slightly, struggling, "You're fixed… Let me go so I can go back to bed…"

"Nnope." Komui chuckled next to her ear.

"What's gotten into you…?" Gracia growled slightly, starting to get annoyed again though her face was heating at the same time, "Make up your mind… Are you going to be spineless or clingy?"

Komui chuckled next to her ear again, making her shudder, "I was only 'spineless,' as you call me, because I was trying very, very hard to keep myself from liking you…"

"Oh, that's promising." Gracia rolled her eyes slightly.

She wanted to drive her elbow back into his gut, but… where they were… felt too nice… But at the same time… it didn't…

"Let go." She mumbled, struggling, "I'm serious. I don't like this."

Komui's arms twitched around her slightly, but he gently set her down and complied.

Gracia quickly pulled away from him and walked back into her bedroom, her hands clenched at her sides and shaking slightly.

She wasn't used to people being that familiar with her in that way… The only one who had ever really been _allowed_ to be that close to her while touching her like that would have been Vincent, and he certainly had never been genuinely, romantically affectionate.

…At least, not with her.

It felt nice when Komui did it… It made her feel good.

But at the same time it felt extremely uncomfortable, and it made her… apprehensive…

"G-Gracia, wait!" Komui's voice behind her got louder as he hurried after her, "I'm sorry, I didn't mea—"

When he grabbed her shoulder and spun her around, Gracia reacted without thinking; she cringed and threw up her arms, lowering her head and shielding her face. Fear welled up in her chest quickly, making her shake.

There was silence for a moment, and that made her feel even more afraid; when she felt his fingers on her wrists, she tried to jerk away.

Komui's hands caught her wrists quickly, though, and kept her from drawing back, gently pulling her forward, instead.

Gracia ground her teeth and screwed her eyes shut when he pulled her arms apart and to the side, stiffening when one of his hands let go to cup her jaw and tip her head up.

"Gracia…"

Even though she knew he was dead, some part of her was shocked when she didn't hear Vincent's voice.

Gracia blinked her eyes open and looked up at Komui, shifting nervously at the soft, sad look on his face.

"I would never…" He said slowly, his palm rubbing her cheek, "_Ever_ hit you."

Gracia inhaled, shaking a bit, then nodded, "I… I know. It's just… just a reflex."

The sad look on Komui's face worsened at the idea of that being an actual reflex anyone would develop.

"…I…" Gracia started, shifting slightly and glancing off to the side, "I'm not… good at this… I was trained… to know how to take care of my husband… and that's it. And I wasn't even good at that… I don't know… how to behave… o-or how I'm supposed to act… I—" Her eyes widened as her words were cut off, Komui's warm, chapped lips meeting her still open mouth.

The action stole the breath from her lungs, the reason from her mind… It saw her head spinning her, her eyes rolling back into her head and her spine arching slightly as she slumped against him.

"It's not like there's a set code of conduct you're supposed to follow, you know…" Komui remarked amusedly once he'd pulled back, grinning at her slightly and letting go of her other wrist to wrap his arm around her waist, "It's something you play by ear…"

"And right now, my 'ear' is telling me to slap you…" Gracia mumbled dazedly, her head still spinning and her face getting hot again. It wasn't a lie or anything… Her training really did tell her that this level of contact for a female of her status with someone she wasn't engaged to was inappropriate.

There were some things about her old life she would have really, really liked to have never remembered…

Komui quirked a brow, then smiled down at her, "Then, if you really need set rules to follow, I'll make them for you."

Gracia's brow twitched.

She knew that look… That closed-eyed, wide grinned, beaming faced look…

…It was the same look he gave Reever whenever he was about to blow something up.

Gracia's eyes widened and she shrieked when Komui suddenly wrapped both of his arms around her waist, picking her up and starting to walk with her.

"Komui!" She struggled, stuttering slightly, "K-Komui, put me d-down, now!"

Komui just chuckled. He did, indeed, put her down… Or, more accurately, he dropped her back onto her bed.

Gracia grunted as her head flopped back against her pillows, getting ready to throw her arm forward and use Sleep on the jerk when a heavy weight dropped on her legs and waist. She lifted her head and looked down, twitching and blushing darkly when she saw a very pleased Komui lying on top of her, his chest pressed to her stomach.

"…What are you doing?" She grumbled.

"Cuddling." Komui replied, smiling brightly and hugging her waist tightly, "I like cuddling."

Gracia twitched again. Animals cuddled. Nobles didn't. (At least, that was what Mathilda's voice was sneering inside of her head.)

"…Hey… what you said…"

"Hmm?" Gracia glared down at him slightly.

Komui paused, then blushed slightly, glancing away, "You said… 'relationship'… Do you really want one…? Y-You know… with me…?"

"…A bit too late to be asking that, isn't it?" Gracia asked sardonically even as her face got even hotter, her head throbbing slightly, "Since you've already commandeered my torso and all…"

"Hey, I'm being serious!" Komui whined, looking back at her with a pout.

"I know…" Gracia sighed and forced herself to relax, smiling slightly, "I'm just giving you a hard time… because it took you so long to ask." She paused, then sighed looked away, mumbling, "And yes…"

Komui's loud squeal and overzealous hug was one physical intimacy shot too many; Sleep flashed hotly around her wrist and finger and Gracia passed out, Komui falling asleep before she did with his head on her chest.

And the pervert… he was still in nothing but a bathrobe…


	61. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XLIII

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"So… yeah… uh…" Komui riffled through his papers, shifting in his seat and fiddling with his glasses, "It's… uh… it's in Greece. Something about a pillar that freezes over when it's foggy…"

Socalo heaved a heavy, annoyed sigh, growling, "Get your shit together, Supervisor. Details. Where in Greece? Any Akuma? Any Finders on-site?"

"Eeeh… Hang on, I need to find the paperwork." Komui muttered.

Brigitte huffed and reached past him, snatching the paperwork he was looking for right off of the top of the stack in front of him and shoving it under his nose.

"…Oh…" Komui blinked, "There… it… is…"

The group in the room watched quietly as he gingerly took the stapled documents, as if they would bite him, everyone becoming equally annoyed when he seemed to take his time flipping through each page.

What in the hell was he stalling for…? !

"_Komui._"

Standing next to one another, Lavi and Krory tensed and shivered slightly, the males looking over at the female next to them and cringing at the dangerous look on her face.

Gracia glared at Komui, going in icily, "Assign. The mission."

Komui twitched and lowered his head (looking not unlike a puppy that had just had its nose flicked), muttering the mission specifications in a reluctant, ashamed tone.

Gracia sighed, her expression softening as she listened. She'd been expecting it… Komui was protective and always reluctant to assign Lenalee to missions, after all. Of course he'd act stupid when he had to assign her (Gracia) to a team…

…Knowing it was coming, though, didn't mean she was going to be any less harsh on him.

Actually, it had given her time to prepare to be harsh on him. Not that she needed the practice; now that they were 'official,' Komui had taken to randomly attacking her with hugs, and she'd gotten good at thinking up things to scream at him.

Of course, Komui did have one other thing to be nervous about…

"…and Gracia… will be acting as the mission leader," Komui muttered, sounding very, very reluctant to keep talking, "With Winters Socalo acting as the overseeing officiary General… This will be part of one of the several requirements Gracia will have to meet in her pursuit for a seat on the General officers board."

…Komui hadn't been happy when Gracia had decided to go ahead and go through the steps of becoming a General.

He didn't think she was taking it seriously. She didn't see how it was any more dangerous than being a regular Exorcist, save being a more obvious target for the Noah.

He didn't want her going on extended missions. She'd talked to Socalo and Klaud enough to know that Generals were free to pick their missions from a laundry list the Great Generals compiled for them, and that some of the missions on that list were even shorter than the ones regular Exorcists got sent on.

He didn't want her being out of his direct chain of command. She thought he was just being clingy.

Gracia knew that, as a General, when something big happened, she would be one of the first to be called. She knew she would be sent out onto the front lines, more so than the other Exorcists, she knew she would be assigned a team she would be expected to protect with her life, she knew the rules would change for her.

But… she also knew that she would have more influence. When important meetings were held, she would be expected to be present, and she would know all of the details and she would be allowed, _expected_, to speak.

And, most importantly, when decisions about the regular Exorcists were made, she would have the pull to sway those decisions.

With that power, she could protect Allen.

Combining that power with the sway she still had as a Solidor, she could protect Komui and Lenalee.

Lvellie wouldn't be able to hurt Allen, and Mathilda wouldn't be able to threaten Komui and Lenalee again without having to go through her.

So, in her opinion, the pros outweighed the cons by far, even if she would have to sacrifice a bit of sleep for it…

"You leave tomorrow…" Komui finished in a dreary mumble, slumping back in his sleep, "Get a good rest tonight…"

Sighing, Gracia stepped forward and took one of the mission booklets (hers and Socalo's being trimmed in red with special instructions for their task), shoving it into her pocket before walking out.

She could practically feel the teary-eyed, kicked puppy look Komui was giving the back of her head, but that really only made her walk faster…

Gracia liked Komui, of that much she was certain. She was even certain she more than just liked him… But his approach to their relationship was… scary.

And, to make matters worse, he knew it scared her, and he tried to make it 'better'… by doing the overly affectionate things that had her on edge.

For example, Komui _had not_ been kidding when he had said he liked to cuddle, and for the past two days he had insisted on sharing her bed during her naptimes so he could do just that while she tried to sleep. When he'd even tried (with that mischievous grin of his) to suggest that he stay the night so he could spend more time helping her get used to the idea of cuddling, she'd had no choice but to slap him.

Kissing she could deal with; even though she enjoyed it with Komui a lot more than she had with Vincent, it was still something she was used to, something even Vincent had done to her frequently.

But cuddling? No. She had slept next to Vincent for seven years, and never once had they cuddled.

It was an unfamiliar act of intimacy that had her blushing and trying to run at the same time, and Komui would have none of the latter.

And, now that they were dating, he had no problem with holding her in place and making her accept his affection with a grin.

It had her missing the days when he was awkward and aloof with her.

Komui had really done a one-eighty…

Of course, it wasn't as if she was just putting up with it because she liked him. Part of her really, really did enjoy the things he made her do. She liked the way his (nerdy scientist) body felt, she (on the occasion that he remembered to take a shower) liked the way he smelled, she liked waking up next to him (when he hadn't rolled over on top of her and was close to crushing her, all while snoring loudly in her ear)…

The aversion to it all, though, was something she couldn't shake… Or something it was going to take her a very, very long time to get over.

And, even though she felt a twinge of guilt for doubting him, Gracia wasn't about to hold her breath while hoping Komui would stay interested long for that long, waiting for her to get over it…

Sighing softly, Gracia walked into the music room and over to the piano. Now that Komui felt he had the happy privilege to walk into her room whenever he wanted, the music room was one of the few places she could hide…

She didn't play, though. Not that day. Instead, she just sat at the bench, crossed her arms on top of the keyboard cover and laid her head down, settling down to take a nap. Komui would come looking for her sooner or later, and she wanted to get some cuddle-free rest…

As always, though, the nap didn't seem to last nearly long enough… Not before she was being picked up and carried.

"Nnnnn…" Gracia whined and shifted, frowning, "Put… me back…"

A chuckled, "Wouldn't you rather sleep in your bed?"

"No…" Gracia groaned, shifting more, "Put me back… and go back to work, Komui…"

"Too late." Komui sighed dramatically, teetering slightly as he shifted his weight to one side. A hollow thunk confused her for a moment, but when he started walking again she realized he'd kicked a door open. "We're already at your room." There was another thunk and a click as he kicked the door shut.

Half awake and annoyed because her sleep had been disturbed, Gracia continued struggling against him, kneeing him in the stomach when he flopped down on her bed with her and tried to cuddle.

"Owww…!" Komui whined, pulling back and pouting at her sullenly as she opened her eyes and glared up at him, "What was that for? !"

"You should know better than to disturb my naps." Gracia grumbled, rolling to face away from him and struggling a bit to kick her boots off before curling up.

As soon as she had settled down, Komui was right next to her again, pressing up behind her and wrapping an arm around her waist as he nuzzled through her hair to get to the back of her neck.

"Agh!" Gracia snapped and jerked away from him, yelping as she fell out of bed.

"Gracia!" Komui squeaked above her, the bed creaking as he shuffled over quickly.

Her face burning with embarrassment (and a slight rug burn), Gracia muttered something incoherently dismissive and stumbled back to her feet, turning her back to him and brushing herself off. When Komui wrapped his arms around her waist again, she jumped and jerked away from him, spinning around and batting at his hands.

"Goddamn it, Komui, stop that!" She jerked slightly and bit her tongue at the look that crossed his face.

"…Okay…" Komui murmured, slowly lowering his arms, "I'm sorry…"

"N-No, don't be…" Gracia mumbled, "I—" She cut herself off and turned away, pressing a hand to her forehead.

"…" Tentatively, slowly, Komui reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist again, and though she cringed, feeling a twinge of discomfort, Gracia let it happen. "…I'm not a mind reader." Komui sighed softly, "I mean, I am insanely smart, but that's one of the few things I can't do."

Gracia smiled weakly at the teasing prod, then sighed, shifting and thinking slowly, carefully. "I'm sorry…" She mumbled, "But I… don't think that you coming here to take naps with me is a good idea…"

"…Why not?" Komui asked gently.

Gracia sighed and rubbed her forehead before covering her face, silent for a moment. There was no point in lying to him… Besides, she'd never really made up stories before, so… "I don't… I don't want you getting fed up with me…"

"…" Komui's arms tugged Gracia a bit closer, and her face heated as she let him pull her down onto his lap. "Why do you say…" He started, still speaking slowly, gently, as he reached out and turned her head to make him look at her, "'Fed up?'"

Gracia only met his eyes for a moment before looking away, opening and closing her mouth uselessly a few times. Why was talking to him openly so awkward…? "B-Because…" She stopped, closing her eyes to compose her thoughts for a moment, "Because you, Komui, are a very… very physical person… and I… am… not… used to that… So I…" She shuddered, trying to physically pull away from him as her voice started to lower, "I push you away… even when part of me doesn't want to… And I don't want to… hurt… make… you feel…"

"…You think I'm going to get tired of waiting for you to open up…"

…Hearing him say it hurt.

Gracia turned away from him and lowered her head, her eyes watering and burning and her chest twisting painfully. She shut her eyes and kept them shut when Komui cupped her jaw and made her turn back towards him, shaking slightly when he tipped her head up.

She couldn't help but relax slightly when his lips pressed against hers firmly, shuddering and leaning against him a bit when his arm around her waist pulled her closer to his chest.

Things… quickly changed, though… when Komui started… touching her.

His palm and fingers splayed out flat against her back before slowly dragging upwards… the action sending a wave of sparks up her spine.

Arching with the motion, Gracia tensed slightly against him and gasped as the sparks lit her body intensely. And it had been such a simple action… Hazily, she felt Komui smirk against her mouth, and then h—

Oh god… Oh, _god_, there was something… hot… wet… not hers, in her mouth…

…She had _never_ been treated like this, and in the face of such pleasant treatment, she was completely helpless.

Absently, she was aware of Komui turning them slightly and easing her down, pressing her back against the bed… Faint flickerings of protest floated around in the back of her mind, but when palms started to rub her waist, hips, one sliding down her leg and the other up her side, they became incoherent mush.

Her hands rested, useless, on the pillow on either side of her head, fingers curled and twitching… She didn't know what to do with herself… Hell, she could hardly respond to the tongue that was gently probing her mouth…

…She didn't even know she needed air until Komui pulled back and she was gasping, heat flooding her face, her eyelids heavy and her lips wet.

Komui, also flushed and panting, grinned down at her slightly, "If what I'm trying to build up to… will lead to anything half as adorable as the picture you're making right now… there is no way I could get tired of you."

…Ah, now she knew what to do with her hands. Gracia covered her face with them, twitching as she felt her blush heat its way down her neck.

She heard Komui giggle, and when he flopped down beside her she quickly turned her back on him again, unable to face him. He seemed to be undeterred, though, if the arm that wrapped around her waist and pulled her back against him was any indication.

And this time… it was much easier to let it happen.

And Komui seemed to notice, and it apparently made him happy, because he squeaked and cuddled against her back intensely.

Gracia twitched in a brief moment of mixed annoyance and embarrassment, but that faded quickly enough as the warmth of the situation made her sleepy.

…She'd kick Komui later…

* * *

Gracia sat in the sitting are of her room, reading the red-trimmed, black booklet that detailed what would be expected of her on the mission tomorrow.

Her unit, consisting of two members she had never worked with before (Lavi and Arystar Krory), would be led by her and was expected to follow her directions. Even though General Socalo would be with them the entire time, he would not fight or give his input unless it was absolutely necessary or something happened that would cause Gracia to become debilitated and unable to fulfill her duties.

Being paired up with two units she hadn't fought with before would serve two roles: It would test her ability to lead people she was unfamiliar with, and it would test her ability to utilize and command two Innocence she didn't know the abilities of.

Fortunately, things she would easily mess up on, like finding passage to Greece and tracking down the anomaly, would be left to the Finders, as such things usually were.

Securing the potential rogue Innocence, though, and coordinating any battles that they ran into along the way… that would all be her.

Still… it seemed like it would be a fairly safe mission… Unlike her first one with Lenalee, the source of the anomaly was fixed and known; an unmoving pillar that froze when it was foggy outside. And there hadn't been any Akuma sightings by the Finders in the area…

In fact, the Finders would have easily brought the entire pillar back, themselves, if it weren't firmly and immovably affixed to the ground.

It looked like it would be easy.

Of course, ever since the battle in the Ark above Edo, the missions had been few and far between, and the ones that did come in had all been surprisingly easy. Few of them had Akuma problems, and none had any above Level 3s…

Gracia looked the booklet over a bit more, then shut it and slipped it back into the pocket of her coat, sighing and relaxing back into her chair.

"…Don't do this."

She jumped slightly, then relaxed and sighed when Komui reached down from over the top of the chair, grabbing her shoulders.

"No one is pressuring you to become a General."

"You seemed pretty excited about the idea when Hevlaska first proposed the possibility…" Gracia mumbled.

"That…" Komui paused, his grip on her shoulders tightening slightly, "That… was before…"

"…" Gracia sighed slightly, "You're really very selfish, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am." Komui answered simply.

"Komui, surely you, of all people, must have noticed the shift that has occurred since I first joined the Order." Gracia sighed, closing her eyes and relaxing back into her seat, "Things have changed since the days when the Generals went out on missions alone… And because if that, it's highly unlikely the Generals will be sent out alone for a while yet, right?"

"…Yes, that's true…" Komui muttered reluctantly.

"So once things have settled down, the teams assigned to the other Generals will be reevaluated." Gracia went on, the gears in her brain slowly turning, but turning nonetheless, "And with Cross' old unit without a general, they'll be split between the remaining Generals… or reassigned to me, should I do well on this evaluation." She cracked an eye open, glancing up at him, "Judge-Sal aside, I'll have the offensive support of what… two, at least one other Exorcist? And the current generation is quite strong… You don't have much to worry about. And I'm not Cross." She looked up at him fully, opening both eyes, "I won't disappear for years on end. I may fall asleep in a ditch for a few days, but I won't disappear…" She blinked up at him, concluding simply, "I'm not going to leave you."

Komui flushed and smiled widely, swinging around the chair and jerking her to her feet to hug her tightly.

Gracia felt her face heat up and she sighed, grumbling as she went limp and let him try to hug the life out of her, "You really needed me to say that…?"

"I'm needy." Komui answered brightly, nuzzling her neck, "I need to be told things like that… Just like you need to be smothered with affection so you can always be reminded that my affection for you is genuine."

Gracia tensed and bit her lip when his lips brushed her neck, bringing her hands up to clutch at his back, digging her fingers into his skin through his coat. When he moved his mouth, even slightly, it made the entire side of her jaw and down her neck tingle, and without really registering her own movements she gasped loudly, dragging her nails down his back.

After a pause, she felt Komui grin against the crook of her neck.

"J-Jerk…" Gracia rasped, blushing darkly. When Komui's hands started to wander, she squeaked and struggled, "Wh-What time is it…? !"

"…Eh?" Komui muttered against her neck, pulling back slightly and thinking, "…Five-thirty."

"I'm late for a training session." Gracia muttered breathlessly, squirming away from Komui (with more reluctance than she would admit to) and hurrying towards the door.

She had just gotten used to the goddamned cuddling thing. She could _not_ go further than that at the moment…


	62. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XLIV

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"WRONG! !"

Gracia blinked and stared down in shock, utterly confused when she found herself sitting on the sand in the training pit with her legs spread, a wooden practice blade sitting between them. A thick strip of pain ran perfectly down the center of her part…

…What had just happened again?

"Che. Get up, support unit."

Gracia looked up at Kanda, blinking as he glared down at her with one hand on his hip, the other holding a wooden practice blade much like her own pointed down at the ground.

…Oh, right. He'd hit her on the head and knocked her on her butt.

"Up." Kanda growled, his glare intensifying, "Now. Try again."

"Okay…" Gracia sighed meekly, stumbling to her feet again and picking up the practice sword. When she clumsily, slowly tried to take a stance, Kanda's brow twitched and he swiftly brought his sword down again, smacking her forehead and dropping her on her ass once more.

"I just told you that stance was wrong! !"

"Actually, you didn't say anything about my stance…" Gracia mumbled dazedly, her head hurting and spinning, "You just hit me and told me that whatever I'd done was wrong…"

Kanda sneered, hissing, "It was the only damned thing you'd done; what the hell else could I have meant? Try. It. Again."

"You know what, why don't you try it." Gracia slurred slightly, pointing to him with a frown, "And I'll just copy you."

Kanda narrowed his eyes at her murderously, then stabbed his practice blade into the ground and stormed over to her.

Gracia went slightly limp as Kanda grabbed the back of her collar and neck, scruffing her as if she were an errant cat, then jerked her to her feet. He then walked around her quickly, using quick, jabbing movements and grabs to adjust her positioning before picking up her sword again and shoving it back into her hands, adjusting her grip. When he was satisfied, Kanda marched back over to his practice blade and jerked it out of the ground, spinning back to face her quickly.

"…Whoa, did Yu actually do something _helpful_? !" Someone off to the side crowed with laughter, "Allen, get the camera!"

"Shut it, _baka usagi_!" Kanda snapped without looking over at Lavi.

Gracia sighed and watched Kanda vapidly, feeling jaded and out of it now that the training was running along the path it was…

She knew Kanda wouldn't go easy on her; that wasn't what she was feeling disturbed about. She'd rarely trained in the training room and she wasn't aware of how… public it could get when people weren't on missions.

They weren't poking fun at her; they were in a life or death struggle, and no one was low enough to make fun of anyone who was having problems with their training. But having an audience was making her feel… irritated.

She absently noted Kanda had been staring at her blankly for the last few moments, the young man's eyebrow twitching slightly as Lavi and Allen continued to joke amongst themselves (not about Kanda and Gracia, of course; that bout of childishness had passed), and just as Kanda was about to lunge and unleash his frustration on her, Gracia sighed.

"Can't we do this out in the forest…?"

Kanda paused, staring at her, then nodded silently and walked off without a word.

As she always did, Gracia obeyed his silent and hardly gestured command and followed him instantly, moving the practice sword in her hand to hold it at her side, at the base of the wooden blade.

The walk through the west wing, the windows of which overlooked the water, went quickly and silently, Gracia absently glad that Kanda had taken the time to memorize the halls of her family's former home; she didn't much care to be the map at the moment.

It was when they were outside, though, and heading towards the tree line that Kanda surprised her.

"Are you really going to try for one of the open General positions…?"

Gracia blinked at Kanda's back, then sighed slightly and nodded, "Yeah, I guess I am…"

Kanda immediately stopped and glanced back at her, his dark eyes narrowed in a dangerous glare, "You 'guess?' This isn't a fucking joke, support unit. They're going to assign Exorcists to you."

"Concerned about me not being able to protect our comrades?" Gracia smiled slightly. When Kanda's glare turned absolutely poisonous, Gracia sighed and covered her eyes with her hand, muttering, "I know, Kanda, I know… I'm sorry. I just… feel… tired right now…"

Kanda frowned at her deeply. The way she said "tired"… didn't sound right. She wasn't talking physical. She was talking mental.

She was acting like…

"…The Supervisor hasn't been very supportive."

"No, he hasn't." Gracia muttered, using the hand she'd been covering her eyes with to brush her hair back over her shoulders, "He can try to cover that up with physical attention as much as he wants, but _he_ was the one who ended up getting verbal support…"

Kanda rolled his eyes, snorting, then turned and continued walking further into the forest.

Gracia sighed, scratching her forehead, then continued following him, starting to feel… mopey…

…Her mood must be _obviously_ lackluster if _Kanda_ was questioning her and actually getting things _right_.

When they arrived at a clearing where the dirt had been packed rock hard, the high roots of all of the trees in the area worn smooth and every trunk that surrounded the area marred with deep, clean gashes, Gracia paused, blinking.

"…So this is where you train when you're by yourself…"

"Shut up and get into your position."

After that, Kanda went back to not talking, letting his sword correct her stance and moves when he wasn't satisfied (which was more often than not).

Of course, it probably didn't help that Gracia paid more attention to his moves than her own… She did, after all, _dream_ the Judge-Sal's movements; as long as she knew how the body was supposed to move, it didn't matter if she was physically capable of doing it or not.

Kanda was physically capable enough for the both of them, even though he used Japanese blades rather than the European greatswords Judge-Sal was equipped with…

When she couldn't take anymore, Gracia did the only thing she knew would make Kanda stop; she dropped the practice sword and fell back onto her butt, sitting and staring up at him dully as he stopped his blade just shy of smacking her temple.

He glared at her, huffing, then sat down in front of her in a similar position.

"You suck."

"I know. I never entertained thoughts of gaining any sort of physical prowess from training with you. This was more to… teach me the concept and enhance my imagination." Gracia shrugged, smiling at him tiredly.

Kanda huffed again, narrowing his eyes at her.

Gracia's smile widened slightly; she knew him well enough to know that this glare wasn't out of any actual anger. If it was, he wouldn't still be sitting with her.

She did, though, know that something was bugging him…

"…I'll still get assigned missions with the Tiedoll unit, you know."

Kanda's brow twitched slightly.

Gracia sighed, leaning back on her hands, "The General is still my general… He always will be. And you and Marie will always be my team."

"Quit rambling." Kanda grumbled, crossing his legs and arms and glancing off to the side.

"I had fun with you over this last year." Gracia ignored him, still smiling, "And I'm happy to say you're the one I find it easiest to work with. Who knows, I might even manage to steal you from the General every now and then when I get sent places." She tipped her head, her smile widening slightly.

"Shut up!" Kanda snapped, still not looking at her as his jaw tensed.

"I missed you, too, Yu. During that time my mother had taken me back to Nalbina… I missed you, too."

She liked being like this with him; he was the only one she could be like this with. She'd never goad or tease him into saying things, and she'd never put words in his mouth that he wasn't already chewing on.

And Kanda wouldn't get up and walk off over her saying things they both knew were true.

…Though he would glare the fuck out of her.

"…The _usagi_'s Innocence is a hammer he can grow at his will. It's also got a few elemental seals on it, though he favors the one that summons a giant fire snake."

"Oh?" Gracia leaned forward, crossing her legs and leaning her elbows against them, "And Krory?"

"His teeth." Kanda answered, glancing off to the side with irritated disinterest, "They let him drink Akuma blood. It also enhances his speed and strength, alters his personality and lets him act as an Akuma sensor."

Gracia smiled. Kanda was adorable when he was compliant out of worry.

When Kanda glanced back at her, his eyes narrowed just before his fringe shadowed his eyes dangerously.

…Gracia was just wondering if Kanda could read minds when he jumped to his feet, grabbed his practice sword and lunged at her.

* * *

"Remember, Gracia, if things get to be too much for you to handle, let General Socalo take over." A tearful, blubbering Tiedoll sobbed into Gracia's hair as he hugged her tightly, "Winters, take over the moment she gets hurt!"

"I ain't gonna hold her goddamned hand, Tiedoll." Socalo snapped, "The Supervisor's been over this with me dozens of times; I'm not supposed ta take over unless things go FUBAR! Now quit coddlin' her, all of ya! You're all gonna make her mess up before any damned Akuma or Noah does!"

Though she'd never really interacted with Socalo much beyond his shouting at her back when they trained together with Madness and the Judge-Sal, Gracia found herself liking him a bit more when he grabbed her by the back of her collar and jerked her out of her sobbing General's arms and slung her over his shoulder. Everyone's _overwhelming_ confidence in her was making her feel pretty bitter…

Not that she was fishing for compliments or praise, or even a pat on the back, really; she just wanted all of them to stop reminding her that she didn't have to do this.

It was making her think back to how she'd handled things mission-wise in the past and wonder where along the line she'd left the impression that she couldn't handle herself, let alone a small group of others.

Did she really come off as that incompetent?

Did she really suck that much?

Why was this making her chest hurt and her eyes water…

And, as the negative emotions started to well up, Sleep warmed soothingly and hazed her thoughts out, and Gracia relaxed and smiled as Socalo set her down again.

Ooo, that felt nice… It had been a while since she'd gotten so upset that Sleep felt it necessary to intervene, and in all of the action lately she'd almost started to forget how pleasant being numb felt…

When she turned back to the fretting group, she smiled at all of the flinching and sheepish looks on their faces, absently happy that Socalo's rough words seemed to have _finally_ made them realize how annoying they were being.

"General Socalo's right." Lenalee smiled at Gracia guiltily, stepping forward and hugging her, "I'm sorry… You'll do fine."

Gracia really didn't know why Lenalee was apologizing… The girl had been worried, sure, but she hadn't been as big a pain about this as her brother. _Komui_ was the one she wanted to hear an apology from, damn it…

Still, she hugged the girl back and passively muttered something consoling.

Even in her warm, sleepy haze, Gracia managed to wipe the smile from her face and stare at him flatly when Komui stepped forward once his sister had stepped back.

Komui flinched slightly, wrapping his arms around Gracia tightly.

"I'll be waiting for you to come back…"

Gracia blinked, then leaned against him as her face and neck got warm, smiling only into his jacket. She wasn't done being annoyed with him yet, but that didn't mean she wouldn't miss him…

…Greatly…

"It's a simple mission, Komui…" Gracia mumbled into his chest, "Quit fretting so much and just wish me luck, damn it…"

"…Good… luck…" Komui muttered meekly.

Gracia sighed slightly, then pulled away and turned to (reluctantly) board the boat, which Socalo, Lavi and Krory had already boarded. She didn't make it four steps, though, before Komui let out a dramatic, tearful wail and wrapped his arms around her waist, jerking her back into his chest.

"Nooo! !" Komui sobbed dramatically, shaking Gracia back and forth as he flailed, "I won't let you gooooo! Don't grow up on meeeee!"

Her face heating up darkly with embarrassment, Gracia ground her teeth and clenched her fist until her Innocence heated, making Komui drop her before he fell to his knees as Sleep weakened him.

"Damn it, Komui, I am not Lenalee!" Gracia snapped, her voice squeaking as she turned to smack the top of his head, indignant, "I'm thirty years old! If I want to be a General, then you're going to smile and support me and keep your blubbering to yourself, or I'm going to Alucinari you straight into singing "When You Were Sweet Sixteen" to the Inspector!"

To her left, Gracia vaguely heard Lavi burst out laughing, and she pursed her lips and twitched her wrist threateningly when Komui gapped up at her, Sleep's chain jangling softly.

Komui paled and nodded, swallowing as he sat on his legs and bowed his head to her repeatedly, "I understand, dear. Forgive me."

Gracia tensed and let out a funny choking sound when Komui called her "dear," her brow twitching slightly and her heart palpitating oddly.

Komui glanced up at her, still plaintive but with a decidedly sly glint in his eye.

Behind Komui, Lenalee had covered her mouth with her hand and was giggling softly.

Oooh, he'd done that on _purpose_…

After staring down at Komui for a moment, her brow still twitching, Gracia turned and walked towards the loading ramp, not saying a word.

"…Gracia?" Komui's weak, unsure voice called after her just before she stepped onboard.

She paused, then turned back to him with a disarming smile.

Komui blinked, then smiled back.

Gracia's brow twitched again and she raised her hand.

"Drow Poison."


	63. REM Cycle: Record Tainted, Fictionalized

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Lavi grinned and hummed the Irish tune Komui had sang and danced to not an hour before.

Watching a hypnotized Komui trip over his own awkward feet had definitely been the highlight of the day so far… Of course, watching Komui and Gracia struggle to be affectionate with one another was always a daily highlight. Even when the two finally _had_ gotten around to recognizing they had feelings for one another and confessing, things hadn't gotten better…

They had only gotten even _more_ awkward.

Of course, the Bookman's apprentice knew it would work out between them, and that they would get less awkward around one another as time passed; he just wished he'd been there to witness it sine the beginning.

It had the makings of a _fantastic_ romantic comedy. And, to make it even better, it was a _historical_ romantic comedy. Those were damned hard to come by!

He'd have to get the details from Lenalee later…

As Lavi mulled over his prospective writing venture, Krory sat next to Socalo nervously, feeling an undeniable urge to sidle away from the bored, bloodthirsty man.

Unfortunately, there wasn't anywhere to sidle to; the ferry they were on was part of the public transport system from the town at the northern end of the island European Branch had been moved to. Though they had a private booth, it was small. Krory and Socalo took up an entire bench by themselves (Krory absently marveled at the General's size), Lavi was in a single seat, and the other bench was taken up by—

"Guuurrrhhgg…"

The two offensive support units and the General glanced over at the lump on the only other bench in the compartment, Krory flinching when Gracia, her hood pulled up, pressed her face deeper into the seat she was lying flat on and rolled her body like she was trying to keep from heaving.

Socalo heaved a heavy, growling sigh and rolled his eyes, propping his chin up in his hand and closing his eyes; were Gracia anyone else, he would have told them to suck it up. Considering her problem was caused by her Innocence, though…

"Train a bit more with your damned Innocence and that wouldn't happen." Socalo grumbled with disinterest.

"Ugh… No amount… of training…" Gracia started weakly, turning her head slightly and peeking out from beneath her hood with a cloudy gray eye set deep in clammy, bruise-colored skin, "Will… get rid… of the… chemica-aaaallglghgg…" Gracia trailed off with a watery gurgle, burying her face in the cushion again and covering her head with her arms.

"Don't worry, Gracia…" Lavi smiled at her pityingly, "From here, we're going straight to Calais and taking trains the rest of the way. We'll only be on this ferry for another hour or so…"

All he got in answer was a weak thumbs-up.

Krory shifted and watched his mission leader closely, feeling awkward and slightly ashamed. Though they'd spoken to one another once or twice and he'd seen her interact with the younger Exorcists, he'd never properly introduced himself…

Of course, she was a noble, and one with higher standing than him; he was just a count, and though Gracia had no title, herself, Mathilda (he was fairly sure) was a marchioness… And Krory had never really interacted with members of other noble families.

Around Allen and Lavi, it was fine; he could forget his title (not that he'd been raised to act like a proper count, anyway). Sitting across from the daughter of a marchioness, though (the fact that said daughter was dressed in baggy, lazy clothes, hadn't seemed to have brushed her hair that morning and was writhing around on the seat like a salted snail blew right over his head), had him suddenly feeling as awkward as he had the first time he'd met Lenalee and she hadn't been afraid of him for looking like a vampire…

Krory really… really wished Lavi and Socalo would switch places.

"Oi, woman." Socalo suddenly spoke up, breaking the heavy silence, "They say you'd been traveling Europe quite a bit before joining the Order… You been to Greece?"

Instead of lifting her head and answering, which she knew would result in her heaving bile, Gracia gave another thumbs-up.

"'n have ya heard about the magical pillar your team's being sent to investigate?"

Gracia thought long and hard. It hadn't really registered before, but…

She lifted her hand and pinched her thumb and forefinger together, indicating that she'd only remembered a little.

Socalo grunted, "You remember anything that wasn't in the report?"

Gracia thought again, then lifted her head slightly and glanced at the General dully, "The pillar used to be part of a small monument to the Greek god Boreas…" When Socalo quirked a brow at her, she shrugged and laid her head back down.

"Ooo, fitting…" Lavi drawled thoughtfully, "Boreas was one of the four Anemoi, the gods of the four cardinal winds. He was in charge of the chilling northern wind and brought winter every year."

"…Could that just be a coincidence?" Krory wondered in his muted, nervous voice.

Gracia lifted her head slightly yet again and glanced at Krory, giving him a weak smile, "Probably not… When I last passed by that area, the locals didn't act like it was all that unusual… Which is probably why it's taken the Order… so long to notice it… That anomaly… is probably why they built the former shrine there…"

"…Huh, the Old Panda was right." Lavi grinned at Gracia, "You really do know your history…"

Gracia smiled slightly, then dropped her head down onto the seat once more, closing her eyes as the hood of her long, uniform jacket covered her face.

She couldn't stand talking anymore…

* * *

As usual, Gracia slept through most of their transits, happy to be traveling by train again. It had been such a long time since she'd been able to relax while riding on a train… and trains had always been one of her favorite places to sleep.

Especially when the trains went over long stretches of countryside and had very, very few passengers…

Her stomach pains gone by the time they were on their second train, Gracia laid sprawled out on her back, nearly taking up an entire seat as she threw an arm across her face and dozed lightly.

…And… for the first time in a while… she had a nightmare…

…Not a flashback…

But an honest…

…nightmare…

* * *

_She was walking down the aisle… alone…_

_No one was sitting in the pews than ran along either side of the church…_

_Her wedding dress… was so… so very heavy…_

_The pins… that kept her veil on her head… were digging into her scalp… pinching… piercing… hurting…_

_The bouquet… in her hands… was wilted… the dry… stiff… dead thorns slicing into her fingers… the bluebells… colorless… flowers falling off…_

_The cathedral was empty… silent… but she continued walking down the aisle._

_Then, in an instant she blinked and there was someone standing at the altar…_

…_And it scared her._

_Being alone had been worrisome, but having that person there… was frightening… Not because she didn't want anyone to be there, but because _that person_ in particular was there…_

…_Because she knew him and she didn't want _him_ to be there._

_But still… she kept walking forward._

_The lights… seemed to dim…_

_The air… got dry… and cold… and heavy…_

_Oh god, her body… it felt so heavy…_

_Dread curled up, chilled, froze… in her stomach…_

_But she couldn't stop herself… from walking forward…_

_And then she was standing beside him._

_The bouquet disappeared from her hands, and in front of them, on the altar, a Bible flipped open of its own accord, pages turning by themselves before they settled._

_A hand, heavy, rough and cold as stone, took hers, tugging indicatively._

_She swallowed harshly, her chest feeling painfully hollow as she turned to face him slowly, clamping her eyes shut._

_He let her hand go, and she felt him lift her veil and push it back… Then his heavy, rough, cold hand grabbed her chin and tipped her head up…_

…_And when she opened her eyes, she saw him not as what he had been, but what he had become._

_The Level 4 stared down at her with wide, black, soulless eyes, a huge gash running clean through its chest where it had been stabbed._

_It grabbed her face harshly in its hands and leaned forward, blood dribbling out of its mouth as it croaked in a rattling voice, _"Die… Gracia… die…"

_She couldn't move… as it opened its mouth… and screamed… so loudly… so painfully… that she could feel her eyes bleed and her head spli—_

* * *

Gracia was screaming even before she shot into a sitting position, her eyes wet, her neck underneath her collar sweltering and her heart pounding in her throat.

"VINCENT! !"

In the small space, her scream seemed that much louder, and the silence that followed made it ring in her ears, the ringing only worsened by her panting.

Her vision blurred and her head swimming, Gracia stared at the wall of the train compartment in front of her, the fear in her chest so great that, even while it was fading, it still hurt…

She jumped and screamed when the door of the compartment slammed open, a man in a light beige jacket stepping into the room and looking around with wide eyes.

"Is something wrong? !"

Gracia stared at him tensely, her eyes wide and her body shaking, then started to calm down… as she recognized him…

Finder…

That's right… he was a Finder… his name was Richard…

And she was…

Gracia looked around quickly, still panting and barely registering the others in the compartment.

That's right… she was on a train… Not in the cathedral where she'd gotten married, but on a train…

"…No." She absently heard a gruff voice rumble to her left, "The woman just had a nightmare."

"I'm fine, Richard." She nearly cringed when her stuffed ears registered how… croaky her voice was. Gracia forced a smile when the Finder looked her up and down, "Really… Just a bad dream. Not even a Sleep-induced one…"

Had the Finder known any better, that would have made him even more worried.

Still, he didn't know her beyond pleasant initial introductions and nodded, slipping back out of the room.

The others in the compartment, though, _did_ know better.

"A nightmare that Sleep _didn't_ cause?" Gracia glanced over at Lavi, shifting slightly at the deep frown on his face, "That means things _aren't_ fine."

He was right… While it wasn't caused by Sleep, making it a normal dream, the fact that she dreamed 'normally' so infrequently, and the fact that those dreams were rarely nightmares, no less, made the situation very worrisome…

"…Wanna talk about it?"

Gracia blinked and stared at Lavi blankly, slowly coming back from her thoughts and remembering that the Bookman's apprentice, Krory and Socalo were in the cabin with her (though the General had his arms crossed over his chest and seemed to be dozing…)

Talk… Did people do that when they had bad dreams…?

"…Who's Vincent?" Lavi prodded carefully when she didn't answer him.

Gracia blinked again, answering after a pause, "My late husband."

Lavi's eyes widened slightly and he sat back in his seat, pausing before asking, "You… remember that now?"

Gracia stared at Lavi for a moment, then tipped her head slightly, "Yeah… Actually, I kinda met him recently when I was at my mother's house. Didn't Lenalee or Kanda tell you?"

"…That happened _there_? !" Lavi smacked his forehead, a deep frown on his face, "Jeez… Nah, they didn't." He shook his head, "Lenalee said something big went down, but she wouldn't say what, and Allen and I didn't pry. It…" He paused, flinching slightly, then muttered carefully, "It wouldn't have been respectful."

"Oh…" After thinking about it for a moment, Gracia found she didn't have any problem with it… She shrugged, "I don't mind. It turned out that Vincent, my husband, had been a Broker for the Earl while he was alive, and after he was murdered one of my best friends, who had apparently been having an affair with him, made a contract with the Earl and they became an Akuma. They came back at my birthday party at my mother's house as a Level 4 and tried to kill me because Vincent, apparently, wanted nothing more than for me to die."

As she had summarized the events, Gracia had kept her tone flat and nonchalant, her face reading indifferent. Really, she didn't care if they knew or not; even though she remembered the events now and they had initially brought her pain, now they were… just there… hanging around, waiting for her to occasionally dwell on them…

…Actually, that might have been the source of her nightmare…

Lavi stared at her, his eye wide and his brow twitching. Beside him, Krory was gapping.

Even Socalo had woken up and was staring at her with a raised brow.

"Anyway, the nightmare was about him." Gracia muttered, not really registering the looks she was getting as she sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Can't even really remember what happened in it…" She blinked when she suddenly felt a bit lighter, then glanced at Lavi and smiled, "Hey, I feel better… Thanks."

"…Right." Lavi smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"…The person you loved… turned into an Akuma?"

Gracia glanced at Krory, blinking at the… sad look on his face. She noticed Lavi give the count a pitying look, then shook her head slowly.

"…My husband turned into an Akuma." Gracia mumbled, "Not someone I loved."

Krory cringed slightly, looking away.

"…Your Innocence is a parasitic type, right?" Gracia asked, blinking and pointing to Krory, "Your teeth…"

Krory's face reddened and he immediately covered his mouth out of mortification, his voice muffled, "I-Is it… that… obvious?"

Gracia blinked and stared at him, completely unaware of the fact that he had self-confidence and image issues. "Eh? No. Kanda told me."

Krory paused, then looked up at her, blinking, "You… you couldn't tell?"

"…Well, they are your teeth, which are… kinda in your mouth." Gracia blinked yet again, smiling tiredly, confusedly, "Not to mention my perception isn't all that good…"

Krory stared at her, a stunned look on his face, "B-But… I… I look… like a… a…"

Gracia stared right back at him, progressively getting more and more confused.

"…A vampire." Lavi filled in when Krory continued to sputter.

The count squeaked and lowered his head.

Gracia stared at Krory for about four more minutes before she blinked and snapped her fingers, "Oooooh, I see it now!"

Krory looked back up at her, stunned, and Lavi laughed loudly and smacked him on the back.

"See, Krorykins?" Lavi grinned at the count, "You're not scary-looking at all!"

"…Yeah." Gracia smiled at the now blushing Krory, "If you want to see what scary really looks like, look at the hulking mass of muscle sitting next to you."

One of Socalo's closed eyes snapped opened and he glared at her, growling, "You got somethin' ta say?"

"Eh?" Gracia smiled at the General innocently, her eyes closing as her smile widened, "Say what?"

"…That's what I thought." Socalo grunted, closing his eye again.

Gracia giggled slightly, then sighed and laid back down, rolling over to stare at the back of the seat with a blank face.

Talking about what had happened in the dream had made her feel better, but…

…She still felt like she wanted to talk to Komui.


	64. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XLV

Okay, so I read Kuroshitsuji, ne? O.O DEAR SWEET SAINTS ALIVE, THE UNDERTAKER SHOWED HIS FACE! ! WE HAVE A CLEARER PICTURE OF WHAT HE LOOKS LIKE UNDER THOSE ROBES AND THAT FRINGE! ! AND IT IS F***ING HOT! ! *shameless swoon*

Ahem. Moving on. ^ . ^' (I think there are a few fans of a certain person-who-will-not-be-named-but-will-be-seen-soon-enough who will be happy with the development in this chapter…)

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

When the group reached Lamia, Greece, they seemed to run into a problem; the quartet of Exorcists stood in the background while the Finder, Richard, struggled to weasel his way through the angered crowds standing at their next terminal, all of them speaking in rushed Greek.

Gracia picked up a word here and there, learning with little excitement on her part that she could, at least, understand Greek, but above the mingling shouts and arguments she could make out little.

When Richard came back several minutes later, looking thoroughly ruffled and panting for his efforts, he had a frown on his face and bore bad news.

"It seems there was an accident along the tracks a few miles out." The Finder reported, sighing, "All trains going to Athens are suspended until further notice. There is one more going out, but it's completely booked and it seems none of the people who have tickets are going to be willing to trade them…"

"Accident…?" Gracia frowned, glancing back at the crowd. When she heard mention of a 'fuel explosion,' she sighed, shaking her head, "Oh, that kind of accident… Well, unless we can find some passengers for that one train and explain our business to them, we won't be able to go by road, ether… The road that exits south of the town, Route 1, is the main road to Athens, and the train tracks aren't far from it. The government will have shut the roads down, too…"

"Right." Richard nodded, frowning, "I'll go through the crowd and ask around, but we could be stuck here for a few hours… or even days…"

Gracia sighed, rubbing her neck and glancing at Socalo. When he gave her a pointed look, she flinched slightly. Looks like it was time for her to play leader…

"Alright, then, you ask around." Gracia glanced back at Richard, nodding, "I'll go call Komui and tell him where we are… If we don't find something in the next thirty minutes, the train will leave, anyway. We'll go into town if that happens and find a place to stay…" She turned to Lavi, Krory and Socalo, pointing at some empty benches in the terminal across from their crowded one, "Go sit and wait for me to come back… We could get separated in crowds like this, and I think Lavi's the only one of you three who would have any knowledge of Greek."

"Gotcha, Boss-Lady." Lavi crossed his arms behind his head and grinned, nudging Krory before turning and walking off.

After making sure her group was sitting somewhere she could find them again later, Gracia turned and walked off, flicking her collar as she walked down a hall and found the payphones.

Her golem zipped out of her collar and bopped her upside the head before flashing ahead to wait by one of the many unoccupied phones sullenly.

Gracia sighed slightly as she approached, rubbing the side of her head where it had smacked her; even though it had been fixed after she'd gotten back from Singapore, it seemed to have a permanent glitch now that made it slightly violent…

"Contact the European Branch Headquarters…" She sighed after she'd plugged the golem into the payphone.

"_Communications Department._" Someone answered, their voice digitally disguised as always, several rings later, "_How may I help you?_"

"This is Exorcist Gracia Solidor, currently traveling as part of General Socalo's temporary unit." Gracia mumbled, crossing her arms, "I'd like to talk to Komui."

"_Oh, Miss Gracia!_" The person on the other end, a woman, yelped happily, her voice immediately no longer disguised, "_The Supervisor will be so happy to hear from you! And I think Chief Assistant Fey will be, as well… The Supervisor's been—_"

"Shirking." Gracia sighed, smiling slightly, "Thanks for telling me…"

"_Of course._" The woman chuckled, "_Now patching you through._"

Gracia sighed again and rubbed the bridge of her nose, wondering when it had become her job to bark at Komui when he was being irresponsible…

…Probably about the time they'd become official.

"_Koooooomui here._" Komui drawled, making Gracia smile slightly.

"You've been shirking your duties, Komui."

"…_G-Gracia? !_" Komui squeaked before he managed to compose himself, "_A-Ahah, wh-what do you mean 'shirking?' I haven't been shirking anything!_"

Gracia could have swore she heard Brigitte's possessed voice mutter "_Liiiiieeeesss…_" in the background (and, if the little shuddery sigh Komui let out was any indication, she probably had)… "We're dating, Komui; women automatically gain a sixth sense for these kinds of things when they're dating…" She couldn't help but smile slightly; she'd heard the woman of a household she'd stayed at once tell her husband that.

"…_Are you serious?_" Komui whispered dramatically.

"You wanna risk it?" Gracia teased softly.

Komui started chuckling, observing brightly after a moment, "_You seem to be in a good mood today! I was worried… You were pretty mad at me when you left…_"

"…I find it easier to talk to you over the phone." Gracia remarked slowly after a moment, smiling at her golem, "I think it's because we're not around one another enough for you to annoy me. We seem to be made for a long-distance relationship…"

"_Nooooo! !_" Komui immediately wailed, making Gracia imagine him falling to his knees with thick, comical tears rolling down his face, "_Don't say that! ! Then, when you become a general, you really _will_ leave me for months on end! !_"

"Don't tempt me, Mui…" Gracia murmured, her smile softening as she shortened his name instinctually, not even realizing she had until a moment later. Once she had, though, her face lit up red, then darkened crimson with a blush, "A-Alright, this is getting too… cutesy. We have a problem."

"_What is it?_" Komui's tone immediately sobered.

"There's been an accident on the tracks from Lamia to Athens." Gracia mumbled, glancing off to the side, "Apparently some of the tracks on the rail were destroyed in a fuel explosion… There's one last train going from here to Athens before they shut down the station for repairs, but my unit isn't on it, and the seats are booked. The Finder's looking for any passengers willing to exchange, but in the worst case scenario, we'll be stuck here, in Lamia, for a few days."

"_Ouch… Can't you hire a car?_"

"The tracks run alongside the road; with the incident being a explosive-related, the government will definitely close down the roads, too, and even if they could let us through, they'd make us leave the car for security reasons, in which case we'd still be traveling by foot over sixty miles… Not that we're unaccustomed to walking, but—"

"_The Noah Family's been too quiet._" Komui finished, "_It would be best if you got there and back as quickly as possible._" He paused, then remarked softly, "_You have a good handle on the situation… It sounds like you're doing a good job._"

"…Thank you." Her face was heating up again. "I'll call you again by this evening to update you… If we do manage to get a train, we should be in Athens just a few hours after sundown."

"_Alright._" Komui chirped brightly, "_I'll be looking forward to your call! Well, bye—_"

"Komui."

"…_Yes?_" Komui's voice was small, pathetic, plaintive in response to her serious, flat tone.

"That threat to make you serenade Malcolm still stands. Do your work."

"…_Yes, dear._" Komui's bodily drooping was evident in his tone, and it made Gracia smile.

"I'll call you later." She said in a softer voice.

"…_Alright._" The smile was back in Komui's voice, "_Later, then._"

"Bye…" Gracia stared at her golem, blushing and smiling as the golem clicked and hung up. She… really had forgotten… just how much she liked talking to him over the phone.

…Maybe she really would take missions more often; it had the double advantage of giving her reasons to call him and giving him reasons to whine, which, while it was annoying in person, was just adorable over the phone.

…And, again, Gracia was blushing, and even smacking herself. Komui really was having… quite an effect on her…

Heaving a sigh, Gracia unplugged her golem from the payphone and pulled her collar open to let golem duck back inside.

She then turned to walk back to her unit, blinking when she saw someone using the phone a few booths down.

…Someone… she recognized…

Gracia perked, smiling when the pale-skinned, curly-haired man hung up and stepped out of the booth, blinking from behind thick glasses when he saw her and grinning.

"Gracia?"

"Tyki…" She hugged back when the taller man wrapped his arms around her warmly, "What are you doing in Greece? You're usually exclusive to the northern European countries…"

"Got a job down here." Tyki answered, pulling back and looking her over with a grin, "Look at you! All filled out in all the right places, skin a healthy color, and…" He quirked a brow, "Did you brush your hair this morning?"

Gracia laughed shortly, smacking his side. "I got a new, more permanent job… They expect me to keep appearances." She then smiled up at him calmly, "I see the same can't be said of you."

Tyki twitched, grinning, then pouted, pressing a hand to his chest, "Oh… I tease, you just hurt."

"So I've been told…" Gracia sighed. She then looked around, "Where are Eeez, Momo and Clark?"

"Momo and Clark kept their northern jobs." Tyki shrugged slightly, "It's easier on Eeez's health up there; the warmth and humidity don't agree with him."

Gracia slowly frowned, "He hasn't gotten any worse, has he?"

"Nah." Tyki shrugged, slipping his hands into his pockets, "Actually, he's reached a happy medium…"

"That's good…" Gracia relaxed, smiling.

"Yeah…" Tyki tipped his head, grinning down at her, "So, what brings you to Greece? This new job you mentioned?"

"Yeah…" Gracia sighed, nodding, "Actually, I have a group I'm with… We're supposed to be heading to Athens, but the accident…"

"Ah, yeah…" Tyki grimaced, "Heard about that… You and your group weren't lucky enough to get tickets for the last train out, eh?"

"No… we weren't." Gracia sighed again.

"Hmm…" Tyki frowned, then grinned again and reached into his pocket, pulling out several colored, thick strips of paper and waving them at her, "Well, considering we're both adherers of the hobo code, why don't you take mine? I believe I owe you for a favor from a while back, anyway…"

Gracia blinked, "Really…?" She glanced at the tickets, "…If you're alone, why do you have so many…?"

Tyki shrugged, "Company I'm supposed to be working for in a few days had them on hold for me and a few others who were supposed to show up… I'm the only one who came. The others are gonna be late, so the company will have to reissue our tickets, anyway, and seeing as I don't want to be the only one working when I get there…"

Gracia nodded slightly in understanding and took the tickets, counting them. Four… They'd have to leave Richard behind.

"…Are you sure?" She asked, glancing up at Tyki.

"'Course I am." Tyki smiled down at her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders in a hug, "Like I said, I owe you. And that uniform looks so spiffy… Your job's gotta be way more important than the mine work I'm signed up for."

"…Thanks, Tyki." Gracia smiled, hugging him back.

Tyki hugged her a bit tighter, then pulled back and nudged her along, "Now, you'd better get going; that train leaves in twenty minutes."

"Right." Gracia nodded slowly, glancing back at Tyki and waving with a smile, "Next time we see each other, we should slow down and catch up…"

Tyki grinned after her, waving, "Definitely…"

* * *

When Gracia was gone, Tyki sighed and took off his glasses, letting them disappear in a puff of smoke as he slicked his hair back with one hand.

"Are the Exorcists here for the Innocence…?" A young, feminine voice asked from behind him, the small body of the owner slipping out of the phone booth it had gone unnoticed in as she walked towards Tyki.

"It would seem so…" Tyki nodded, switching speech mannerisms as his skin went from pasty white to umber, "She said she and her group were headed to Athens."

"Did you have to help them out?" Road sighed slightly, glancing up at Tyki wryly, "You know this would have gone by much faster if you hadn't given her those tickets. Now we'll have to fight them."

"I know, Road, I know." Tyki rolled his eyes, throwing her a smirk, "But it's a lot more fun this way!"

Road rolled her eyes up at him, then sobered and looked at him gravely, pressing a gentle hand to his chest, "You still haven't recovered from what Allen's Sword of Exorcism did to you…"

"…I'll be fine." Tyki assured her, sighing, "I just need to fight a bit to get back into the game. Now, let's go… The bodies of those four passengers will start to stink soon and I want to be gone before security finds them."

Road watched his back silently as the younger Noah turned and walked away.

…That was a lie.

His Inner Noah… and even his human side… had been severely damaged in Tyki's fight with Allen.

But… if she couldn't convince him to rest…

…She would just have to stay by his side. They'd already lost Skinn, Jasdero and Devit… she wasn't going to lose him, too.

Road followed Tyki, preparing to open a Door for him as soon as he turned down a dark hall.

It seemed she would be helping Tyki with this assignment.

* * *

"Whoa, you went to make a call and came back with tickets?" Lavi looked at the offered tickets with a wide eye, then took one and grinned at Gracia, "You rock!"

"How'd you manage this…?" Socalo asked with a grunt as he and Krory each took a ticket.

"I ran into a friend." Gracia smiled slightly, shrugging, "Camaraderie between hobos and all… Anyway," She glanced at Richard, frowning apologetically, "Sorry, but he only had four…"

"That's fine, Lady Exorcist." The Finder shook his head, saluting them, "I'll catch up when the trains are back up if you don't come back before then. Good luck!"

Once they'd boarded the train, the Black Order badge on Gracia's jacket secured them a private compartment, this one larger than the last they'd been in. It actually had a bed in it…

No discussion required, the three males took to the benches, leaving Gracia the bed. She flopped down gratefully, rolling onto her back and stretching with a groan.

"You know a lot of people around Europe, don't you?" Lavi asked, blinking at her curiously, "Even the Old Panda knows you…"

"Hobos tend to know one another…" Gracia mumbled, sighing and crossing her arms behind her head, "Especially when they travel along the same routes… Some ban together and form pretty close-knit communities."

"…Hobos?" Krory asked nervously. "You mean… like vagabonds?"

After a long pause, Gracia glanced at Krory, blinking.

"He's lived a pretty sheltered life." Lavi explained sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"…I see…" Gracia paused, then rolled onto her side and faced Krory, "Vagabonds are only similar to hobos in that they have no permanent residence; vagabonds are more commonly associated with tramps. Hobos are people who travel from place to place, looking for work, tramps are people who only work when forced to, and bums don't work at all."

"Oooh…" Krory nodded.

Gracia nodded, rolling back into her back, "Be careful how you word those kinds of things; some hobos will take a real offense to being mislabeled."

"…I'm sorry." Krory drooped slightly.

Gracia glanced at him, offering a tired, lazy smile, "It's fine, Krory, really…"

Krory looked up at her, then flushed and looked down again, scratching his cheek.

Gracia sighed, still smiling slightly, then rolled away from the three, facing the wall, "We'll be in Athens in about two hours… Get ready; the mission starts when we get there."

"Right!" Lavi and Krory chimed at the same time.

Gracia's smile twitched a bit before she closed her eyes.

She wished she'd had more time to spend catching up with Tyki…


	65. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XLVI

^ . ^' This is… getting boring, isn't it? I simply… don't hear from so many of my old/usual reviewers anymore… I sowwy… If I promise that it picks up, will you all come back?

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia trudged along the path slowly, her hands buried deep in her pockets and her hood pulled up over her head, with the high neck of her tunic stretched to brush the curves of her jaw.

Though it _was_ late in the year, Athens was unusually cold that day… Or, more specifically, the area of Athens they were in was cold. True, the sky was overcast, but in the city it had only been mildly chilly; the abandoned back alleys and ravines they were traveling in ran along what was left of the Ilissos…

Of course, the Ilissos was a river from antiquity; it had long since been canalized and tucked away underground for use in modern day plumbing.

There were still, though, places… small places, just outside of Athens, where the river ran free…

Vaguely, Gracia remembered these areas, and vaguely she knew that they were where they would find Boreas' shrine and the pillar.

"J-Jeez!" Lavi stuttered from behind her, hugging his coat close, "What the heck is up with the weather? ! A-Athens is never this cold!"

Even though most thought of Greece as being extremely warm year-round, it actually had a commonly temperate climate; it got hot in the summer and cold in the winter (particularly in January). And they were approaching November…

Even so, the path they were traveling was unusually cold; Gracia vaguely remembered _Iceland_ being warmer…

As they walked along slowly, their surroundings gradually melting from partially demolished, abandoned alleyway to lightly forested, limestone pillar and sandstone rubble gaps of nature, Gracia's breath practically froze as it left her mouth. Her lips had long since gone numb and she would have licked them if she weren't afraid her saliva would freeze and stick her tongue to them…

The weather really was a bit extreme; the still green leaves they walked across were so frozen the crunched and shattered like glass.

"Well, we certainly seem to have found the general location of the anomaly…" Gracia mumbled, sighing and flinching when the action froze the breath in her lungs.

"N-No k-kidding!" Lavi stuttered. "K-Kroryk-kins, walk closer to me!"

"L-Lavi, a-are we g-going to d-die?"

"Y-Yes, K-Kroryk-k-kins…"

Gracia stopped walking and slowly glanced back, her brow twitching slightly as she watched Lavi and Krory, their eyes clamped shut and their lower lips clamped between their teeth, as they hugged one another desperately for warmth.

Behind them, Socalo, who seemed to be just as bugged about the weather as she was, rolled his eyes.

"…Lavi, I need you to keep your Bookman eyes open." Gracia sighed, "You would be the first to notice anything odd. And Krory, don't bite your lip… if you break the skin and get blood in your mouth, it could impair your ability to sense Akuma."

The two younger males blinked at her, then sighed and nodded, pulling away from one another sulkily.

Gracia sighed again, pulling a hand out of her pocket and rubbing the bridge of her nose before quickly stuffing it back into the warmth and going back to walking. Honestly, it was like babysitting…

"…Oi, General! Spotting somethin' odd at your one o'clock!" Lavi called out after a bit.

It took Gracia a moment to realize that the boy was talking to her, General Socalo bringing up the rear thus there was no way Lavi would be able to tell what was at his "one o'clock," and when she glanced over she did notice something odd.

It wasn't the small grouping of pillars; no that was pretty common in the area they were in… It was what was growing on the ground in and around the area of the small group of pillars.

A thick carpet of some breed of ivy blanketed the area, though, oddly, it only grew up the face of one pillar; the one in the middle of the grouping. And there was something wrong with the giant plant, itself…

It looked… different compared to the other ivy they'd been walking by…

Lavi walked over to the bed of ivy and knelt, studying it closely before quirking a brow, "This is Himalayan ivy; what is this doing here? It's not native to this area at all…"

"…Maybe someone who didn't want it in their house anymore planted it here and abandoned it?" Krory suggested, his voice taking a sad tone as he walked over and bent down to pet a few leaves gently, "You poor baby…"

Gracia stared at the pillars and the plant in front of them, mumbling after a moment, "Why is the ivy only growing up on one of the pillars…?"

"…Huh, good question." Lavi muttered as he looked up. He then glanced back at Gracia, blinking and pointing to the only pillar with the ivy on it, "Hey, uuuh… You think that maybe that's it?"

"…Only one way to find out." Gracia sighed, "Sit and wait for the fog."

"…Eeeeh?" Lavi whined, "Can't we just go inspect the pillar or something? !"

"The pillar is in the middle of a giant patch of non-native ivy that is only growing up on said pillar, even though there are at least ten others around it." Gracia sighed, "I don't think going in there would be a good idea…"

"…" Lavi pouted slightly, "If the Panda were here, he'd let me go in."

"If Bookman were here and he let you go in, it would only be because he wanted to see you turn into a block of ice."

After pausing and thinking about it for a moment, Lavi grinned, snickered and nodded, "Heehe, yeah, you're right."

Gracia rolled her eyes, her lips twitching into a brief smile, then she turned and walked to the other side of the path, sitting at the base of a tree facing the large patch of ivy and the group of pillars. When Lavi, Krory and Socalo joined her a few moments later, she sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, closing her eyes.

She was probably just being picky, but… she missed working with the Tiedoll unit.

* * *

What woke Gracia wasn't the sudden drop in the temperature… and what kept her awake wasn't the fact that a slowly thickening fog was in the air, or that in front of her the ivy-decorated pillar was visibly freezing over.

Sleep wasn't happy.

It was pinching her middle finger and wrist tightly, heating at the same time and making a decidedly… uneasy feeling form in the pit of her stomach.

For the first time in a while, Gracia's thought process simplified as Sleep's comforting, protective haze flooded her mind, and the only thing she was really aware of was anxiety… Anxiety and the inexplicable, subconscious feeling that she should be nervous.

She sat up and looked around slowly, swallowing slightly when she saw that Krory, Lavi and even Socalo were all asleep, the General sitting straight up with his arms crossed but Lavi and Krory just sprawled out on the ground.

When Gracia struggled and tried to stand, she had so much difficulty… The air was so heavy, so hard to move through, so hard to breathe… And the fact that it was hard to breathe made her head light, sparks of gray flashing in her vision as her body struggled to keep from falling unconscious again.

Again, though, Sleep pinched her skin painfully and heated, and Gracia managed to stumble to her feet and look around, panting heavily but shallowly.

"_Oh, really now._" A disembodied, feminine voice sighed, "_This would be painless if you would just stay asleep._"

Sleep twinged against her wrist and Gracia spun around, teetering slightly as she held out her hand and croaked, "Sleep… doesn't like you…"

In front of her, the tree she had been resting against, the tree she was aiming Sleep at, warped slightly near the middle of the trunk, a bulge leaning outward and changing colors to take the form of a dark-haired, spiky-headed, umber-skinned girl with amber eyes.

She grinned… unnaturally at Gracia, the inside of her mouth nothing but a black void and the corners of her mouth twisting and curling eerily, "The feeling is mutual; I don't much care for 'Sleep,' either."

The girl then threw her arm forward, a sharp-ended, striped candlestick shooting out of the trunk of the tree from next to her.

Gracia's eyes widened as pain bloomed in her shoulder like a red flower, and when her mind jarred back to reality she was flying through the air. All of the air was pushed out of her lungs with a quick, painful snap as she slammed back into the ground.

Starbursts glimmering in her eyes, Gracia struggled slightly and gasped uselessly for air, her diaphragm in shock and unable to expand her lungs.

"Ah, come on, Road, did you _have_ to do that? I mean look at her… It's pathetic."

"Well, it's not my fault she woke up. I was going to leave her since Lulu Bell's called dibs on her, but _she_ was the one who woke up and aimed her Innocence at me."

Gracia continued gasping and croaking uselessly, desperately trying to focus on Sleep and do something but unable to form a single line of coherent thought as her brain started to suffocate.

"You know, I have to admit, after hearing the name of her Innocence I did wonder how you two would fair against one another…"

A giggle. "Tyki, shut up and get the Innocence out of the pillar."

A chuckle. "Alright, alright…"

Gracia continued gasping frantically, her hands clawing at the ground… no… leaves? Had she… landed in the ivy…?

A shadow fell over her and she looked over weakly as her vision started to tunnel, too weak to properly register shock when a finely groomed, dark-skinned Tyki paused to look down at her with a cool smile.

"Sorry, Gracia. It's nothing personal… I just hate what you are." Tyki shrugged smoothly, closing his eyes before facing away from her and walking by.

…Noah.

Another one of her friends… was a Noah.

…At least Lulu Bell had been torn up about it.

Tyki's irreverence… angered her…

Her long bangs covering her eyes, Gracia ground her teeth and exhaled forcefully before drawing in a deep, labored breath, clenching her hands into tight fists. She renewed her struggling.

"Oh-ho, Tyki, look! It's the Bookman Jr.!"

"Eh? The redhead?" Disinterest. "You gonna play with him again?"

"Heh, nah… He knows how to slip by my illusions. But then there's this one… the vampire Jasdevi had been going on about. He sounded pretty tortured… And hadn't he been involved with that narcissistic Level 2?"

"I don't know; I don't really pay attention to the ones that try to act human. They're just pathetic…"

"Hmm… Well, I think he'll be my play toy while you work." A giggle. "Jasdevi said he was quite sensitive… It's been a while since I played with a crier."

Krory…? Krory had been involved with an Akuma…?

Wait… hadn't he… on the train…

"…_The person you loved… turned into an Akuma?"_

_Gracia glanced at Krory, blinking at the… sad look on his face. She noticed Lavi give the count a pitying look…_

Ah… so that was why he had…

…But how would the Noah… 'play' with him…

…Illusions… she'd mentioned… illusions…

"Let's take a look at your dreams, shall we?" The young girl who had stabbed her with the spike-like candle, who Tyki had called Road, giggled, presumably at Krory's unconscious body.

Gracia's eyes widened as it suddenly made sense.

So _that_ was why Sleep didn't like her! !

"Nnngh! !" Sleep burned hotly around her wrist and finger and she struggled even more, clenching her teeth until her jaw hurt but still unable to sit up or look anywhere other than straight up, at the sky. She'd have to aim carefully…

"H-Hmm-mmm… What in the… ROAD KAMELOT? !"

"Road! What happened? !"

"Y-You're waking up? !"

"N-Noah! !"

"Madness, it's time to PLAY! !"

The blood in her veins hot but her head still lightheaded and her body heavy, Gracia struggled upright, groaning, "S-Socalo, n-no!" Once she was sitting up, she managed to push herself weakly to her feet, raising her head and panting out through labored breaths as she glared directly at the one known as Road Kamelot, "T-This… is still… my mission!"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Socalo throw her a twitching glare before he grinned roguishly.

"Lavi…" Gracia hissed, glaring at Road, who had stumbled back from the now waking count, heavily, "Krory… You both stop Tyki from getting that pillar. This one… is mine."

The two younger males looked at her in shock, and the girl blinked before she tipped her head and clasped her hands behind her back, smiling.

"Are you sure about that?" Road giggled.

"No one…" Gracia growled, the air around her getting heavy, hot, muggy, a grinding sound coming from… somewhere… as gravity seemed to increase its downward pull, "Touches my unit's dreams…"

Gracia was suddenly feeling very, very protective… So protective she tasted iron on her tongue as her vision flashed red. She knew what living in an Innocence-induced nightmarish hell was like, and the thought of a Noah doing anything similar to anyone she was supposed to be taking care of for the sake of enjoyment… just _pissed her off_.

"Besides…" Gracia felt an uncharacteristically poisonous… dangerous grin spread across her lips. She let it happen, tipping her head slightly, "I'd say that I'm far more up your alley… Wouldn't you agree?"

"G-Gracia, no!" Lavi tried to interrupt, but Road just lifted one arm and covered her mouth with the frilled, too-long cuff of her sleeve as her innocent grin stretched inhumanly once more.

"Hmm… Maybe you're right…"

"Gracia!" Lavi barked, a worried look on his face, "You don't know what she's capa—"

"Lavi, I think I just ordered you and Krory to take care of Tyki." Gracia interrupted him simply, still glaring right at Road.

"Go ahead, Bookman Jr." Road said lightly, her puffed skirt swishing as she started to walk towards Gracia slowly, "I'm not interested in your or the vampire anymore…"

Lavi and Krory still looked hesitant, but when Gracia heard something explode behind her and felt little stings on her back, small bits of rock flying over her shoulder, she barked, "LAVI! ! KRORY! !" At that, the two stopped hesitating and bolted past her, Lavi pulling a small hammer off of his thigh even as it started to grow and Krory's white bang curling back over his head.

When Socalo, Madness still invoked, sat back down and crossed his arms to watch, Road's grin widened a bit.

"Just you and me, Miss Gracia."

"No…" Gracia lifted her arm and pulled back her sleeve, showing Sleep, "You, me and Sleep, who's very eager to wipe you off the face of the earth." And it was true; it felt like Sleep was practically trying to boil her skin off (even though it wasn't damaging her aside from a few slowly forming burns) and was glowing a molten, hot white, practically vibrating against her wrist and finger.

"I can imagine why." Road's eerie smile widened further as she continued walking towards Gracia, the air around her darkening menacingly and the fog around them starting to turn black, "My name is Road Kamelot… And I'm the Noah of Dreams."

Road was the last thing Gracia saw before the black fog closed in and she lost consciousness.

* * *

Nearly two thousand miles away, an innocently napping Komui suddenly found himself being pulled into a nightmare.


	66. REM CYCLE COMPROMISED: RECORDS SCRAMBLED

^ . ^ *dances* Yay~! You all _are_ still there~! That makes me so happy… ^ . ~ Enjoy the chapter, ne?

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Komui opened his eyes to find himself standing on a never-ending, checkerboard black and red hard, stone floor, everything above and beyond the horizon back… It was almost as if he were locked in a room without the lights on, only… he could see perfectly… and the ground rolled and undulated like a hilly countryside.

…Definitely not one of the stranger dreams Komui had had (nothing at all compared to that time he'd lost a game of pinochle to an Emperor Penguin dressed like the Earl and an unusually chipper Kanda in a white sundress with a garland of daisies in his hair), but definitely one of his duller dreams…

…Which was odd. Komui didn't have dull dreams very often.

Of course, it was obvious he was lucidly dreaming (which only further convinced him that this was a dream; on those rare occasions when he dreamed dully, it was always lucid), but that really only intensified the dullness; he was so deeply asleep he couldn't feel his body, and thus had no way of waking himself up.

Komui sighed, debating on whether or not to stand there and wait for day to come or crouch down and smash his head against the floor. Honestly, he hated dull dreams and usually just ended them as soon as possible (thus the head smashing option).

But, at the same time, something was… prodding at the back of his mind… and for some reason… he got the feeling that moving… wouldn't be a good idea…

"Oh, so you're the nearest person she's most attached to?"

Komui twitched and spun around, the situation becoming more unsettling when he couldn't see anyone. This was quickly going from dull to eerie…

"Poo… I'd thought she would have at least felt some form of attachment to one of the other Exorcists in her group…" There… The floor to Komui's left warped and bubbled up, the bubble taking the form of a… spiky-haired female in a dress… "But her attachment to _you_ was a bit too strong, I guess… Now I've gone and expended all of that energy…"

…This wasn't a dream.

"Who are you?" Komui demanded, frowning, "Where am I?"

"Ah-ah." The checkerboard-patterned form raised one hand and extended a finger, shaking it back and forth in a tutting motion, "You're one of the players in this game; you don't get to make demands of the game master."

Komui didn't respond to her taunting, his mind too busy racing. Why… Why was the word 'Noah' coming to mind…?

Slowly… Slowly, Komui was starting to recognize this situation… Starting to realize what was going on, based on reports from Allen, Lenalee and Lavi, who had all gone through this…

"…Road Kamelot…" She reached up and pressed her finger to her mouth, making a shadow that resembled a smile cross her face. Komui scowled and went on, "Whose mind is this?"

"Nnnope." Road giggled, "That would make the game too easy. Now… Begin!"

* * *

Lavi, standing atop the ivy-covered pillar he and Krory were defending, glanced over at their unit's leader, grinding his teeth when he saw Gracia sitting up on her knees with her head slumped forward, Sleep glowing a hot, hot white against her wrist and Road sitting on thin air beside her, braiding the Exorcist's auburn hair.

And even though he knew the General was supposed to be nothing more of an observer… it still ticked Lavi off to see Socalo lounging under the tree, watching it all happen.

…Even though the Bookman's apprentice knew he shouldn't be worried; he had his orders, and if anything happened to Gracia she would become just another page in the History Book.

But that… that didn't change the fact… that…

"Distracted, Jr.?"

"LAVI! !"

Lavi spun around to face Tyki as the Noah dove for him, the Bookman apprentice's eyes widening even as he instinctually swung his hammer.

"Fire Seal : Configuration of Ash!"

As Lavi's snake of flame coiled up and rose to defend him against the approaching Noah, the ivy that carpeted the ground below caught fire… And the white fog thickened as the pillar was completely swallowed by a thick coating of ice.

* * *

After several moments of glaring heatedly at where Road had been before she had disappeared, Komui turned sharply and simply started walking.

He didn't bother to stop and think about whether he was going in the right direction or not; making is so that he could easily get lost would be counterproductive to spending the energy to summon him in the first place, so the way he saw it Road would make it so that no matter which way he went, he would end up getting somewhere.

As he walked, Komui thought; what would the Noah want with _him_? Sure he was the Chief Officer of the Black Order and Supervisor/Branch Head of the European Branch, but that was hardly enough to warrant kidnapping his subconscious; unlike Exorcists, Komui could easily be replaced. It didn't take Innocence to do his job.

So, obviously Road had been telling the truth when she had said she had brought him here for the sake of someone else; someone who had a 'strong attachment' to him…

…Who was out on a mission right now?

…And, of those people, who was female who had a stro—

Komui froze, his eyes widening as a wave of worry and realized stupidity washed over him.

How in the _hell_ had he not been able to figure out sooner that it was _her_? !

"Gracia? ! Gracia! !" Komui started calling, going from walking to running, "Gra—"

* * *

When Komui opened his eyes again, he found himself standing back in the new European Branch… Only… it wasn't the European Branch…

Maids were rushing about, cleaning this and that, reorganizing vases and filling them with new flower arrangements.

"Come on, ladies, keep it up!" And older maid who, unlike the rest, wore a white vest with long tails over her dress, shouted as she walked right in front of Komui, clapping her hands, "The Mistress will be home soon and you know how she hates coming home to stale surroundings!"

"Personally, I think she just hates coming home…"

The head maid paused, she and Komui glancing over to a nearby archway where a man stood.

His sandy blonde, gray-streaked hair was slicked back over his head and he wore a weary expression, the beige suit he was wearing only making him look more sallow.

"Of course, you could also say that she just… hates everything, in general." He sighed, leaning against the arch and regarding the maid with a drowsy expression in his dull gray eyes. "You'll never make her happy."

"We will still always try, Master Silas." The head maid said immediately, turning to him and bowing, "Shall I send someone up to help you pick out something else to wear? The Mistress does not like seeing you in those clothes…"

"They're my work clothes." Silas muttered, "And I'm going to work… Well… _we're_ going to work." He looked down at his legs and smiled, setting a hand on the head of a small child who peeked out from behind his leg.

Komui's eyes widened as he took in the appearance of the much younger Gracia, her much brighter auburn hair cut in a short bob and her skin an even unhealthier shade of pale than it had been when she had come to the Order… Of course, the yellow dress her child form was currently wearing might have had something to do with that; yellow just washed her out.

"…You're taking the Little Miss with you again?" The head maid sighed, frowning slightly.

"Yes…" Silas looked back up at the woman, beaming proudly, "She really likes working with mechanics! She and I are going to be working on a new device I plan on sending to the Black Order to patent. I think it'll really help them out."

"Sir—"

"So if my wife asks for us, you haven't seen us, alright?" The man cut her off, smiling sheepishly before taking his daughter's hand and starting to walk off with her, "Let's go, Grace."

"Master Silas! Not when she's wearing that dres—"

The rest of the maid's words were cut off as the scene narrowed to focus on Gracia and her father as they walked down the hall, and when Komui could feel his legs again he took that as the hint to walk after them.

* * *

"What do you think, hon? Battery or kinetic?"

"Battery! Exorcists and Finders have too much to worry about to think about how much energy they should spend running away or manually recharging the thingy."

"Heh heh, that's my girl…"

When Komui could see again, he found himself watching Silas and Gracia hunch over a workbench, both tinkering with something.

"You know…" Silas started slowly, glancing at his daughter with an amused look on his face, "I don't think the Order will like the idea of mass-producing these under the name 'Thingy.' We should think of something better."

Gracia looked back up at him with wide, innocent eyes, grease smudged on her face, "Wouldn't they… just call them what they call the other ones?"

"Oh, but these will be so much better than the other ones!" Silas proclaimed, pulling back from the thing they were tinkering on and waving his arms, "They'll be much, much lighter! And they're cordless! We can't lump them in with regular talismans!"

"But they operate on the same theory…" Gracia blinked again, "This is… really just an upgrade…"

"…Fine." Silas pouted, turning back to what Komui could now see was the first generation of the now standard, battery-powered talismans the Back Order now issued the Finders.

Gracia giggled, "I love you, Daddy."

Silas tensed, his hands twitching, and then something sparked and the man threw himself at his daughter, covering her body with his own as the talisman explo—

* * *

"WHAT IN THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING, TAKING HER DOWN TO YOUR LABORATORY? ! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU TWO NEARLY DID? ! YOUR FOOLISHNESS ALMOST BURNED THE HOUSE DOWN! !"

Komui grimaced as he, once again, blinked to find himself elsewhere. That was definitely Mathilda…

"Really, Mathilda…" Silas sighed, sitting beside his daughter as the two (both of them singed and soot-stained) guiltily stared at the ground, their hands in their laps, "It was an accident… It happens all the—"

"Playing mechanist is not an appropriate pastime for a Marquess, and certainly nothing he should be teaching his daughter! !"

Gracia cringed as she was brought into the conversation, letting out a soft, choked whimper and pressing her chin to her collarbone.

"It's just a hobby of mine, Mathilda… I don't…" He paused, then went on, "I don't take it seriously. And I thought it might be nice to spend some time with my daughter… considering she's always so sick and hardly ever well enough to really go outside…"

"…I don't have time for this." Mathilda hissed, storming to the door, "Silas, reign in your curiosities or I will have Gracia sent to one of the other houses, away from you."

As soon as the door was slammed shut, Gracia turned to her father and flung herself at him, hugging his waist and wailing, "D-Daddy, don't let her take me away! I don't want to leave you! !"

Silas flinched before smiling down at his daughter weakly, hugging her back, "Don't worry, Grace… I'll apologize to her better later. I…" He paused, then sighed and muttered unconvincingly, "I won't let her take you away…"

Gracia didn't seem to notice how weak the man's resolve was. "I-I love you, Daddy…" She hiccupped.

"…I love you, too, sweetheart." Silas murmured, a pained look on his face.

…It didn't take any real thinking on Komui's part to see how hard it had been for the man to say that.

* * *

Komui frowned and pressed a hand to his forehead, shaking his head and trying to shake the sleepiness off.

Just what was going on…? All of these memories…

"Oooo, this is making me dizzy…" Road's voice echoed around him softly, "Dreams are supposed to be my forte, not memories… But… she spends so much time dreaming about memories…"

Komui's eyes snapped opened and he scowled when he found himself back in the foyer of the Barheim Palace… Only now the building was empty.

And eerily quiet.

Komui looked around slowly. Well, at least it seemed like Road was gone… After a bit, he started, walking, heading for the staircase.

He had no idea what was going on with Gracia in Athens, but he had to find her and wake her up, before he got sucked into any more of her dreams.

Komui hurried up the stairs and headed straight for Gracia's room; it seemed like a logical first stop.

However… even though it was logical… it yielded him no results.

"_Come on, ladies, keep it up!" And older maid who, unlike the rest, wore a white vest with long tails over her dress, shouted as she walked right in front of Komui clapping her hands, "The Mistress will be home soon and you know how she hates coming home to stale surroundings!_"

Komui sighed and shut the door. One of the memories from before… After thinking a bit more, Komui turned and walked to the music room.

"_What do you think, hon? Battery or kinetic?"_

"_Battery! Exorcists and Finders have too much to worry about to think about how much energy they should spend running away or manually recharging the thingy._"

Again, Komui shut the door, sighing. Maybe the rooms that seemed to be the most logical contained the memories he'd already seen…

…So, maybe he should try rooms she would rather avoid.

…Her parents' bedroom would be the obvious choice, but Komui had no idea where that room was (Barheim had several master bedrooms). So what other rooms would she avoid…?

When the answer came to him, a soft look crossed Komui's face and he turned and started walking yet again. He passed through several dozen hallways before coming to a stop…

…In front of the door of the room Cross had died in.

Komui paused, nibbling on his lip, then reached out and turned the han—

* * *

They were in a different house completely, Komui and Gracia. And while Komui had no idea where they were, Gracia seemed to be at home…

"…Vincent?" She called out softly, knocking on the large, dark wood door in front of her as she held the robe she was wearing over her nightgown shut tightly with her other hand, "Vincent, it's past midnight… Aren't you… coming to bed…?"

Komui wanted to reach out and hug her for how hesitantly she asked that, Gracia clearly torn between not wanting to share a bed with her own husband but obviously being worried about him.

"…Vincent?" Gracia asked again, reaching down and taking the knob of the door in her hand.

When she managed to turn it, Komui froze immediately after she did, worrying his lip at the shocked and slowly bleeding into terrified look on her face.

Clearly something was out of place… That door shouldn't have been unlocked.

"…V-Vincent…?" Gracia whispered, her voice trembling. Her body shook slightly when she applied pressure, and when the door actually opened for her she was trembling.

Even though it was a memory, even though there was no feasible way his presence would be able to soothe her, Komui stepped close and pressed his chest to Gracia's back, mildly stunned when he found he could actually feel her but less stunned when she didn't react to him.

Komui put his hand on hers to help her push the door open, but from his standpoint pushing on the door felt like he was trying to move a solid stone wall.

Even so, he refused to leave her side.

Though this memory of her was convinced she was by herself as she pushed the door open and looked inside, Komui made sure he was pressed as close to her as he could be, that he would see what she saw. In some small way, even if this was only a memory, he wanted to be there…

…Road's memories were so vivid; the stench of rot and blood that poured out of the room was so convincingly cloying that Komui nearly gagged.

Gracia let go of her robe to cover her nose and mouth, pressing the door further inward and peering into the dark room.

It wasn't until the door opened further and light was allowed to pour in from the hall that the scene inside became clear. Gracia gasped, struggled to breathe, then started screaming piercingly.

Across the room, behind a thick desk and in a cushioned, green chair, Vincent's corpse was slumped back, his head tipped back and his glassy, unseeing eyes locked on the ceiling, his mouth wide open.

His chest had been turned to hamburger by copious amounts of buckshot, the cloth of his dress shirt and jacket completely indistinguishable from the raw, bloody, shredded tissue.

Gracia was still screaming, something invisible on her right wrist and middle finger flashing white an—

* * *

Komui found himself flying backwards, away from the room Cross had died in, violently, acute pain spreading through his back as he slammed into the wall. The door in front of him slammed so harshly that it bounced right back open, and when it had the scene had changed:

"_Shh." Cross pressed his hand to Gracia's mouth and leaned across the longue, pinning her body to the cushions with his much broader, stronger, warmer one, looking down at her seriously with one eye, the other covered with the mask that covered the right half of his face, "Quiet and listen; he just needs someone to vent to every now and then, and he can't do that with his superiors or his friends. They're kids just like he is, and the redhead's a Bookman. You're a levelheaded adult with diplomatic immunity; they can't do anything to you if he talks to you._"

The door slammed shut again, only to bounce open once more, and again the scene had changed:

"_Get her out of this room, you fools! !"_

_Komui, Lvellie and Link were all in the room, Gracia standing in the doorway and clutching at her head as she screamed at the scene of Cross' blood staining the carpet, the curtains ripped._

The door slammed shut one more time, and it stayed shut.

In pain and gasping, Komui stared at the door with wide eyes.

…He wasn't getting anywhere…

"Hehehee, you really are very _bad_ at this, aren't you?"

Tensing and getting angry, Komui turned down the hall and glared at the giggling Road, clenching his hands at his sides and hissing, "Where is she?"

"Nope!" Road giggled, "No trying to cheat off of the game master! And you really should hurry, you know… It won't be much longer, now."

Komui tensed, his eyes widening as he stepped towards her, "It won't be much longer until wha—"

Before he could finished, Road had melted into the ground with a giggle, vanishing completely.

Grinding his teeth, Komui turned and started to run.

"GRACIA! !"


	67. WILD CYCLE COMPROMISED! INTRUDER!

XD A shout-out to my 300th reviewer, Terikel, who absolutely _flooded_ my e-mail inbox with review alerts yesterday in a frantic race to catch up with chapters:

Buddy, you've been with me since the very beginning, when I first started posting here, haven't you~? Thank you so much for continuing to be there, and congratulations on your exams! Here's to however many chapters/stories more~!

All y'all out there, give Terikel a shout-out of congratulations for all her hard work on her university exams!

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

He couldn't just keep throwing open door after door; if they were memories he hadn't already witnessed or had been apart of, he was sucked into them and forced to watch. And the mansion had too many rooms… he couldn't afford to waste time.

He actually had to think; he had to think about what he knew about Gracia and this house…

She didn't like her own bedroom.

She wasn't attached to her parents, so any memories that would be in their room would be bad, too.

He had tried to music room, which seemed to be one of the few rooms in the house she liked, and the memory there had been a good one… But not good enough for her to be there.

So what other rooms did he know of…?

…Suddenly, Komui stopped running, his cheeks reddening slightly.

Again, he felt more than slightly stupid; why hadn't he thought of it before? She had said it was a room she and her father had enjoyed together… not to mention the… newer, happier memories (he hoped) she had likely made in that room…

…With him…

His blush darkening, Komui turned and started running to the room he, in the real world, was using as his bedroom; the guest room next to the observatory.

The closer he got to the room, though, the more Komui had to… slow down… because the closer he got, the air got thicker… the atmosphere got warmer… more pleasant… and the more he felt like… he just wanted to lie down… and sleep…

…He had to be getting close. And that realization was the only thing that kept him going.

By the time Komui got to the door, he had to brace himself against the wall and was breathing shallowly, his eyelids threatening to slide shut on him and his legs threatening to buckle. When he reached out to grab the doorknob, numbness shot up his arm and spread through his chest. Komui groaned, slumping against the door heavily, his fingers struggling futilely to turn the knob.

"G-Gracia…" Komui croaked, "It's me… K-Komui… L-Llllllet me in… before I pass out… and she… gets me…"

He didn't get an answer.

Of course he wouldn't get an answer… In this house of memories, which had an invader who could control dreams, it had likely been all she could do to lock herself away in the room that made her the happiest and put up protection.

Not to mention Lavi had said that Road could… make copies based on memories…

Komui closed his eyes and hit his head against the door a few times, both to keep himself awake and to encourage thinking.

What could he say? What could he say that would convince her?

…What memories and dreams would Gracia have locked away for safekeeping…?

Well… uh… intimate things… likely…

…Or embarrassing…

"…You know, I really meant it when I said I was sorry about the Vampire Queen Mouthwash…" Komui muttered, rapping his nails against the door, "To tell you the truth, though, it was… ah…" He rubbed the back of his head weakly, sheepishly, grinning, "Kinda… sexy to see you all forceful in the beginning…"

The temperature in the hall dropped and the numbing effects of the door worsened, making Komui groan and stumble back before falling to his knees.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I know you… don't like… mushy things, and I'm sorry! I just do it… because I want you to… enjoy our relationship more! I… I don't want you… to feel like you… have… to walk around… on eggshells…" Komui tapered off, his head bobbing forward and his body on the verge of shutting down.

And then… suddenly he was a bit more alert and raising his head as the lock on the door in front of him clicked.

Komui blinked slowly, tiredly, then scrambled to his feet and into the room. He quickly slammed the door behind himself once he was in, leaning back against it and panting slightly as it locked.

He then looked up, relaxing tremendously when he saw Gracia lying on the bed in front of him, wearing her red-trimmed, black Exorcist uniform. She was dead asleep, her hands clasped across her stomach and her hair twisted loosely and pulled over one shoulder.

She looked… peaceful, her brow relaxed and her lips a smooth, slightly slack line.

Komui walked over to her bed slowly, reaching out to touch her only to freeze when he noticed something.

She wasn't breathing… and her eyes weren't moving in the telltale sign of REM sleeping.

And, considering where they were, that wasn't natural.

What was before him may have been Gracia's actual form, but it wasn't her _consciousness_…

A soft shuffling sound suddenly caught Komui's attention, and he quickly turned his head and looked across the room, blinking when a flash of white disappeared out the open door on the far wall across the room, next to the bathroom door.

The door that led to the terrace…

Without hesitating, Komui left Gracia's body's side and hurried after the white flash, looking back and forth quickly once he had stepped outside. He'd never really been on the terrace, even after, in the real world, the room had been made his own… It was a bit longer than it was wide, with cobblestone flooring, a wrought iron fencing safely boxing the area in and ivy growing along said fencing.

The flash of white came again in Komui's left periphery, and he looked over just in time to see the hem of a dress disappear into the observatory just at the left end of the terrace.

Again, Komui ran after the dress without hesitation, grabbing the doorway into the observatory and swinging himself inside.

As soon as he had, he was suddenly plunged in a darkness so complete he froze.

Slowly, he tried to back out, but the doorway was gone and he found himself just continuing to walk backwards in darkness. After a few steps, Komui's feet were suddenly plunged in ankle-deep water and, again, he froze.

What in the world…

Then, through the darkness, he heard a soft noise… a small voice, humming.

Through the blinding darkness, Komui anxiously thought he was staring to see some color… And when he realized he was actually seeing small, soft portions of the horizon starting to turn gentle shades of purples and blues, Komui closed his eyes and adjusted his glasses, waiting a moment before opening his eyes again.

What had previously been oppressive black was now… a somehow softer shade, even though the pigment hadn't changed… It probably had something to do with the fluffy, seemingly distant clouds of amethyst purple and royal blue, and the countless points of flickering white lights.

And, right in front of him, sitting on a large rock surrounded by water in the middle of… what was apparently outer space, the young Gracia he recognized from her memories sat, a loop of unbroken string draped around her wrists as she looped a bit around her fingers before drawing it taut, playing cat's cradle by herself.

Komui blinked slowly, then sighed softly and started walking towards her, slipping his hands into his pockets and watching her hands while listening to her at the same time as she hummed.

_Jesus Loves Me_…

Odd… Though they were, technically, part of a highly religious organization, and the powers of Exorcists were granted to them by God, Komui had never really observed Gracia… being religious. He'd never even seen her at the Order's weekly (non-compulsory) Sunday Mass. (Hell, if Mass had been compulsory in the Black Order, Kanda would be inventing new ways every week to try to escape the Order altogether.)

"If you keep standing in the water, you'll get sick…"

Komui blinked, the child Gracia's soft voice breaking his train of thought.

"Gravity naturally pulls the blood in your body down to your feet." She went on softly, letting the string slide off of her fingers and back into a loop around her wrists before starting to make a new pattern, "And when you're moving, your leg muscles do more work than the rest of your body… But when you're still, your chest is the warmest part of your body, while your extremities slowly get cold. If you stand in the cold water while your limbs are already cold, the blood in your heart will get cold, too, and you'll get sick…"

Komui blinked again, then smiled softly and quietly sat down next to her. "Why does someone so young think so much about the human anatomy?"

"I get sick easy." Child Gracia mumbled, still playing with her string, "Mommy is always explaining all the ways the world outside of the house can make me sick. That way, when she's not around, I can think of the reasons, myself, and refrain from doing things that will make me sick again… I don't like being sick."

Komui stared at her sadly for a moment. "…You know, being inside all of the time and avoiding things that could make you sick weakens your immunity."

"It's a bit too late to worry about that." Child Gracia shrugged slightly, still playing with her string, "I was born sick, but not sick in ways that others can catch. Sick in ways that are apart of my body that can make me get the catch-able sicknesses. And I can catch the catch-able sicknesses a lot easier than others, so Mommy's always kept me inside, ever since I was a baby. Even if I wanted to go outside anymore, I'd be too scared to."

"…Do you understand what you're sick with?" Komui asked gently.

"A weak heart." Child Gracia mumbled, pausing in her game, "Mommy says it stops sometimes when I sleep, or when I get too excited… or when I get sick." She shuddered, hunching slightly and making herself small as she whimpered, "How… how can someone's heart… just stop?"

"…There are several reasons people's hearts can slow down and stop." Komui explained gently, "But when people as young as you get it… they usually grow out of it."

"…Really?" Child Gracia finally turned to Komui and looked up at him properly, her eyes wide and slightly hopeful.

"Yeah…" Komui nodded, smiling down at her, "And I know for a fact that you'll get better. You'll still have the occasional attack, but you won't even let them phase you. In fact, you'll travel the world."

After staring at him for a moment, child Gracia's face slowly warped to one of cynicism. "Now you're just being mean."

"No, I'm serious!" Komui assured her with a bright smile, "You see, you'll—"

As Komui told her about everything she would do, child Gracia slowly wrapped her loop of string around her wrist before turning to face him, sitting on her knees and listening with gradually widening eyes.

"—in fact, you're fighting. Right now." Komui concluded, staring down at her seriously, "You're in a battle with Road Kamelot, the Noah of Dreams…" When child Gracia glanced off to the side, Komui paused before asking, "Why are you hiding in here, Gracia?"

"…Because this is the one place she can't touch." Child Gracia mumbled, still glancing off to the side, "I was working on a strategy when I… got a bit lost."

"I see…" Komui sighed slightly, "The Sleeper Exorcist facing off against the Noah of Dreams… A rivalry waiting to happen."

"Only I get distracted easily." Child Gracia sighed, "And she's having some problems attacking because I dream about memories, and memories aren't her domain." She then tensed slightly and looked back at Komui with wide eyes, "Wait… What are you doing here? A-Are you… are you actually _here_? !"

"Yes…" Komui sighed, running a hand through his hair, "Apparently, she brought me here for some kind of… game…"

"…Damn it." It was a worrisome thing to hear from a child, but Komui didn't have a lot of time to dwell on it as the child form Gracia slid off of the rock and splashed in the water, standing straight and brushing her skirts before looking back up at Komui, "Come on, you can't stay here… I have to wake up before something bad happens to your subconscious."

Komui frowned slightly but stood when child Gracia took his hand and pulled, water filling his shoes again as they splashed along through the seemingly endless, indistinguishable-from-the-sky lake.

Then, just as suddenly as he had been plunged into darkness beforehand, Komui blinked to find them back out on the terrace, the door of the observatory swinging shut behind them.

Their feet leaving wet trails on the cobblestone, child Gracia continued pulling Komui along, leading her into the bedroom and over to the bed that had her unconscious, unmoving adult form on it.

Child Gracia let his hand go at the edge of the bed and turned to look up at him, frowning slightly, "I'm going back into my body now… You should wake back up in your own body, too."

"Alright." Komui nodded. He then smiled and leaned down, kissing her forehead, "You be careful, okay?"

Child Gracia blushed and sputtered, indignant.

Komui smiled down at her gently, amusedly.

Then he was stumbling back in pain, whining and clutching at his knee.

Child Gracia had her head lowered, her fringe hiding her eyes but not her blush. "…Such a nerd." She mumbled, turning away from him and running over to her adult body.

Komui chuckled slightly, and even before child Gracia touched her adult body the world around him started to white out, and then all was dark.

* * *

Komui was woken by a rather irate Brigitte smacking the back of his head with a folder. He couldn't even bring himself to whine or listen to her snipe at him as he slowly sat up at his desk, absently pressing a hand to the back of his head. His mind was still back on Gracia…

…And how his knee faintly hurt from where her child form had kicked him.

He smiled slightly.

"Good luck…"

* * *

Gracia's eyes snapped open and she spun sharply, slapping Road across the face with her Innocence-laden hand and sending her flying.

As Road sat up slowly, nursing an Innocence-caused burn on the side of her face, Gracia spun around quickly and held out her hand, hitting Tyki with a powerful surge if Sleep just as the male Noah was leaning over an injured Krory with a large butterfly in his hand.

Tyki stumbled, giving Lavi enough time to recover from whatever blow he had taken and leap at the addled Noah with his giant hammer.

A giggle coming from her right caught Gracia's attention, and she turned to Road with a glare as the girl stumbled to her feet, the burn on the side of her face smoking and healing.

"Welcome back." Road smiled at her, her expression innocent but a dark look flashing through her amber eyes, "Have a nice walk down memory lane with your boyfriend?"

"If you ever…" Gracia stared in a low, threatening growl, clenching her hands and digging her fingernails into her palms, "Drag Komui into one of our fights again… I'll put you in a sleep so deep you won't be _able_ to dream…"

"For being a dull, Solidor woman, you get really fired up when you're trying to protect those around you…" Road tipped her head, smiling innocently, "I wonder what it would do to your fragile human psyche if one of your teammates died…"

"You won't have time to find out." Gracia muttered, raising her hand and aiming it at Road, "You like playing with people's dreams? Why don't you take a break and try being on the receiving end for once.

"Drow Poison…"

Road's innocent smile widened, "Have you forgotten? I was there when you tried this on Skinn…"

"Alucinari!"

Road raised her hand at the same time that Sleep flashed, and as the female Noah's eyes rolled back into her head, Gracia felt herself losing consciousness once more.

And this time, she and Road went in alone.

* * *

_(…Alright, so life at home and work right now is extremely stressful; I've been passing out at night earlier than I'm used to, my hands have been shaking all week, I can't go a day without spending at least one hour feeling like I'm about to cry, and I'm starting to experience increasingly frequent points of time when I just feel completely out of it, so I'm not entirely confident with my spellchecking abilities… This is an hour or so overdue on being posted, so I'll check things after I post it, but there's still no guarantee that I'll get everything, so throw me a bone, ne? ^ . ^' Please? I really need at least one facet of my life to do that right now…)_


	68. WILD CYCLE COMPROMISED! ENABLE DEFENSE!

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

She didn't particularly want to wake up… Even though where she was lying was unpleasant… and wet… she was still tired.

But something… didn't feel right… The water she was lying in was hot, the air above the water level was hotter, something in the atmosphere was… crackling…

…And she felt like she wasn't alone.

Then, something with millions of legs was skittering across her arm and up to her chest.

Gracia's eyes snapped open and she gasped, the red water flooding her mouth as she flailed to throw off the giant millipe—

UGH! ! THAT _WASN'T_ WATER! !

Her stomach lurching, Gracia rolled onto her hands and knees, closing her eyes and throwing up some of the wrist-deep, watery blood she had lying in.

Eyes tearing and stomach lurching through wave after wave of nausea, Gracia stayed on her hands and knees, gagging and gasping and starting to get a headache from the now overwhelming, metallic smell of blood.

"What's wrong?" Road's child-like, amused voice echoed across the shallow, bloody lake, "Can't you stand something your own mind cooked up?"

Gracia shuddered and lifted her head, staring at Road and the hulking figure beside the girl through crimson clumps of hair, her auburn coloring the same color as the blood it was soaked in now that it was wet.

Her stomach dropped when she recognized the hulking, bare-chested figure by Road as the Noah who had once hunted down the Tiedoll unit: Skinn Bolic.

"…Didn't Kanda kill you…?" Gracia mumbled weakly, shrinking back in on herself slightly. She didn't remember the details of her fight with Skinn… but she knew she hadn't liked it…

"We're in the dream world, silly." Road giggled, grinning, "Anything can happen in dreams."

"…Thunder…" The dream Skinn rumbled in the back of his throat, his dark skin starting to peel to reveal the spiky, golden body tucked away just beneath the surface, "Thunder, thunder, thunder…"

Gracia's eyes widened and she threw her arm forward, Sleep flashing hotly—

Skinn's mouth opened wide, a beam of concentrated gold/hot blue light flashing out and leaping forward with the speed of a real thunderbolt.

Before she could comprehend what was happening, Gracia's entire body had seized up, her brain going blank and her tongue sizzling in her mouth as she was electrocuted and thrown back at the same time.

Her vision turned black, then red, and she heard a crashing explosion through all of the static that had filled her ears. When she could feel her body again, she slowly became aware of the fact that she was laying in a crater, her body convulsing and her lungs gasping desperately as the hole quickly filled with the bloody water. Even when it began to fill her mouth again, and then her lungs, her eyes rolled back into her head and she continued reeling from the sparks of electricity still coursing through her body, making her musculature system convulse involuntarily.

It was only when the crater filled completely with the bloody water, submerging her entire body, that she regained enough awareness to struggle, her arms and legs flailing wildly before she found the coherence to stand.

Clamping her eyes shut against the burning, bloody liquid irritating her eyeballs, Gracia shot into a standing position and breeched the surface, using her arms to tread in the chest-deep water desperately when she nearly lost her balance and fell.

Confused and stumbling, Gracia slowly looked back over at Road and Skinn, trying to figure out what had happened.

Pain… slowly spread along the back of her head… and shoulders… and spine… and at Road's smiling face and Skinn's transformed appearance, Gracia realized she'd been attacked, hit, thrown, and had landed with enough impact to make a compact crater in the ground.

The sheer, smarting pain that spread through her back like wildfire as she moved her arms was enough to make her wonder if something hadn't been cracked.

She wasn't fast enough to keep up with Skinn… Damn it…

But that was why she'd used Sleep on him in their last fight… in her fight with the actual Skinn… But this time… it hadn't…

Gracia looked down at Sleep. Why wasn't it…?

"Did you just try to put a dream to sleep in the dream world?" Road called out to her amusedly, tauntingly. "It seems your brain was fried _before_ this Skinn even attacked you."

Panting, Gracia looked back up at Skinn and Road, starting to panic…

Right… they were in a 'dream world.' Technically, they were already unconscious… Any of her techniques that involved putting the target to sleep wouldn't work.

And in Sleep's standing form, that was the first step of her three strongest techniques…

…Her only options were Confusio and Judge-Sal…

Tensing when the dream Skinn started to growl "Thunder" again, Road just standing a bit off to the side with her arms clasped behind her back and a smile in place, Gracia turned and waded through the bloody water as quickly as she could.

Unable to be careful in searching for the edge, though, she slammed into it with the full length of her torso, and when Skinn launched another attack at her, it was all Gracia could do to clamp her eyes shut and dive down into the blood again.

Even submerged, though, she felt the effects of the attack, Skinn's lightning being conducted by the water in the blood and electrocuting her again.

Gracia opened her mouth in an involuntary scream, bloody water once again going down into her lungs and even her stomach as she thrashed.

Her lungs pinched painfully and, instinct taking over, she clawed for the surface as soon as the electrocution was over, gasping for air desperately and clawing at the submerged edge of the crater, trying to climb out.

"I wonder if this is what shooting fish in a barrel is like…" She absently heard Road sigh softly.

Choking and gasping, Gracia just continued to scramble frantically at the edge of the crater, splashing bloody water everywhere.

Escape was the only thing on her mind.

It was the only thing that had been on her mind as soon as the electrocution from the second attack had stopped scrambling her brains.

She'd hardly been able to escape Skinn Bolic during their last confrontation, and this time, even though this Skinn was Road's dream, he had another Noah fighting with him, and Gracia didn't have Sleep.

She wouldn't even be able to use the Judge-Sal… She… she couldn't get a hold of the feeling that allowed her to summon it…

And so, as soon as Gracia had managed to crawl out of the crater, she ran for it.

She would find a way to escape, get back in her body, and tell Socalo to take over; she couldn't handle the mission when there were two Noah's as enemies. Especially not with Road being one of them…

"My, what interesting techniques your Innocence has… I wonder what Quietus would do to a human?"

Gracia jerked to a stop.

"…Well, that got your attention…" She could hear the grin in Road's voice, "What, did you think you could leave your body empty around me and expect me to not use it? It's pretty fun, you know… to watch your teammates do their best not to hurt you as they defend themselves against your Judge-Sal."

Gracia spun around quickly with wide eyes, her body trembling violently when she saw the look on Road's face.

The girl wasn't lying.

Lavi and Krory… they were fighting against her body, her Innocence, her Judge-Sal.

"Leave them alone!" Gracia screamed, her trembling worsening as it crossed her mind that she was stuck. She couldn't flee, but if she stayed too long the Judge-Sal would— "You're fighting me, goddamn it! Isn't their fight against Tyki enough? ! Keep your mind on one target at a time!"

Road tipped her head, smiling, "Now don't be like that; this is all a group effort! Besides…" Here, the girl's grin darkened, her bangs shadowing her eyes, "Don't assume that just because you're slow and can't focus on more than one enemy at a time that your enemy has to do the same thing."

Gracia ground her teeth, looking around desperately. There was nothing on the horizon but red… Nothing she could use as a weapon…

She was too weak to summon the Judge-Sal… and none of her other techniques would work…

…Then, it hit her that Road wasn't using any techniques, either. Gracia looked back at Road, blinking. The girl was… just standing there…

And… Road had said that… the Skinn that was standing in front of her now was—

"Lightning Wheels!"

Clamping her eyes shut and raising her arms in front of herself defensively, Gracia focused her mind as much as she could and prayed she was right.

The hair on the back of her neck stood up as the spirals of lightning raced towards her, and she could almost feel them burning the exposed hair on her arms (her uniform in shreds) off when—

There was a sharp, metallic ring, and just as quickly as the attack was there, it was gone.

Gracia slowly opened her eyes, heaving a long, shuddering sigh of relief when she saw a dark figure standing in front of her protectively, sword drawn and shining dangerously.

In front of them, Road's eyes widened slightly, "What—"

"…What?" Gracia grinned bitterly as the Kanda in front of her took his stance, Mugen flashing again, "I can't do what you did and dream up my own badass to fight for me?"

* * *

"Gracia, stop!" Lavi shouted as Gracia swung her arm down, the Judge-Sal behind her following the movement and bringing its sword crashing down on Krory. "ARYSTAR! !"

When Gracia turned to look at him, Lavi's eyes widened and he ground his teeth.

That marking… that tattoo under her left eye… He knew that mark.

It was the same one Road had given him when she'd taken his body over.

"…I don't need anyone." The possessed Gracia murmured, "I've never needed anyone… All I need is Sleep. The rest of you… I can live without… Just as you could live without me."

"That isn't true!" Lavi shouted, raising his hammer and muttering a curse before barking "GROW!" as she swung one of Judge-Sal's swords at him.

Metal screeched against ethereal metal, and Lavi clamped his eyes shut and clenched his jaw as the powerful blow sent him skidding back a few feet, his feet leaving trenches in the ground.

Desperate, the boy looked over at Socalo, but the General was exactly where Gracia had left him when she'd ordered him not to intervene; sitting on one of the large roots of a tree, watching the scene in front of him silently.

And knowing that bloodthirsty maniac, he could wait until they were hardly breathing before deeming it necessary to intervene.

"That isn't true!" Lavi went on, turning his attention back to Gracia and shouting, "Not anymore! You know it isn't! We've all lived together for too long for what happens to one of us to not matter to the others!" He yelped and jumped to the side when she thrust forward with Judge-Sal's other sword, swinging his hammer around and smacking the giant knight with it powerfully enough to send it flying. "Hell!" He went on now that her main offense was gone, raising a hand slightly, "Even Kanda would be pissed if he heard you talking like that! You'd get slapped upside the head with Mugen!"

Gracia just stared at him with empty eyes before lunging, her fist burying itself in his gut.

Lavi's eyes widened and he doubled over her shoulder, actually coughing up blood. Jeez, when in the hell has she gotten so strong…

When Gracia brought her knee up, next, delivering another blow to Lavi's gut, he collapsed on the ground and coughed again. Lavi was limp when she grabbed him by his hair and pulled him up, and then his vision flashed red and pain burst between his eyes as she slammed her forehead against his.

The woman was a fucking _brawler_! !

"Don't need anyone…" Gracia was mumbling as she kicked Lavi onto his back before sitting on his chest, Lavi's mind swimming as he felt her wrap her hands around his neck, "Get married… arranged… but will still be alone… Forget… the Order… and be… just fine… Don't… need…"

"Wh… What about… Komui?" Lavi croaked. When Gracia's fingers twitched around his neck before relaxing, Lavi went on, "Do you… not need him, too…? He'd be… really… really hurt… to hear… you say that…"

The blank expression on Gracia's face softened.

"Y-Yeah…" Lavi went on, glancing over at Krory and relaxing when he saw the man moving, "You remember Komui, don't you? And do you have any idea how much he would _whine_ if he heard you talking like this?"

The brow above Gracia's tattooed eye twitched.

"Remember Komui." Lavi urged, "Remember Komui and keep fighting her! She _can_ be defeated; I know, I've done it before!"

And then, just when it seemed like Lavi was finally breaking through to Gracia, a sudden explosion caught their attention.

Lavi, the possessed Gracia and the now conscious Krory all looked over in varying stages of shock, Tyki grinning at all three of them with his hand held out. Floating in front of his palm was an orb of solid, shimmering black, and scattered around, now in shambles… was what was left of the frozen pillar.

The suspected source of the Innocence had been destroyed.

Around Gracia's wrist and finger, Sleep flashed, and on the ground just below it, a small section of the carpet of ivy started to…


	69. WILD CYCLE COMPROMISED! COUNTERMEASURE!

First off, I'd like to apologize to anyone and everyone I worried in my after chapter note two chapters back… I'm feeling (marginally) better, and things at home are starting to simmer down, so don't worry… I'm not getting self-destructive or anything. ^ . ^' It's just that sometimes, my life is like a soap opera, which is way more stressful than it sounds.

But I'm rambling; I'm okay, I'm not going to disappear, I'm set on chapters for a while, and get ready for some Komui fluff coming up in the next few chapters~.

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Even though the pillar was destroyed, the icy fog stayed.

In fact, as Lavi struggled to push Gracia off of him and grab his hammer, and as Krory leapt back to his feet and threw himself at Tyki once more, the icy fog thickened.

Gracia's possessed form sat on Lavi's waist heavily, unperturbed by the boy's struggling, watching the fight blankly for a moment before slowly looking down.

The vines… they were… freezing over…

* * *

The dream Kanda delivered a powerful kick to the side of Gracia's head, sending her flying and out of the way of one of the dream Skinn's attacks.

Road's brow quirked slightly, "Can you really not control your own dream?"

"N-No, that's not it." Gracia coughed as she struggled to stand, rubbing the side of her head and smiling sheepishly, "Kanda's actually like that."

Road's quirked brow went up higher, and Gracia could have swore she saw a bit of sweat trail down the back of her head… even though seeing something like that wasn't physically possible.

Acting as the real Kanda would, the dream Kanda ignored their side conversation and lunged at the dream Skinn, attacking him.

Biting her lip and realizing that she needed to take advantage of the fact that she had time to think, Gracia crossed her arms over her stomach tightly and started to mull.

Where was she… A "dream world," Road had called it. So, she was unconscious, though unlike before, she wasn't in her own subconscious. She couldn't be… this scenery was foreign to her, and there were no doors that lead to memories.

…And she could feel pain…

So, she was unconscious, but not so deeply that she couldn't register pain; that meant that, even though they weren't in her subconscious, they were still in her body. Gracia had a hard time imagining being able to feel pain in a 'dream world' if said world were outside of her own body.

But… what area was below consciousness, but above the subconscious?

…Well… technically… dreaming was what laid between consciousness and deep sleep.

So… If she really was dreaming… and she was _aware_ of the fact that she was dreaming… Then she was lucidly dreaming.

…And it is possible… in lucid dreaming… to move your own, actual body.

…She had to stop focusing on the world she was in at that moment and try to get back into contact with her body; if she could do that, then she could use Sleep.

Properly.

Her eyes wandering as she thought, Gracia's gaze slowly settled on a circular area in the shallow lake of blood that was… darker than the surrounding area.

…The crater she had made when Skinn had thrown her.

Her mind slowly starting to work, Gracia turned and began walking towards it.

Being under the surface would block out the light, block out the sound, make her stop breathing… It would block out most of her senses.

It would allow her to stop focusing on what was going on around her and try to focus on feeling her body.

"And just where do you think you—"

Gracia simply wrapped her arms around Road when the girl appeared in front of her, taking the sharp, spiraled end of the candle the girl had aimed at her threateningly to the stomach as she fell forward and they both sank under the bloody surface.

* * *

…_It was like… that time… she had been in control of the Judge-Sal… and her own body… at the same time…_

_Her consciousness… was split…_

_On one hand… she was sinking… sinking… pressing a violently struggling Road to the bottom of a liquid-filled something… as the girl drove something sharp… painful… into her body… over and over…_

…_On the other hand… she was straddling Lavi's waist… her hands… wrapped loosely… around his neck… and staring at Tyki… who was standing proudly… over the broken pillar…_

…_In this second awareness… she felt something… cold… against her finger…_

_Slowly… in the second body… she looked down… and saw…_

…_Was that… the ivy…? Touching Sleep…?_

…_Wrapping around Sleep's chain… and freezing it…?_

"**…La…vi…**"

_Lavi looked up at her, a shocked look on his face as he blinked._

"**…Pillar… not Innocence…**" _She was struggling to say, _"**Plant… Sleep… Plant… on Sleep…**"

_The boy's visible eye widened slightly… and he looked down at her hand, seeing what she had seen in a brief second… before throwing her off, standing, and shouting something off to the side._

_For a moment… she was back in her other body… submerged in something wet… heavy… tasting of iron… something sharp… stabbing into… her chest…_

_Then… she was back in her second body… sitting up slowly… as Lavi and Krory… dove for the roots of the ivy… at Tyki's feet…_

_She turned… slowly… and saw Road's body nearby… eyes closed…_

_Trying to… keep focus… started to crawl… towards body… hands… so cold as ivy… clung to Sleep… Helping her… keep focus…_

_Then, Road was below her… and she was pressing her hand… to the girl's forehead…_

_Then… Sleep flash—_

* * *

Gracia was slammed back into her body with such ruthless force that she coughed up blood before collapsing and blacking out for a brief moment.

When she was conscious again, she laid on the ground heavily and watched blearily as Lavi and Krory fought Tyki with renewed vigor, the male Noah clearly distracted and glancing in Gracia's direction, behind her and at Road, frequently.

Finally, Tyki just scowled and flickered out of existence, making Lavi and Krory pause in mid-swing.

A soft thump behind her made Gracia turn her head weakly, and she watched, silent, as Tyki bent over and swept Road up into his arms.

"This your first mission as the leader, Gracia?" He grinned down at her, "Not bad. You can have the Innocence."

…The look on his face made her relax and watch exhaustedly as a large, ornate door grew out of the ground behind him and opened. The look reminded her of how he used to be…

"See ya next time, then." Tyki winked down at her before turning and walking through the doorway, the door, itself, slamming shut behind him before warping, swirling and disappearing.

Gracia stared after him, then sighed softly and closed her eyes, vaguely aware of Lavi and Krory's voices calling out to her but not really caring as she started to drift off.

She was done playing General for the day… They could do the rest.

* * *

When she next woke, Gracia found herself staring at the ceiling of a private train car and in fresh clothes. She blinked slowly, then started looking around, sighing when she saw Lavi sitting near her feet, Krory and Socalo on the bench across from hers.

"Ah…" Krory blinked, perking, "Miss Gracia!"

"Eeggh…." Gracia laid her head back again and closed her eyes, "How long was I out…?"

"Three days…" Lavi sighed from near her feet, "Road must've really done a number in your head, ne?"

"…Not just mine." Gracia mumbled, taking a few moments to think as she slowly went on, "Komui's, too… She managed to drag his consciousness into my mind… somehow…"

"The Supervisor? !" Lavi scowled, worried, "Is he alright? !"

"Yeah… He wasn't hurt, from what I saw." Gracia thought carefully, shuddering in relief, "He just wandered around a bit, then I woke up, so I'm assuming he made it back to his body…" A thought hit her and she lifted her head, "The Innocence?"

"Eh?" Lavi glanced at her, blinking, "You haven't noticed? Take a look at Sleep."

Gracia blinked at the smile he ended with, then looked down at Sleep, smiling slightly, herself, at what she saw; a tiny spring of ivy, with just three scant, new leaves growing on it, was twined around Sleep's chain.

"Well hey, little hitchhiker." Gracia said softly to the Innocence-laced plant. She flinched slightly when Sleep's chain got cold enough for the metal to smoke, Sleep, itself, flashing hotly right after.

"Good job on noticing the plant, not the pillar, was the Innocence." Lavi grinned at Gracia, "General Socalo looked absolutely murderous after the pillar got smashed until you mentioned the plant."

"That was a fuckin' close call, Solidor." Socalo grunted roughly from his seat, cracking one of his closed eyes open and throwing her a stony glare, "Be more careful about that next time."

"Yessir." Gracia smiled weakly.

"And don't take on Road alone next time." Lavi groused, frowning and smacking her leg, "Krorykins and I aren't so weak that we need you to protect both of us from someone of her caliber."

"There are only twelve active Exorcists left in the entire world, not including me." Gracia sighed, "And the Noah can take our Innocence from us and destroy it. The moment the Noah appeared… you guys took precedence. And, as Kanda's said so many times over, I'm only really good at slowing people down…"

Gracia didn't really notice the look Socalo threw her when she said that.

"Krory, are you alright?" Gracia asked, glancing at the baron and blinking, "You've been quiet…"

Krory blinked, then smiled at her, looking a bit teary, "I'm just… so… happy… that you're…"

Gracia's eyes widened and she yelped as Krory and Lavi threw themselves at her and hugged her tightly, both going on about how she'd been asleep for so long. She smiled sheepishly and passively muttered apologies; she'd forgotten how easily people who weren't that familiar with her got upset when she slept for extended periods of time…

"Calm the fuck down!" Socalo barked at them, "It was just a few damned days, and she's the Sleeper Exorcist! You'd have more reason to be worried if she hadn't passed out!"

That made the hugging trio pause, then Krory and Lavi sheepishly shifted back into their seats.

Gracia chuckled and lay down, closing her eyes and throwing an arm across her face tiredly. Sleep's chain chimed softly in her ear, and she could feel the icy touch of the ivy spring against her cheek…

"…Gracia, how did you know Tyki?"

After taking a moment to mull over Lavi's question, Gracia sighed, "The same way I know Bookman and anyone else we might meet on the trains who knows my name… Camaraderie between travelers and hobos."

"So… you knew him under the human, hobo guise he travels around in."

"Yeah… You know him, too?" Gracia lifted her head, "Was he traveling with a group?"

"Yeah." Lavi nodded, "Two men and a kid."

"Momo, Clark and Eeez." Gracia smiled fondly, "Did they look alright?"

Lavi blinked, staring at her then smiled slightly and nodded, "Yeah… Well, they were well enough to use some underhanded poker tricks to cheat the clothes right off of Krory's back."

When she glanced at the count for confirmation and found him looking away and blushing sheepishly, Gracia chuckled and closed her eyes.

"Good… I was worried about them…"

"…Do you miss traveling without restraint?"

"…" Gracia didn't answer, choosing, instead, to act like she'd gone to sleep.

If she got to thinking about how she did, indeed, miss traveling on her own every so often, she would get to thinking about how she missed Komui even more, and then she would start… _looking forward_ to see him again.

And she still wanted to be annoyed with him for a bit longer; she still hadn't forgotten the lack of faith he'd shown when she had first gotten assigned this mission.

…Not to mention the kiss to the forehead he'd slipped in while he had been in her subconscious.

…Jerk got too much enjoyment out of flustering her.

"…You thinkin' about the Supervisor?" Lavi's voice drawled amusedly after a moment, "Your face is all red."

"…That's it, it's naptime."

"Wha—" Lavi started to squeak in protest just before Sleep flashed hotly, making the rest of the train ride rather pleasant.

* * *

"Ah, Tyki, how did the mi— …Road? !"

"She's fine." Tyki sighed, setting the sleeping girl down on a sofa, "She's just sleeping."

"My baby girl!" Sheril Kamelot wailed, shoving Tyki aside violently and sending him crashing through the glass door of a display case as the man knelt beside Road, hugging her unconscious form to his chest, "Oh, why, Noah, why? ! Why my baby girl? ! It's okay, pookie, Daddy's here!"

"She's not dead, idiot." Tyki grumbled, wincing as he pulled himself out of the display case, bits of colored glass from several now smashed crystal menagerie animals falling from his back and tinkling as they hit the ground, "She's just sleeping." He then paused and twitched, "And did you just call her 'pookie?'" Honestly, sometimes Sheril took this whole 'playing house' thing too far…

"Who did this to her…?"

Tyki blinked and deadpanned at the tone in Sheril's voice, sighing and running a hand through his hair before answering, "Gracia Solidor."

"…Wasn't Lulu Bell supposed to kill her?" Sheril threw Tyki a sharp look.

"…" Tyki shrugged, "Lulu tried, but her attack only made Gracia's Innocence evolve."

"Then she was too soft." Sheril gently eased Road back down onto the sofa, taking his suit jacket off and covering her with it, "She's only an effect equipment type; it's not as if she's immune to Akuma oil or physically impressive."

"You wouldn't say that if you saw the apparitions she can conjure…" Tyki muttered.

"We'll see." Sheril chuckled, standing and walking off, "We'll see what I come to think of her in due time…"

Tyki stared after him, then sighed and scratched his jaw.

"Good job, Gracia… Now you have _two_ Noah who, personally, want you dead."

* * *

_(…Oh, snap.)_


	70. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XLVII

_"IIIIIIIIIIZAAYAAAAAAA! STAY OUT OF IKEBUKURO!"_

XD Anyway, get ready for some steamy things in this chapter (nothing M worthy, though you might want a hand fan/moist washcloth and a cigarette).

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia nestled down underneath her blankets with a soft, happy groan of contentment, happy to give in and let the sheets and blankets swallow her whole. There was the initial sharp, bittersweet pain in her feet that came with no longer having to bear her own weight after so long and letting her muscles relax, but it only made her groan again, appreciatively this time.

It was _suuuch_ a good _paaain_…

It was a good thing she'd filled out her report, dropped the spring of ivy off with Hevlaska and taken a shower before even looking at her bed; if she'd so much as stepped towards it before she'd gotten everything done, it all wouldn't have gotten done for at least a day and a half.

Now, however, she was official off-duty and free, and now she could lie down and just _pass out_…

Of course… eventually Komui would find out she was home and come sailing in for an intense cuddle-fest, but she would actually welcome it at that point, Gracia realized with a smile and a blush.

She'd actually… missed his forced cuddles.

In fact, just thinking about them almost made her feel like hunting Komui down.

Almost.

But there was the biting pain in her feet, the soft, cool blankets around her, the warmth her cocoon was starting to generate…

Thinking about going to look for Komui slowly tapered off into black as she dozed off, more exhausted than she realized she had been.

Of course, as she had thought, she wasn't able to rest long before she was being gently nudged onto her back, a warm, comforting weight draping across her body and a face pressing against her neck.

It would have been comfortable… If something didn't pinch her skin.

"Komui, at least… take off your glasses." Gracia whined softly, struggling.

"Eh? Oh, sorry…" Komui apologized with a wince, sitting up and taking off his glasses while gently rubbing the spot on her neck where the joint on the arm of his glasses had pinched.

"Nnn…" Gracia opened her eyes, blushing before she even looked up at him, "You're getting a bit too familiar, don't you think…? You didn't even knock today…"

"I didn't want to wake you up." Komui smiled cheekily, "Besides, you know you're starting to like it."

"Cocky nerd…" Gracia mumbled, unable to keep herself from looking away and twitching when she felt her face get even warmer. What was this… Shyness?

Komui chuckled, setting his glasses aside before squirming slightly and biting his lip. "How…" He started slowly, sounding reluctant, "Did the mission go?"

"Alright…" Suddenly remembering what had happened, Gracia turned back to him and worriedly searched his face, reaching up and touching his cheek carefully, "Are you… alright? After… after I woke up… what…"

"I'm fine." Komui assured her gently, smiling, "I woke up, too. Nothing has happened since then."

Gracia heaved a shuddering sigh, closing her eyes and relaxing. She'd forgotten about it off and on because of everything else (and because she still had a fairly faulty memory), but… in the moments she had remembered that Road had touched Komui's mind, she had felt nothing but terror and anxiety. Knowing he was okay… lifted a huge weight off of her chest…

Gracia's body responded automatically when she felt something familiar, warm and soft press against her mouth, her hands twitching at her sides as she kissed Komui back.

Even though she kept her eyes closed, she could feel Komui grin against her lips when she responded, making her roll her eyes under their lids and bite his lip slightly. She couldn't help smirking slightly when she got a whine in response.

The smirk quickly faded when Komui quickly, teasingly slipped his tongue into her mouth.

Gracia's eyes snapped open and she gasped, struggling slightly and whining when Komui grabbed her wrists and pinned them to the bed.

Komui paused, grinning down at her slightly, then closed his eyes again and licked her palate slowly.

Gracia's eyes widened further, the action sending a shock down her spine that made her arch up against him automatically, her toes curling and her fingers gripping the sheets.

Was this really what couples did all of the time? It seemed like she couldn't be around Komui for more than five minutes anymore without him needing to molest her…

…Not that she could really complain considering how much he managed to make her enjoy it.

Gracia was jerked out of her thoughts when Komui gently drew her tongue into his mouth, where he started to—

Oh God… oh God, he was… with his lips… his entire mouth… and there was sucking— And— And—

She clamped her eyes shut as her breathing got heavy, her neck hot and muggy and her heart hammering in her throat.

Then, Komui's mouth left hers and moved across her cheek, down her jaw and to her neck.

"D-Damn it, Komui…" Gracia muttered, unable to keep a whimper out of her voice, "I-I'm s-sleepy…" Well, she wasn't really tired anymore; now she was awake, and there was some kind of heat building up in her body… mainly in her stomach…

"Hmm…" Komui muttered against her neck distractedly, pressing his body down against hers firmly and sucking at a patch of skin on her neck.

Gracia arched again, opening her mouth a bit wider as she let out a pitchy, interesting noise before struggling slightly and managing to mutter on between gasps, "K-K-aaaa…'omui… Sto… St-oooh…" She wasn't able to finish when another high-pitched whine got strangled in the back of her throat as Komui moved his mouth over and dug his tongue into the dip in her collarbone, at the base of her throat.

What was he doing… And more importantly, _how_? !

Obviously, Gracia was no stranger to intimacy; she and her late husband had tried _how many_ times to have children?

But _this_… This was… on a whole new level… And… And… It made her… It made her want…

"Haaa…" Gracia's hands flew up and clutched at Komui's back as he let her go in favor of rubbing her sides slowly. She clenched her toes and bit her lip, staring at the ceiling in slight shock when Komui pushed the blankets aside to kiss the center of her chest though the thin material of her nightgown. "K-Komui!" She squeaked helplessly.

Komui chuckled, slipping a hand up her nightgown and palming her hip and…

…then he rolled off of her and laid down, sighing happily.

Gracia blinked at the ceiling slowly and stayed in place, her body hot even though the blankets had been pushed aside and her nightgown was pushed up to show her panties, her pulse still thudding in her throat, her neck and collarbone covered in wet, red marks and her lips starting to swell slightly.

"…K-Komui?"

"I'll be staying with you tonight." Komui reported happily, kicking his slippers off and sitting up long enough to slip his coat off before lying back down and snuggling into the bedding, "Goodnight, Gracia. It's good to have you home."

Gracia's brow twitched slightly and she continued staring at the ceiling, in shock.

…What in the _hell_ had just happened?

…And why did the space between her thighs suddenly feel empty?

* * *

Komui grinned when he continued to hear absolutely nothing from Gracia's side of the bed.

Personally, he was quite proud of himself for thinking up this devious new tactic; it was obvious that Gracia enjoyed what he did to her, but she was still so reserved… so reserved she even got annoyed with him, even while she was enjoying it! And he still really, really did want her to be comfortable and enjoy it at the same time.

And what was the best way to do that?

Make her come after him.

And how did he do that?

He would have to tease her. Relentlessly. He would have to molest her, get her hot, and then stop and leave her wanting. Over and over and over again…

Eventually, she would get frustrated and, hopefully, try to pin him to the bed (or a wall… or his desk…) and ravish him.

And then he would turn the tables and do whatever he wanted to with her~.

Ooo, Komui was feeling deliciously evil…

He wanted to cackle and rub his hands together, but Gracia would probably kick him out and make him do something embarrassing using Alucinari again…

Instead, Komui focused, happily, on the fact that, for the first time, he and Gracia would be spending the night together in a proper bed.

While they were a couple.

This time, Komui had to refrain from squealing and clapping his hands.

He couldn't wait for his plan to start working~!

* * *

Several hours later, Komui was asleep next to her and Gracia was still staring at the ceiling, essentially in a state of shock.

The feeling of… emptiness still hadn't faded.

The heat in her stomach wouldn't abate.

Whatever Komui had done, he had her body… _wanting_ something.

She wanted to roll over, touch him, pin him to the bed and—

Someone knocked at the door.

Gracia had to take a moment to make sure that the sound was actually coming from the doors and wasn't just her pulse pounding in her ears again… When she heard the knocking again, she stood and straightened her nightgown, throwing Komui a sullen look before grabbing a robe draped across the nightstand and slipping it on.

As she walked to the door, she absently hoped it was Reever or Brigitte… She wasn't sure why, but she felt like Komui needed to be punished, and those two would definitely take care of it.

Gracia was expecting it to be Reever or Brigitte so much by the time that she got to the door that when she opened it, she was shocked to see Allen, instead.

Not that she wouldn't have been shocked to see Allen at her door in the middle of the night, anyway…

The boy was ashen and sweating, his body trembling slightly.

Gracia stared down at him with slowly widening eyes, panic seizing her when she saw he didn't have Link or even Timcanpy with him.

"…Allen?" Gracia murmured.

Allen stared up at her with glassy eyes, panting slightly, "G-Gra…cia…" He seemed to be getting… even more ashen…

Gracia's eyes widened slightly when she realized… he wasn't just ashen…

His skin was actually turning umber.

"Neeeeh… Gracia? Whose at the door?"

Gracia glanced back at Komui with wide eyes, stepping back to show Allen.

Komui, who had sat up in bed, blinked at the boy slowly, then his own eyes widened and he stumbled to his feet, "A-Allen…? !"

Allen looked up from the stumbling steps he had taken into the room when Gracia had stepped aside, the boy suddenly looking even more scared, "S-Supervisor…? ! I-I… I…"

Gracia went back to staring at Allen.

He… His transformation… looked like Tyki's had…

…The Noah inside of Allen was…

"N-Never mind…" Allen mumbled, still staring at Komui as he stepped back, "I'll just… go… back… to my…"

"…Allen…?" Komui spoke slowly, still walking towards him, "Is the Fourteenth…"

The panic in Gracia's chest increased tenfold when she remembered the orders Komui had been forced to give earlier, when it had first been revealed that Allen had a Noah inside of him.

Her hands shot out and wrapped around the boy before he could bolt, the hand bearing Sleep wrapping around the side of his head to cover his face and the other grabbing his arm and pulling him into her chest.

"It's okay, Allen…" Gracia mumbled to the boy trembling against her, "Komui isn't here right now… He doesn't need to know about this. No one does." She threw Komui a pointed glare.

Cross had entrusted Allen's care to her, and not even Komui was going to get in the way of that.

Komui's eyes widened slightly, then he nodded slightly and walked over, silently closing the door as Gracia led Allen over to the sitting area.

"…I… I don't know… what happened…" Allen mumbled as he blindly let her lead him, "I think… I had a dream… or… I… I don't…"

"You're still tired, then?" Gracia asked gently, "That's good… I'll put you both to sleep…"

"I'm sorry…" Allen croaked, "I wasn't able… t-to…"

"It's okay." Gracia murmured, "Don't think about it anymore…" She sat down in one of the chairs in the sitting area in front of the fireplace and gently eased Allen down onto her lap, pulling him close and keeping Sleep over his eyes, "You're tired… Just relax and I'll take care of everything else, alright?" His skin… it was such… a complete shade of umber…

"…D-Don't tell Link…"

"…You sleepwalked to get here, sweetheart. You thought my room was the cafeteria and tried to eat the decorative soaps in my bathroom…"

Allen exhaled what might have been a short, mirthless laugh, then he started to relax against her completely when Sleep flashed hotly, the boy slowly slumping down in Gracia's lap and resting his head on her shoulder.

Komui sat silently on the sofa and watched Gracia put Allen and the emerging Noah within him to sleep, not relaxing even when Allen's skin turned pale again and the boy fell asleep.

* * *

"…When did Allen… start to become so terrified by the idea of telling me about things like this…"

"I don't think he's afraid of you, Komui." Gracia murmured, stroking Allen's hair slowly, "I think he's afraid of what could happen to you and the others if you see something like this and don't tell Lvellie. You know how he is… He doesn't want anyone to get in trouble because of him."

"…Sometimes I really hate how selfless that boy can be." Komui muttered, sighing and lowering his head as he dragged a hand through his hair. He then stood and shook his head, glancing at Gracia, "I should go. If Allen's staying with you tonight, Link could well be here early in the morning looking for him."

"Right." Gracia sighed, nodding, "And while Link undoubtedly knows about us, it's probably best he doesn't see it."

"Yes…" Komui sighed again, sullenly this time, and nodded. He then glanced at Gracia seriously, "If anything happens…"

"Don't you dare." Gracia threw Komui a glare, "Allen wouldn't hurt me. He wouldn't hurt any of us, and you had damn well better know that."

"Oh, I do." Komui smiled down at Gracia softly, "Just wanted to make sure you were up to this after what happened earlier."

Gracia's brow twitched, her face heating.

Komui's soft smile sharpened slightly, and he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers in a heated kiss, one hand lacing through her hair and holding her in place as he forced his tongue into her mouth to tangle with hers hotly.

Then he had pulled away and was walking off, leaving a crimson-faced, wide-eyed Gracia to stare after him in shock.

…The aching, empty feeling was back in the space between her thighs.

…She was happy Allen was sleeping on her:

If he hadn't been… she had a feeling she would have hunted Komui down and done something inappropriate to him in the hallway.


	71. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XLVIII

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia was woken by something squirming on her lap.

She blinked her eyes open slowly with a noise of protest and glanced down, quirking a brow slightly when she saw a blushing Allen shifting uncomfortably, still sitting on her.

The boy froze when he noticed she had woken, swallowing and muttering, "I… uh… I'm sorry…"

"'s fine…" Gracia mumbled, reaching up and running a hand through his hair gently, "Are you okay…?"

His blush darkening, Allen nodded, "Y-Yes… I'm back in control…"

"Good…" It was only when he said that that Gracia let him go, the boy quickly sliding off of her lap and standing. "Allen… About last night…"

Allen tensed slightly and squirmed, glancing at her nervously.

Gracia looked at him seriously, "Don't think that you ever have to leave just because Komui is here if something like that happens. More often than not, I'll gladly kick him out in favor of taking care of you."

Allen blinked, relaxing and staring at her in shock. He then slowly smiled before he started laughing.

Gracia smiled slightly, relaxing back in her chair.

Still chuckling, Allen glanced at he amusedly, "Is the Supervisor that much more annoying when you have a close relationship with him?"

"Yes." Gracia answered bluntly, "He cuddles."

Allen's eyes widened and he quickly slapped a hand over his mouth, unsuccessfully stifling laughter.

Gracia sighed, nodding, "Yeah, yeah…"

They both jumped slightly when someone, literally, pounded on the door, Allen sighing and twitching and Gracia closing her eyes when Link's voice bellowed from the other side.

"Lady Gracia! ! Wake up! ! Have you seen Walker? !"

Gracia stood, gesturing for Allen to sit before walking over to her door lazily, annoyance building as Link continued to slam his fist against her door. By the time she got to the door, her eyes were narrowed and she was officially pissed.

Grinding her teeth, Gracia threw the door open and glowered at Link as the young man nearly stumbled into the room, his knock thrown off. "Howard…" She seethed, using his first name, "Unless we are under attack or someone is missing a limb and dying a slow, painful, bloody death in a hallway somewhere in this house, if you ever, _ever_ pound on my door like that again when you've already been knocking… I will make it my mission to make sure that you don't sleep soundly for a month, even if that means I have to stay up at night and stalk you."

Frozen in place, Link stared up at her for a moment, his lips pressed into a thin line and his eyebrow twitching.

As the temperature in the area dropped, Gracia could practically feel Allen shiver behind her.

Feeling a bit… smug over the fact that she was controlling the metaphorical atmosphere, Gracia continued to glare at Link.

"…Mistress."

Gracia and Link glanced over as Renault walked up, the physician/bodyguard staring at her evenly.

"Is there a problem? Is the Inspector's Assistant harassing you?"

"…No, Renault. He came to pick up Allen, who sleepwalked into my room last night." Gracia glanced over, "Allen, it's time to let your tumor latch back into your side."

Allen's eyes widened slightly and an amused look briefly flashed across his face before he nodded and walked over, Link falling into place beside the boy silently as they both started to walk away from Gracia's room, nervous under Renault's steady glare.

Gracia sighed once they were gone, running a hand through her hair.

"…The Supervisor spent the night in your room."

Gracia paused, slowly blushing darkly and glancing over at Renault. At the heavily lidded, flat stare he was giving her, she swallowed, "N-Nothing happened… H-He… tricked me into it… somehow… But nothing happened."

"You have no reason to defend your actions to _me_, Mistress." Renault informed her flatly, his face still expressionless, "It was simply an observation."

"…Oh…" Gracia paused, thinking slowly, then twitched, "Ah… Right… Well… you're right… He did… spend the night… in my room…"

"…I have taken up residence in the room next to yours." Renault said simply after a moment before turning and walking back through the door to the right of her room.

Gracia paused, thinking slowly, then twitched again.

She knew that.

He knew she knew that.

So why had he made it a point to sa—

Ooooh… He was warning her that he could hear if things got too loud.

…Things between her and Komui… while they were both in her roo—

Her head throbbing from the pressure and her face burning from the heat of her blush, Gracia walked back into her room and pulled on her Exorcist uniform's tunic, pants and sash before leaving her room again, walking down the hall quickly.

Since she had just gotten back from a mission and had nothing to do, she ended up walking around the halls of her father's old home and… thinking about… what she hadn't had time to think about the previous night…

…Namely, Komui's recently gained ability to make her feel… something strange, hot and needy in her lower stomach.

While it wasn't… unpleasant, per se (no, it wasn't unpleasant at all), it was new and something she wasn't used to, so, automatically, it made her quite unhappy.

And what made her exceptionally unhappy was the fact that Komui was not only able to do it easily, but that he was aware of what he was doing and seemed to be doing it to tease her.

Once again, Komui seemed to be seeking out ways to purposely annoy her…

And, this time, his actions seemed to be leading to something decidedly… inappropriate.

…It was in that moment (some ten hours and forty-three minutes after Komui had molested her) that Gracia realized just what it was he was doing, what he had been filling her with, what he had been making her body want to d—

Gracia froze and blushed even darker than before, her eyes narrowing and staring ahead and her brow twitching.

She then began desperately searching for Kanda; she needed, no, _wanted_ the boy to smack her over the head with Mugen.

Fortunately, Kanda was easy to find when Lavi was around; she just had to follow the sounds of Japanese curses, laughter and explosions.

Even when the argument ended she was able to follow the… chilly presence in the air, rounding several corners and passing a hallway that contained a still wildly laughing Lavi before turning one last corner and catching a glimpse of Kanda's back, his hair whipping around as he turned down another hall.

His name bubbled up in the back of her throat, but stayed there as she trotted after him, unable to bring herself to raise her voice as she'd never really liked doing it, anyway.

Gracia continued following Kanda through the many halls of her father's old house, never really catching more than a few seconds of him at a time as he kept weaving his way through corridors quickly until he went completely from the west to the east wing.

She turned down one last hall, this one darker and thinner and hidden slightly behind a tapestry (a corridor servants used to go from place to place without disturbing the occupants of the mansion or their guests), only to freeze when she saw Kanda just a few steps ahead of her, bent over slightly and clutching at his chest as he panted heavily, hoarsely.

…Gracia may not have been the most observant, but she had seen the tattoo on his chest several times before… And how it seemed to… change sometimes… when he was hurt…

…Worry.

Immediately, she was filled with worry.

"…Yu…" Gracia mumbled, his 'forbidden' first name accidentally slipping out as she stepped towards him and set a hand on her shoulder.

Immediately, the world was spinning and pain spread across her back and burned her arm and neck, a rush of air bursting from her lungs as she was slammed against the wall with her right arm bent over and pressed against her chest harshly, a vice-like hand latched onto her throat.

Gasping, Gracia looked up into Kanda's harsh, vacant face as he glared down at her without really seeing her, his eyes a bit hazy and his pupils dilated as he continued to breathe loudly through his mouth.

Then, he seemed to see her, his pupils quickly narrowing as his eyes widened and his hand letting up on her neck.

"…Yu…" Gracia croaked again, slowly, carefully lifting her free, non-pinned hand.

Kanda shuddered briefly, his eyes darting back and forth, staring, focusing on things that…

…That weren't there…

Carefully, very carefully, Gracia pressed her left hand to the side of his face, turning his head and making him look at her.

"Kanda."

He jolted slightly at that, actually able to focus on her. His eyes then wandered down, widening marginally when he saw how he had her pinned to the wall before they wandered back up to meet her eyes again.

In an instant, Gracia was falling to her feet again and gasping, Kanda pressed back against the wall on the other side of the narrow corridor and watching her with an… uncharacteristically shocked look on his face as she leaned forward slightly and gasped.

After a moment, when she'd recovered, Gracia stood back up straight and looked at the teen across from her evenly.

"…Kanda…"

He just continued to stare at her, his expression now completely void.

After a moment, Gracia sighed softly, "Let's… go outside and train."

* * *

Gracia leaned back against the trunk of a tree listlessly as she watched Kanda, the boy's eyes closed and Mugen drawn. Occasionally, a leaf would fall, and Mugen would slice through the air like liquid silver, the leaf only falling apart once it had touched the ground.

"…You call this training?" Kanda grunted after a bit.

Gracia smiled at him slightly, "Watching you is enough training for me; you do good things for my imagination, especially when I'm controlling Judge-Sal."

Kanda snorted, slicing at another leaf.

"I'm serious." Gracia's smile widened, "You don't even know it… but you saved me the other day." When Kanda paused, she went on, "Road Kamelot had me in her dream world… and was close to killing me with a dream version of Skinn Bolic. I turned the tactic back on her… and then you were there. Protecting me."

Kanda was still for a moment, then he opened his eyes and walked over to the tree across from her, sitting and starting to clean Mugen.

Gracia watched him silently.

She wasn't going to ask what had happened to him… and he wasn't going to apologize for what he'd done to her in the hall.

She wasn't expecting him to apologize, and he wasn't expecting her to bring it up.

Anyone else would… Gracia was sure she wasn't the only one who knew something was… wrong with Kanda.

The boy probably had people prodding at him all the time when he looked like he was suffering.

She wasn't going to do that to him.

Kanda was stubborn, but he wasn't so stupid that he'd suffer to the point where he died without meaning to; he'd tell someone if something were seriously, seriously wrong with him. Sure, he'd do it so discretely that the person he told would be the only one other than him to know, but he'd still tell someone… Probably someone on his team.

And if she treated him like everyone else probably did… Then that would drastically decrease the chances of the person he told being her. He'd gone and burned enough bridges that she wasn't about to further alienate him by treating him like a child.

Besides… as long as she didn't bring it up… as long as she didn't know about whatever his issue was… then Kanda had at least one person… he could act like everything was fine around.

As long as neither of them talked about it, then when they were alone, they could pretend his condition didn't exist.

Around her, Kanda could act like he wasn't someone to be worried about and pitied.

Gracia didn't know what was wrong with Kanda, but… this was the only way… she could comfort him.

…It hurt, though. Not knowing what was wrong with him… the worry hurt.

It even made her wonder… if not asking… not telling someone… was the wrong thing to do.

"…Kanda?"

A brief pause in his sword cleaning before he resumed was her acknowledgement.

"…Do you think I would have made a good mother?"

Kanda paused in his cleaning yet again, his lips pressing into a thin line before curling into a scowl and his brow furrowing.

"…I know." Gracia sighed softly, "Stupid question."

…Yes, it was stupid, Kanda noted. Very stupid. Especially stupid in that she'd asked _him_, of all people.

"…You would have sucked less as a parent than that moron Supervisor would have."

…Son of a bitch, had he just answered? !

Kanda would forever deny that he felt his face warm slightly when Gracia looked over at him, her expression stunned.

Gracia stared at Kanda silently for a moment, more than mildly shocked. It must have been a trick of the light… the dappled effect the leaves overhead were having on the area they were sitting in… because she could have sworn otherwise that there was the slightest trace of red along Kanda's pale, pale cheekbones.

After the moment had passed, she smiled slightly, touched, "Thank you… Yu."

The fact that he had insulted Komui didn't matter; he would never have been able to honestly answer that breed of question without throwing in some swear word or insult.

And that was what it had been. An honest answer.

Even though he hadn't meant to give that (goddamned, son of a bitch) answer, he wouldn't have (fucking) even thought it if he hadn't (fucking) meant it, so there.

After what he'd (unintentionally) done to her… after what she'd seen…

…He knew she knew about the marking on his chest.

He knew she wasn't so dense that she wouldn't have been able to tell what he'd been clutching at in pain earlier when she'd found him.

And, unlike what so many others would have done, she hadn't said a thing. She hadn't left his side, obviously keeping an eye on him, but she didn't question, ask, or act like she wanted to question or ask.

And he (fucking) appreciated that.

It made her a better adult than every other last prodding idiot who thought they could help him sort out his problems if they could get him to talk.

Honestly, he had no (fucking) idea how she would do in the other aspects of… parenting… but he knew that, if he had an adult like Komui hanging around, being all… annoying and… fatherly and… just plain pissing him off, having an adult like Gracia, air-headed and aggravating though she could be, would be welcome.

…And… though Kanda would sooner slice his foot off with Mugen than admit it (out loud… to himself… whatever)…

…He was…

…comfortable around her…

He could be… open (on a very, _very_ infinitesimally small fucking margin, goddamn it!) and though she would make him want to smack her over the back of the head by teasing him slightly, piss him off to no end by putting (true) words in his mouth, make murderous thoughts of an intensity second only to the _Moyashi_'s/_Baka Usagi_'s ability to do the same with her occasional bouts of utter inanity, he thought of her… like he did Tiedoll and Marie…

…How in the fuck had she managed that?

Gracia smiled slightly as she watched the various (anger-related) emotions flit across Kanda's face.

Finally, he just grunted dismissively, grumbled something about "not using [his] fucking name," then went back to obsessively cleaning Mugen.

Gracia relaxed, slumping and deciding to take a nap.

Her previous mission to have Kanda slap the dirty thoughts out of her head had long since fled her mind.

* * *

_(XD I cannot believe how quickly you all started reviewing after the last chapter… You're all just in this for the fanservice, aren't you? XP)_


	72. NREM Cycle: Recorded Incident XLIX

*snerk* Isn't Kanda cute? I just hope I'm not making him too out-of-character with these cutesy moments I keep shoving him into with Gracia… I try to balance it out with violence and swearing so it's a bit more character-appropriate (my formula for pulling off cute Kanda moments? make him sullen, more than slightly prone to violence, and make him swear every other word when he gets flustered. if you do that, you can probably get away with making him blush _ever so slightly_, but make sure the readers know that the 'blush' could also be a trick of the light).

Anyway, the cute Kanda moments only get better. XD Holy _shizz_, you are going to bust a gut when you see what I do to him in future chapters.

In the meantime, enjoy some angsty fluff with some angsty plot added in.

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"…A message from my mother?" Gracia asked softly, her face blank.

Komui flinched and nodded, fiddling with the enveloped letter in his hands as he sat behind his desk and meeting her eyes evenly, "I… haven't read it. I know for sure she's not ordering you to come back to Nalbina again, but she's got some sort of… task for you. I thought I'd… give you the choice. If you don't want to, I'll set it on my desk and forget about it, and if she asks I'll tell her it got lost in the mess while you were away on a mission."

Gracia stared at the envelope in Komui's hands, thinking slowly, carefully.

…Her mother wouldn't dare order her to do anything she didn't want to; not if she didn't want Lorelei to get rebellious again.

At the same time, it could still be a request to come home for a short period of time for some reason… which Gracia didn't particularly care to do.

If only her mother didn't have the pull in Central that she did… Then she wouldn't be able to contact Gracia at all.

Still… Mathilda was her mother; nothing would ever change that.

And while Mathilda had done some vindictive things, they weren't things that were nearly bad enough to call for Gracia to ignore her completely.

She believed her mother really… really did care for her, in her own… cold… aloof way. After all, even though he'd been reluctant to do it, Komui had told Gracia about the look that had crossed Mathilda's face when the woman had found out just who and what she had married Gracia to…

Besides… With the terms of their most recent departure, Mathilda wouldn't send Gracia a written request unless it was necessary.

Sighing, she reached out, taking the letter when Komui hesitantly set it in her hand. She then took the letter opener he offered right after and sat in the chair across from his desk, slicing the top of the envelope open quickly and reading the letter.

…She wished she hadn't read it before she was even done.

A bad taste on the back of her tongue made her purse her lips and furrow her brow, and that taste went all the way down to her stomach, making it pitch painfully. Great… if everything that had happened over the last year hadn't been enough to give her an ulcer, this would push her over the edge.

"…Gracia?" Komui asked softly, worriedly.

Gracia heaved a sigh and leaned back in her chair, tipping her head back and closing her eyes.

"…She wants me to go to Golomore and salvage whatever assets could be left."

"…" He already had a good idea, and he didn't want to ask, but he had to be sure, "…Golomore?"

"…Golomore Manor of the Carter Estate. Vincent's house… the house that we lived in and became mine after he died."

* * *

"Your… old house?" Allen asked carefully, blinking in shock.

"Hmm." Gracia nodded, "It's not really a mission, since it wasn't assigned by the Great General's or Komui, but… since Sleep is permanently affixed to me, and my most recent run-in with the Noah Family… Komui doesn't want me going alone." She then glanced at Allen, "And frankly, I think you could stand to get out of this building."

Ignoring the look Link gave him, Allen nodded slightly.

When the person next to Allen grunted and crossed his arms, Gracia glanced at him and smiled, "And I miss working with you, Kanda. It's been a while…"

"Tch." Kanda snorted, glancing off to the side and twitching slightly.

"Besides…" Gracia sighed, reaching up and rubbing her cheek with her knuckles, "If I'm taking one – two, considering the tumor attached to the one's side –," She pointedly ignored the indignant huff Link sent at her, "I might as well take a full team, right…?"

Allen nodded slowly, glancing at Komui, "So, this is an actual mission now…?"

"Yes." Komui nodded from behind his desk, "The last time Gracia was at Golomore, she was running from the Akuma of Vincent and Rhea, and since Vincent was a Broker, it stands to reason there might be more there, especially considering the Noah are after Gracia and Gracia could be interpreted, by an outsider, as having reason to go back."

Allen quickly looked back at Gracia as Komui spoke, blinking in slight surprise when she didn't even flinch as Komui pointed out so many touchy things, using so many 'taboo' names…

Gracia nodded, then smiled, "Of course, neither of you have to go. This isn't a proper mission, after all… If one or both of you aren't interested, I'll just ask the others."

Kanda glanced at her, staring for a moment, then grunted and looked away again.

Allen smiled, "I'll go, too, then."

"And, because of that, the tumor says 'yes' by default." Ignoring Link's second indignant huff, this one louder than the last, Gracia turned to Komui and smiled weakly, "Anything else?"

"Yes…" Komui nodded slightly, flicking through some paperwork on his desk before looking back up at her, "The Great Generals want to take this opportunity to test you with another requirement for your General application… You're being entrusted with two pieces of unimpressed Innocence."

Gracia blinked, her eyes widening slightly, "Really…"

"Really." Komui nodded, "So, before you leave, you should talk to at least one of the other Generals and get a better understanding of what this means. I would explain it, myself, but…" Komui shrugged, shaking his head, "I'm not an Exorcist, and there are apparently some special… feelings and conditions that only other Exorcists can understand."

"Ah…" Gracia nodded slightly, glancing off to the side thoughtfully and scratching her cheek, "I'll probably talk to Tiedoll, then… He knows how to explain things so I can understand them, and I should warn him that I'll be borrowing Kanda, anyway."

"Okay…" Komui sighed, "Well, you'll have to be the one to brief Allen, Kanda and Link, considering we don't know the specifics of this and have no information on Golomore."

"…Right…" Gracia murmured, staring at Komui, "…I'll do that, then…" His tone… made her feel like he was dismissing her.

When he nodded slightly and looked back down at his paperwork, she clenched her jaw. He was dismissing her. So it hadn't been her imagination when he'd seemed… distant after she'd read the letter, then.

Tensing and feeling guilty for some reason, Gracia turned and muttered a quick "Let's go" to the younger males behind her, walking out of Komui's office quickly.

Gracia led the group straight back to her bedroom and over to the sitting area, not noticing Kanda eyeballing her as they all sat.

"…Gracia," Allen started slowly, tentatively, when she took a moment to gather her thoughts, "Are you and Komui… fighting?"

Gracia blinked, then sighed. Was the slight disconnect between them that obvious…? "Not that I'm aware of… I don't think he's happy with me deciding to go to Golomore. He just hasn't had time to say anything about it… Anyway," She shook her head, leaning back in her seat, "Golomore is in Lancashire, in the countryside. It's on top of a wide, flat hill, surrounded by sparse patches of forest… I met Vincent and Rhea's Akuma in the family cemetery that's a little over a kilometer from the house, itself. My mother just wants me to go there and fish out any money that could be left. I think there are about… four or five safes in the house that Vincent didn't tell the staff about. We'll go, get the money as quickly as we can, then come straight back. If my mother wants to sell the house, she can do it herself."

Allen nodded, then, still speaking carefully, asked, "Is there… anything else you might want from the house?"

"…No." Gracia sighed. She then glanced at him and smiled slightly, "And you don't have to be on eggshells; it doesn't bug me anymore. Really."

"…Alright." Allen nodded at her, smiling slightly.

Gracia smiled back, then ran a hand through her hair and looked between Allen, Kanda and Link, "I want all of you to pack plenty of under armor and sweaters, alright? And bring your cloaks on top of your long coats; Lancashire is very cold during this time of the year, and Golomore Manor is close enough to the ocean that we could well have to worry about some high-speed winds and biting sleet."

"Right." Allen nodded, Link mirroring his action as they both stood. "We'll be leaving this evening?"

"Right after I get some Innocence from Hevlaska and pack, yeah." Gracia nodded back. After nodding and waving Allen and Link out of her bedroom, Gracia glanced at Kanda, who hadn't left, "…Something wrong?"

"…Why in the hell would you act like this doesn't bother you?"

Gracia blinked, then smiled, "Because it doesn't—"

"Shut up." Kanda snapped, glaring at her harshly, "You fucking froze up when you had to fight Vincent, and you only snapped out of it because of the curly-headed idiot."

"…Actually, Kanda," Gracia tipped her head slightly, still smiling, "I distinctly remember that it was you who called out to me and woke me up. You had even managed to sneak down to Hevlaska and bring Sleep to me…"

Kanda twitched and jerked his chin up slightly, his eyes narrowing as he hissed, "Beyond the goddamned point; what in the hell is going to happen if we run into anything at this house? It'll be even worse because you used to live there."

"You worry about me too much." Gracia sighed.

"I refuse to be around the _Moyashi_, keep an eye on you, and possibly have to drag your corpse back to the curly-headed idiot because you were too stubborn to admit that you're not as prepared for this as you think you are."

"…Kanda, I wouldn't endanger you if I thought that there was even a remote possibility that I couldn't handle this."

"…Tch, fine." Kanda closed his eyes, a steely look settling on his face as he stood, "Since you're basically a General this time around, don't expect me to fall back and save you anymore. If you freeze up, you'll be getting out of it on your own."

"Alright." Gracia smiled after him, "Pack warm clothes, Kanda."

Kanda flicked his hand back over his shoulder dismissively and walked out of the room, leaving Gracia to shake her head after him before she stood and walked over to her closet.

As she thumbed through her clothes, looking for her thicker, Exorcist uniform sweaters, Gracia didn't notice the extra presence in her room…

"…I'll have you know that I agree with Kanda."

Gracia jumped slightly, a shock quickly running through her body before rushing straight to Sleep. It took all of her self-control to _not_ use Sleep as she turned around quickly, panting and glaring at Komui, "Damn it, do _not_ sneak up on me like that, Komui!"

Not acknowledging her, Komui stepped into the room completely, frowning as he shut the door and walked towards her.

"Why are you lying to me?" Komui asked in a low voice, "Why are you saying that you're okay with this?"

Gracia heaved a heavy sigh, "Again, because it doesn't bothe—" She was silence when Komui grabbed her shoulders and tipped her back slightly, catching her in a possessive kiss, his tongue invading her mouth roughly and sliding along hers.

"And what about when you have to go up to his office, hmm?" He murmured into her mouth, "There's a safe in there, right? Obviously there would be… Will you really be okay walking into that room?"

Panting softly and flushing, Gracia blinked slowly before mumbling, "Of course not."

Komui pressed his lips into a thin line, furrowing his brown down at her.

"But I'm not going to freeze up." Gracia went on, frowning back up at him stubbornly, "And I'm not going to leave Allen and Kanda alone if anything happens."

"Allen and Kanda can handle themselves, even if something does happen." Komui said softly.

Gracia's eyes narrowed and she tensed, irritation flashing through her body hotly as she jerked away from Komui and stormed past him with some clothes in her hands.

"…Gracia? Wha—"

"So, again we're under the impression that I can't handle myself?" Gracia spat with uncharacteristic venom, jerking her duffle back out from underneath her bed and shoving the clothes in her hands inside.

"…I didn't mean it like that."

"Just like you didn't mean it like that last time."

Gracia refused to look at him, storming back and forth between her closet and her duffel bag angrily. Normally, she wouldn't get this irate… nowhere near. But Komui's doubt in her was grating on her last nerve, and the more it grated, the more it hurt.

She froze up when a pair of arms wrapped around her waist from behind, twitching and tipping her head when she felt pressure against her hair. When she felt Komui's lips brush across the skin behind her ear, Gracia tensed and bit her lip, her eyes widening slightly.

"I'm sorry… I'm not very supportive, I know. And I'm sorry for it."

"…Jerk." Gracia mumbled softy, covering his arms with hers.

"I know…" Komui sighed into her hair, "But… while you're there, he takes prevalence… and after he's taken prevalence, you get… distant…"

"…He's dead, Komui. You don't have much to worry about…"

Komui heaved a heavy, slightly grating sigh and picked Gracia up, walking her across the room and pinning her to the bed.

Gracia jerked slightly and stared up at him with wide eyes, but didn't struggle when she saw the look on his face.

"That's my point…" Komui muttered down at her, his expression grave and pained, "You don't know how hard it is to compete with a dead person."

At that, she felt… guilt settle in her stomach and looked away. She knew she was prone to getting… distant… when she thought about Vincent… And she knew she didn't like people comforting her when she got like that, so all she really ever ultimately did was… block Komui out while she dwelled…

Of course it would be hard for Komui to compete with a dead person…

"I'm starting to think…" Komui murmured in a low, low voice, shadows crossing his face and hiding his expression as he leaned in, "That the only way I could overshadow him… would be… to…"

Gracia's eyes widened, her body arching instinctually as a line of mild fire ran down the side of her neck, following Komui's lips.

Unlike all of the previous times, Gracia didn't struggle or protest as Komui ran his hands, his mouth, over her; her face heated and she panted raggedly as he pulled the high collar of her uniform aside and moved his mouth down to the curve of her neck.

Clothing rustled and the bed shifted as Komui climbed on top of her, his hands sliding into her jacket to ease it off of her shoulders before they slipped under the hem of her long, uniform tunic and pushed it up.

Trembling, panting rapidly, finding it increasingly hard to focus on the ceiling as her vision got blurry, Gracia didn't know she was letting out a myriad of heated, interesting noises and whimpers until a particularly high-pitched keen escaped her throat.

And, even then, the fact that she was making noises didn't stay on her thoughts for very long; Komui's hands wandering her body kept her distracted… First sliding over her stomach, then brushing up, up…

The moment Komui's hands cupped her breasts, long, thin fingers and graceful but calloused palms rubbing over the material of her bra, Gracia's coherence snapped back and she gasped loudly, throwing her arms around Komui's back and bringing her head up and forward to stare down at him heatedly.

Komui's eyes flickered up, his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose before he crushed his mouth against hers, his gently groping hands squeezing when she dug her nails into his back desperately.

They parted after a moment, staring at one another, and then, without thinking, Gracia jerked Komui's coat off of his shoulders and started pulling at his sweater frantically, her only coherent thought being that he had too much on.

When Komui slid his hands down her torso and waist slowly, Gracia groaned and closed her eyes, her hands still tugging, loosening, pulling, even when something (glasses?) fell and hit her face before flopping against her chest.

His mouth brushed hers again, and Gracia immediately kissed back, absentmindedly tossing something aside before clutching at Komui's back again and relishing at the feel of bare skin.

After several moments of heated, heavy kissing, hands wandering and grabbing what they could, Komui and Gracia parted to breathe, Gracia flopping back against the bed and staring up at him hazily as she trembled and panted.

Her already present blush only darkened when her mind caught up with her, and she bit her kiss-bruised, swelling lower lip as she stared up at Komui.

She'd managed to get him undressed from the waist up, the pale, flat, soft planes of his chest and stomach pressing down against her as he rested his body on hers.

Gracia shuddered and whimpered softly when his bare stomach touched hers, Komui having, apparently, been able to push the long, dark tunic of her Exorcist uniform up so the hem was just under her breasts.

As they lay there, skin-to-skin, panting and hot, the nature of their activities suddenly hit Gracia and she tensed, her eyes widening and her heart sputtering in her chest.

They were… they had been… Oh, god, they were bordering on…

She couldn't do anything about the anxiety she was sure was plain on her face when Komui looked up at her, her body only shuddering when he blinked.

Then, a soft look crossed Komui's face and he leaned up, cupping the side of her face with one of his large, slightly ink-stained hands as he kissed her.

"I'm sorry." Komui sighed, "Those kinds of actions were… wrong for that conversation. I shouldn't have done that. Not in that context."

Gracia shook her head, pressing her face into his hand, "No… I'm sorry… that you feel like you have to do something like that in order to mean something more to me. No one… matters more than you right now…"

"Well, then it obviously worked." Komui prodded gently, chuckling wryly.

Gracia twitched and glared at him, bringing her leg up and kneeing his side, "You know what I mean."

"I do, I do." Komui assured her with a chuckle, kissing her temple.

They both stayed there for an indeterminate amount of time, taking the chance to cool down and… enjoy the contact that wouldn't be taken further than where they were at that moment.

When Komui made to sit up, saying something about helping her pack and taking her to Hevlaska, Gracia wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him back down, pressing her face into his hair and holding him in place.

After a moment of silence, Komui relaxed against her… And they laid there, skin-to-skin, panting and cooling down, clammy and, now that they were in contact again, starting to warm one another up.

Content.


	73. HPPD Flashback: Record Replay Ongoing 1

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia stood beside Komui blushingly as Tiedoll stood across from her on the hovering platform, the General trying to explain the importance and sensations of carrying unimpressed shards of Innocence on her person.

Gracia, though, was having a hard time focusing, especially with Komui standing so close… His body heat, his scent, his presence, all right there, all making her think of what had happened not an hour before in her bedroom…

"…—cia…? …Gracia."

Gracia blinked slowly, getting pulled out of her daze, "E-Eh?"

Tiedoll blinked at her, then sighed, "You haven't been listening, have you…?"

"…I'm sorry, General." Gracia mumbled, lowering her eyes, "This whole situation's made me… tired…"

"…Are you sure that's the word for it?" Tiedoll asked after a moment with one of his wide, beardy smiles.

Gracia blinked at him, confused.

When Komui tensed slightly beside her, and Hevlaska's large, plump lips curled into a smile behind Tiedoll's head, Gracia got the feeling she was missing something…

…Then, Tiedoll's glasses flashed oddly as he looked between her and Komui…

…And she understood what his question had been.

An insinuation.

In an instant, Gracia had turned her back to the group and was sulking in a corner, crouching down and covering her head with her hands as she whimpered, "Why… Why, General? You… you were supposed to be the one person… I didn't have to hear such perverted jabs from…"

In some ways, Tiedoll really was like Komui; especially when it came to his 'children.'

And, in her more cognizant mindset, Gracia had learned she could use that to her advantage.

"…Oh, Gracia, my baby girl!" Tiedoll wailed, soft footsteps echoing in the dark chamber as he rushed to her side and wrapped his arms around her in a comfortable, scruffy hug, "I'm so sorry! Forgive an old man for playing a young person's game!"

Komui's eyebrow twitched slightly and his jaw dropped a bit, and as he shuffled away from the scene, beside him Hevlaska was silent.

The two watched, unable to say anything as the General continued to beg forgiveness from his 'child,' while Gracia continued to 'cry' about how she felt she could no longer talk to her 'father.'

Even Komui, who would admit in certain circumstances to having an insane 'sister complex,' found it mildly disturbing… Probably because, unlike Lenalee, Gracia was the one who had initiated and was playing along with it.

"Now, Gracia, do we need to talk about what I said again?" Tiedoll asked, suddenly somber as he and Gracia pulled back from one another and stood straight.

"Yes…" Gracia sighed, lowering her head slightly, "I'm sorry, General."

"It's fine, dear." Tiedoll assured her, giving her another scruffy, beardy smile, "I'll just start over."

Komui, even more exasperated at their speedy recovery, twitched slightly, listening silently.

"I'm sure, after all of this time, you can understand to a depth unexplainable to those who aren't Exorcists how… sentient Innocence is."

"Yeah…" Gracia nodded slightly, glancing down at Sleep, "I do understand…"

"…Innocence," Tiedoll went on, "Will go through great lengths to find and be with its Accommodator. And, as Generals, part of our duty is to help them along that path. That is why we are allowed to carry shards of unimpressed Innocence; so they have a way to travel the world in a time that, otherwise, it would be impossible for them to achieve on their own."

Gracia nodded again, now looking at her General.

"Now, you, yourself, won't be able to tell if someone is an Accommodator by just looking at them… But the Innocence…" Tiedoll smiled softly, mysteriously, "The Innocence will know. And when it feels its Accommodator, you'll know; it will ask you to let it go. After that… all you have to do is go where it leads you."

"…Right." Gracia sighed softly, nodding, "Okay."

"…And, should you have to choose between the lives of your subordinates and the unimpressed Innocence, what do you do?"

Gracia blinked at Tiedoll, the answer she felt to be the most obvious resting on her tongue heavily before it suddenly hit her to… stop and think about it.

Of course, had Tiedoll not had the most expressionless look on his face, Gracia wouldn't have been tipped off to stop and think.

"…You can't be serious." She mumbled.

"…In Central's view, Exorcists can be replaced. Innocence, however, has a finite existence." Tiedoll spoke gravely, still expressionless. "And we've already lost so many pieces of it to the Noah Family. Should anything happen, you will be expected to save not only the Innocence you're carrying, but also the ones your subordinates are using. Even if it means ripping them from their bodies as they die in front of you."

Gracia immediately tensed, the unwanted image of Allen's corpse flashing through her head, her Sleep-laden hand peeling the Cross out of the back of his.

When she unconsciously looked to Komui for support, he wasn't even looking at her anymore, staring off into the darkness of the room and watching the ripples caused by Hevlaska's breathing.

…For the first time… she found her thoughts flickering towards… genuinely hating the people they worked for.

"I'm sorry, Gracia." Tiedoll smiled at her gently as she looked back at him, the man reaching out and setting his hand on her head, "These are just… things you'll need to keep in mind if you're going to be serious about this. I assure you, we generals… we don't like this thinking any more than you do, and, given the opportunity, we would save our apprentices before the Innocence… But if you follow that road," His tone got serious again, "Make sure you have the power to protect the Innocence at the same time. Central reviews the video feeds of the golems of all generals. If you slip up and they see it… you could be tried for heresy."

"…Right." Gracia sighed, glancing off to the side.

She still… felt an uncomfortable, painful pressure on her chest.

"Besides." Tiedoll gave her his usual, goofy, scruffy smile, "You'll have Yu and Allen with you. You don't honestly think you'll have to worry about them, do you?"

That made Gracia pause and think. After a moment, she sighed and smiled slowly, shaking her head, "No… No, I don't." If anything, those two would probably be protecting her…

"Well, Gracia," Tiedoll stood a bit straighter, turning slightly, "If you're really ready… Hevlaska will turn the Innocence over to you, and you and your group can be on your way."

…Was she really okay with proceeding? She had known when she first started this that becoming a General would have its share of hardships, disappointments and rules she wouldn't entirely agree with… but…

…Getting in trouble for putting human life above the safety of items that were _meant_ to protect humans in the first place?

Gracia wasn't sure… how she would face the people who made these rules…

…The people… who obviously didn't understand that the Innocence cared about their Accommodators as much as their Accommodators cared about them.

"…Gracia?"

At Komui's gentle prodding, Gracia glanced over at him.

He was looking at her again, his expression searching, concerned…

…And, in that moment, at that look on his face, Gracia remembered why she'd even thought about becoming a General to begin with.

To protect Komui… and a few others… from the very people who had made the rules that were making her so doubtful.

…

Gracia stepped over and stood in front of Hevlaska, holding out her hands.

"Okay… I'll take them."

* * *

Gracia walked between Kanda and Allen silently, her mind an unwelcome swirl of thoughts and emotions and the two shards of Innocence she had been entrusted with, tucked into the pockets of her long tunic and secured with the sash she wore around her waist, feeling like they were trying to burn into her skin through her clothes.

Of course, the Innocence wasn't _actually_ trying to burn her… She knew that was just her and her psychological issues.

To her left, Allen watched her nervously but silently, worried. Link (never far from Allen) was pointedly staring ahead.

To her right… Kanda kept throwing her glares.

Had she known the obvious discomfort she was causing her team… Gracia would have used Sleep on herself enough to calm her thoughts and even blank her mind a bit.

She continued brooding, though, walking along and staring ahead without really seeing anything.

When they came to a crossroads, she stopped and stared up at the sign, her eyes vacant.

Allen wasn't sure what to do.

Kanda, however, had his own methods of dealing with her.

"Support unit!" He snapped, taking Mugen off of his back long enough to wrap his hand around the cloth-covered sheath and cuff her upside the head, "Wake up!"

"_Ba_Kanda!" Allen shouted with wide eyes, using a bit of impromptu, pseudo Japanese out of the shock that Kanda would _actually_ hit one of the few people he (purportedly) worked along well with.

"_Moyashi_…" Kanda hissed venomously.

As the two got into one of their infamous arguments, Link's brow twitching slightly as he took a large step away from them, Gracia blinked and snapped out of her brooding lifting he hand and rubbing her head as she actually looked at the sign in front of her.

"Eh…? Oh… We need to go—" Gracia paused when she turned back to her group to see Allen and Kanda fighting, the cloth sleeve Kanda had taken to sliding Mugen into so he could carry the sword on his back laying on the ground and Allen's left arm missing as he wielded his Sword of Exorcism.

After staring at them for a moment, Gracia sighed and held out her hand.

"Both of you, stop it."

Around her wrist, Sleep pulsed softly, and immediately the offensive stances the boys had settled into slackened, their eyes hazing slightly.

"If you really want to fight that badly, save it for when the get to the mansion." Gracia sighed, "Tear that place up as much as you want, but if you fight here, we'll get in trouble."

"…Che." Kanda shook his head, as if trying to shake of Sleep's effects, then sheathed Mugen and walked over, picking up the dark cloth sleeve from the ground and sliding the sword back into it. As he slung it over his shoulder and walked past Gracia, he gave her a subtle glance, to which she nodded to the right.

Kanda inclined his head slightly, walking off down the right path.

Gracia sighed and glanced at Allen and Link, smiling tiredly, "Let's go; he really will just keep walking blindly and blame me later if I'm not around to tell him which way."

Allen frowned, his left arm reappearing as he deactivated his Innocence, "You shouldn't let him treat you like that…"

"Don't worry, Allen." Gracia shrugged, her smile widening slightly, "That's just how our relationship is. Trust me, he doesn't hit me nearly as hard as he used to. Kanda simply doesn't wear concern well."

Allen's frown was accompanied by a skeptical quirk of a brow, then he sighed and shook his head, walking towards her, and then beside her when she started walking again.

"You and Kanda need to learn not to devolve into violence every time you have an argument." Link pointed out admonishingly as he stepped into place beside Allen, the blonde's nose buried in a book, "General Solidor has a point; you really will get her in trouble if your arguments destroy public or private properly."

It was one thing for Exorcists to destroy things; Generals were expected to be more responsible and have a better handle on their team's actions.

Though…

"Don't call me that, Link." Gracia sighed, "I'm not a general yet."

"You're that much closer." Link glanced at her, "The Inspector read the last report General Socalo wrote. He was pleased."

"Is that so…?" Gracia mumbled, distant, "Well, ultimately, the decision belongs to the Great Generals, not Central."

"…I suppose." Link said slowly, frowning slightly and apparently not approving of her tone.

"So!" Allen spoke up suddenly, changing the subject with a bright smile, "How much further, Gracia?"

"…Not much." Gracia mumbled when, as she looked ahead, she saw the trees around them thin and the vague shapes of houses.

Kanda was waiting for them at the edge of the town, his eyes closed, his arms crossed and Mugen gripped firmly on one hand. He was garnering many a stare from confused and curious townspeople (most of whom had probably never seen a person of foreign descent before).

Noticing a few children were inching towards the stoic swordsman with a stick, Gracia sped up a little and sighed, frowning when she saw Kanda's grip on Mugen tighten.

He knew they were there… And, much as she didn't like it, he would actually—

"Hey." Gracia called out placidly just before the kids prodded Kanda and just before Kanda turned Mugen on them (probably just with the intent to scare… probably).

The group of children jumped and squeaked, their eyes widening when they saw Gracia was dressed similarly to Kanda. They pushed one of their own towards Kanda (likely as a distraction) before taking off, said child freezing up as soon as his head hit the backs of Kanda's legs.

Kanda's eyes opened slowly and he turned, a dark look crossing his face as he stared down into the kid's frightened brown eyes.

"Kanda, don't." Gracia sighed as she walked up, grabbing the top of the little boy's head and steering him away from Kanda, "He's just a kid."

"Liam!"

They both glanced over as a woman in a blue dress ran up, taking the boy and pulling him away from Gracia to turn to him and frown, shaking her finger.

"What do you think you're doing? ! You know better than to harass travelers!" When the boy whimpered, burying his face in her dress, the woman sighed and straightened, turning to Gracia with her head lowered slightly, "I am so sorry about him…"

"It's fine." Gracia smiled, "Kanda just has a very large personal bubble, and it's probably not often that people dressed like us pass through."

"True, true." The woman straightened, facing Gracia with a smile, "I—" The woman's eyes widened in shock and her jaw slackened as she looked at Gracia properly.

Gracia blinked, the corner of Kanda's mouth quirked downward and, as he and Link walked up, Allen blinked.

"…Is there a problem?"

Gracia didn't answer, blinking again.

"…Lady Gracia?" The woman rasped, her voice suddenly hoarse, "Lady Gracia Carter?"

Gracia blinked again, a pang of shock running through her body, "…I…"

"Everyone!" The woman shouted, smiling widely as she turned to the town and called, "Everyone, come out! It's the Lady Gracia! She's alive!"

A bit too quickly for her comfort level, Gracia found herself separated from her group and surrounded by disbelieving, shocked and happy people, all of them practically lining up to touch her and make sure she was real.

An older woman started crying as soon as she took Gracia's hands, lowering her head as her shoulders shook, "After… After the tragedy that befell Lord Vincent… You… so soon after… disappeared… So young… We all were so…"

Gracia's lips parted slightly, but she didn't say anything, feeling so far from these people who felt so close to her.

She started to recognize some of the faces… Many of them had worked at the Carter estate; maids, cooks, gardeners…

And all of them… so happy to see her alive… but so saddened… at being reminded of Vincent's death…

…Part of her wanted to tell them what he was. What sort of monster he had been.

What he had done to her, to their fellow mankind, who he had sold them out to, what he had stayed alive so many years after his death to do…

But… when the old woman… who she now remembered to be one of the ones who had tried, so hard, to coax her through every pregnancy she had miscarried… looked up at her tearfully and smiled, whispering her thanks to God that their Lady Gracia had been spared… all Gracia could do was smile and hug her, her eyes burning and her throat thick.

"I'm safe." She assured them all painfully, her throat tight with emotion, "And I'm okay… I promise you."

* * *

Even though she'd been sucked into the throng so quickly, it was easy enough to escape it again and get her group back on their way; she just had to mention that she was in town on official business.

Used to serving nobles, the townspeople had wished her luck and let her leave in peace.

As she rubbed her eyes dry as they walked away from the town, Kanda threw her a scathing glare.

"If you didn't want to go through that, we should have gone around. Wasted time…"

"It's fine, Kanda." Gracia sighed, "I actually needed that."

Kanda grunted and sneered, looking ahead again.

Gracia looked ahead, as well, sighing again and falling silent.

And then… a ways out of town… the ground ahead began to gradually slope upwards until it became a full, wide hill.

And, on top of that hill, _it_ loomed imposingly…

Vincent's house… and hers…

Golomore Manor. Where it all had started.


	74. HPPD Flashback: Record Replay Ongoing 2

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia felt… oddly detached from all of the obvious decay around her…

It probably should have bugged her more to see the once grand front yard such a mess, trees and gardens overgrown, the fountain green with mold and clogged, the gravel driveway uneven and scattered, several windows on the house, itself, broken or completely shattered and missing…

But, really, it didn't bug her at all; feeling vacant, she walked over and lifted a rock in a planter beside the stairs, grabbing the rusted key underneath and walking up to unlock the front door.

"…Gracia?"

The small voice behind her made her pause and look back. When she saw the worried look Allen was giving her… the stares she was getting from Link and Kanda… Gracia smiled, "Stop that. I'm fine. If it will make you feel better, I'll tell you when I'm not fine, alright?"

"…Alright." Allen nodded, starting to follow her up the stairs.

Gracia nodded and turned, walking into the house.

On the inside, the house was in worse condition than the outside… Drapes and tapestries torn from the walls, portraits slashed and frames busted, glass littering the floors, wallpaper peeling and… were those support pillars… demolished?

Gracia paused and stared at the pillar in front of her, at the end of the foyer; how had that happened? The wood was splintered, and an entire foot was missing from the center section of the pillar… It would have taken great force to—

When she saw that a section of the far wall about the size of a tree had been smashed, showing the back yard, Gracia sighed, realizing that Vincent must have done a number on the house not long after becoming an Akuma…

"…Allen?" Gracia glanced back at the boy, who was standing alongside Kanda and Link as they looked around with wide eyes, "Is your eye picking up anything?"

Allen blinked, then shook his head, "Nope, nothing."

"Alright." Gracia nodded, "Stay together, everyone… No wandering off. Golomore is smaller than Barheim, but it also seems to have taken quite a pounding over the years. Who knows what halls are and aren't safe for traversing…" When Allen and Link nodded, Kanda grunting, Gracia looked around, thinking, "We'll go to the library first. The key to all of the hidden safes is in a boo—"

"Son of a– it looks even worse up close! Jeez, what happened to this place…?"

"A-Are you s-sure we should b-be here…? L-Lady M-Mathilda will be… a-angry…"

"Honestly, Chris, stop stuttering. And don't worry; I'll take the blame. I won't let Mother eat you, hon."

Gracia turned to Kanda with wide eyes for confirmation, which she got when she saw him quirk a brow, frown and glance back at the front door with a glare. He recognized the female voice, too…

Allen and Link, who didn't, readied their weapons and turned back to the door, only to jump back slightly when it was kicked open fully.

Lorelei blinked, her foot still in the air, then set it back down and grinned widely, beaming, "Hey, Sister!"

* * *

"…Lorelei…" Gracia exhaled, blinking slowly, "What are you doing here…?"

"Well, after I found out about the bitch move Mother pulled in sending you here, Chris and I decided to come help out and offer some moral support." Lorelei answered brightly, leaving her obviously terrified male companion at the door as she flounced between Allen and Link without sparing them a second glance. The girl then threw herself at Gracia, hugging her tightly, "And I missed you!"

Gracia stared down at her as silence engulfed the foyer for a moment. She then sighed and smiled softly, hugging Lorelei back, "I… missed you, too…" When her sister spent a moment just snuggling further into her chest, Gracia looked up at the young man who had come with her and smiled sheepishly, "And it's nice to meet you… Chris, was it?"

The boy in question couldn't have been much older… or younger than Lorelei; it was hard to tell which. He was somewhat taller than her, but looked younger at the same time because of his youthful face and the nervous look that adorned it. He had longish blond hair that was tightly waved in some places, wide blue eyes partially hidden behind a pair of glasses, and was wearing a pair of brown dress pants with a white dress shirt and a corduroy waistcoat.

"Ch-Christopher, Ma'am." The boy stuttered slightly as he flushed and clasped his hands in front of himself, bowing his head slightly, "Christopher Kohler. I'm… I'm… uhh…" He suddenly looked terrified (or, more accurately, more terrified than before).

"My fiancé!" Lorelei filled in brightly, pulling back and smiling up at her sister widely.

Allen, who had been watching quietly up until that point for sheer shock and lack of anything to say, paled slightly when he saw the… look that crossed Gracia's face not long after Lorelei said that.

He knew that look…

…As did Kanda, who scowled and took a pointed step to his right, _away_ from the group.

Link didn't know _that look_ just yet…

Poor Link… The longer he was around Komui, though, the better he would get at recognizing it.

It was the same _look_ Komui got whenever people mentioned Lenalee and boys in the same sentence.

"…Fiancé?" Gracia repeated tonelessly.

"Mm-hmm." Lorelei, who didn't notice _the look_, either, nodded, shrugging and grinning slightly as she looked back at the still terrified Christopher, "Isn't he cute and tiny? I think Mom was hoping that a weak-willed mate would make me slow down and calm a bit… But Christopher knows better now." Lorelei beamed, "He's learning to keep up!"

"If I don't, you'll leave me behind…" Christopher mumbled.

"Damn straight!" Lorelei smiled at the boy, nodding.

"…Girl, what in the hell are you doing here?"

Lorelei twitched, then turned to Kanda with a slowly quirking brow, "Ex_-cuse_ me?"

"You heard me." Kanda sneered, crossing his arms, "What in the hell are you doing here? This is a Black Order mission, and you're a noblewoman slated to succeed your mother as head of a major family. You don't _belong_ here."

"…You know, before I thought you were just on your man cycle." Lorelei sneered back at Kanda, "Now I can tell you're just an ass. By marriage, this is one of my family's homes; I have just as much right to be here as you do. Besides, Sister's here, isn't she?"

"_She_ is an Exorcist." Kanda growled, narrowing his eyes dangerously, "And right now, she isn't a noblewoman. She's an Exorcist General; she's the leader of a potentially dangerous mission that _civilians_ have no part in."

"Oh, you can just kiss my—"

"Actually, Miss," Allen stepped between Kanda and Lorelei quickly, holding up his hands and smiling sheepishly, "While I do agree with you that Kanda is a bastard, he's right… You shouldn't be here. It's dangerous, and you don't have a weapon."

Lorelei pursed her lips and quirked a brow, apparently finding it difficult to be verbally antagonistic with someone as polite as Allen. She then looked around before marching across the room and over to one of the two suits of armor that decorated the entrance, reaching out and jerking the glaive out of the armored hand.

When Lorelei turned back to him, cocking her head challengingly and pointedly slamming the butt of the glaive against the ground, Allen sighed, "I mean an Anti-Akuma Weapon. We're fighting Akuma here, not humans or even Noah. That won't affect them. Besides… you have to go through rigorous training to be able to stand up—"

"I'll have you know it's customary for Solidor women to learn how to use at least one weapon with expert proficiency." Lorelei said proudly, scowling and starting to get angry, "If you don't believe me, you should see my mother dual-wielding rapiers. I'm probably just as good at using this polearm as Mr. Congeniality over there is at using his butter knife."

Kanda hissed, gritting his teeth, then turned to Gracia with a fierce glare, "Support unit, _say something_ to this brat before I _make my point_ with Mugen."

"…Lorelei, you really shouldn't be here."

When Lorelei blinked, starting to look crestfallen, Kanda's lips twitched into a shadow of a smirk, a triumphant look crossing his face.

"…But, now that you are, I can take this chance to get to know Christopher!" Gracia smiled widely, swooping in and wrapping her arm around the wide-eyed blond's shoulders. She then grinned at him darkly and started to lead him further into the house, "Kohler, you said your name was? I believe your parents are…"

Allen and Kanda stared after Gracia with blank faces.

Lorelei, who _still_ hadn't noticed the mounting threat Gracia was to Christopher, smirked at the two male Exorcists smugly, then turned and skipped after her sister.

Link's brow twitched.

…This was definitely going in his report.

* * *

"…Your husband hid the key in _here_? !" Kanda seethed incredulously, looking around with narrowed, twitching eyes at all of the books in the expansive library.

"Yeah… he hid it in a book with 'key' in the title." Gracia murmured thoughtfully, scratching her cheek and looking around slowly.

"…Well, at least you remember that much." Allen smiled, "How many books could there be with 'key' in the title?"

"The _Key of Solomon_." Gracia sighed.

"The _Lesser Key of Solomon_." Lorelei shook her head.

"_The Clue of the Black Keys_…" Christopher offered nervously.

"_Around the Keys and Around the Keys Again_."

"_Key to Yourself_."

"_Key to the Prison_."

"_Key of the Mysteries_."

"_The Zodiac As a Key to History_."

"_How to Open Handcuffs Without Keys_…" When she received many an odd stare, Gracia throwing a glare at Christopher, Lorelei blinked, "…What? !"

"…_Key Exchange_…" Christopher offered nervously.

"…_Black and White Keys_…" Gracia mumbled, still narrowing her eyes at the boy.

"_Christmas in the Key of C_."

"_The Golden Key_."

"_Key to th_—"

"ALRIGHT, WE GET IT ALREADY! !" Kanda snapped, so livid his hair almost seemed to have gained its own life so it was floating around his head as his eyes flashed, "There are a _lot_ of _fucking books_ with 'key' in the title! !"

"Oh, look I remember now!" Gracia called brightly, picking up an old, brown book with buckram binding off of a shelf and looking it over with a smile, "_The Key_."

Allen and Link watched with exasperation as a small, copper key fell out of the book when she opened it, and a slightly-more-murderous-than-usual look crossed Kanda's face.

Not noticing, Gracia knelt and picked up the key, putting the book back before nodding, "Now, the closest strongbox is right here, in the library, behind a book called _The Vault_…"

Even Lorelei, who knew her mother had some not-so-cleverly hidden safes scattered around Nalbina, had to feel a bit of exasperation as the group silently followed a still oblivious Gracia across the library.

When she found the title she was looking for, Gracia reached out and grabbed it, pulling. The book, itself, was authentic, but behind it was another 'book' of the same title; this one was fake to the touch, hollow and somehow unreal. After clearing out the rest of the books around it, Gracia pulled at this second, fake book, making a compartment built into the wall directly behind the bookshelf click open.

Gracia glanced at Link, "My bag…?"

Link nodded, slinging the bag he had been carrying for her over his shoulder and holding it out.

Gracia took the bag and knelt, unzipping it and, after digging through her clothes, pulling out a few smaller, black bags.

"So, are you really just going to hand what's in these safes over to Mom?" Lorelei asked as Gracia stood and unlocked the safe in the wall.

"Not like I have any interest in them at the moment." Gracia sighed, tossing several wads of bills into one of the smaller bags before tying it shut and dropping it carelessly in favor of opening a new one and carefully scooping several glittering gemstones out, "It will all be a lot safer with her until I decide what to do with it all… Besides, like she can spend it without my consent."

"I gue— Holy shit, is that Aunt Imogene's sapphire engagement ring? !"

"Yeah…" Gracia sighed softly, looking the pretty little thing over before dropping it inside of the bag, on top of a pile of rubies, "It was supposed to be for show when we went places, but I could never wear it; my finger always swelled."

"That could be a sign that the band is made of shoddy metals…" Christopher mumbled softly, adjusting his glasses.

"Or that I have poor circulation." Gracia shrugged, dropping a string of black pearls into the bag before the safe was finally cleared out.

Over beside Kanda and Link, Allen muttered, "Is this what nobles do with their wealth? Hoard expensive things they have no interest in?"

"Che." Kanda snorted, "Look around, _Moyashi_. Do you think they actually used _every_ room in this house? Like hell."

"Hey, don't make it sound like we're completely frivolous." Lorelei turned to Kanda with a frown as Gracia muttered to herself distractedly, "Nobles have very good reasons for having big houses!"

"Oh, really?" Kanda quirked a brow, "Like what?"

"Well, you try finding a small house that has this kind of security advantage." Lorelei scoffed, waving the hand holding her pilfered glaive, "Small houses, more often than not, are placed in towns with other small houses. It's hard to secure a perimeter when three quarters off it shares walls with someone else's home!"

"Is that all?" Kanda asked dully, his eyelids slipping down heavily as he became disinterested.

"No." Lorelei sneered, "You try hosting a party with over three hundred relatives in an inner city apartment. Especially when at least five percent of them will take advantage of how closely related they are to you to commandeer your guest rooms." Lorelei shook her head and turned, flapping her hands as she and Christopher followed Gracia out of the library, "And if you turn them out, then you're stingy. As the head branch of the Solidor family, we can afford to be strict and bitchy, but not stingy."

"…But, you're family, right?" Allen smiled sheepishly, "They would understand if you weren't able to host them…"

Lorelei paused and glanced back at Allen, then smiled and turned to him, her dress swishing around her ankles as she crossed her arms, "You're cute, so I'll say this nicely;" She then turned severe, a dark look crossing her face, "Nobles are _always_ out to get one another, _especially_ when they're family. Do you know how long my Mother's line has been head of the Solidor family? Eighty years. Do you know how many branches there are? Seven. And how much do you want to bet the other six branches all want me to break my neck riding my horse? Or how many are pissed that Gracia is alive and well?"

Allen paled and glanced at Link, who had his lips pressed into a thin line.

While he wasn't a noble, Link had seen enough of them while working beneath Lvellie to know every last word was true…

"I wasn't gonna say this because it really only proves pretty boy there right," Lorelei jerked her head towards Kanda, who sneered at her, "But we also buy big houses for the intimidation factor. Most of the more squeamish family members wouldn't dare challenge Mother when their master bedroom could fit in one of her guest bathrooms." Lorelei paused, then smirked wryly, looking between Kanda and Allen suggestively, "But you two know about that game, right? Mine's Bigger Than Yours?"

"Miss Lorelei!" Link barked admonishingly.

Allen twitched and blushed, covering his face with his hand.

Kanda's lips twisted into a deep frown, his nose wrinkling in disgust before he stepped forward to brush past Lorelei roughly and walk beside her sister.

That was the last straw; if asked, he would do nothing to hide the fact that, between the two sisters, he preferred Gracia by far.

As soon as he made it past Lorelei, though, Kanda froze, twitching and glancing back and forth with narrowed eyes.

Wonderful… While Lorelei had been going on, Gracia and Christopher had just walked off and left them.

And now he was stuck with the _Moyashi_, the _Moyashi_'s tumor, and the support unit's vulgar, bitchy sister.

"…Fucking women."

…Of course… now Gracia had Lorelei's fiancé alone…

…Completely.

…That poor, timid bastard.


	75. Full Record Recovery and Replay Complete

New poll on my page. ^ . ^ It doesn't affect anything… I'm just curious. I've made quite a few OCs for this story who could be hated for very different reasons, and I wanna see whose characterization ended up being the most reviled. Please, just drop by, pick one and press the button~.

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"U-Uhh…" Christopher looked around nervously, "M-Ma'am…? I think we lost the group…"

"Oh? I didn't notice…" Gracia said smoothly as she finished emptying out the safe in the music room, turning to Christopher with an uncharacteristically slick smile on her face, "Well, this just gives us an excellent opportunity to… get to know each other."

She had no idea why, but she wasn't okay with Lorelei getting married.

She didn't care why, she was going to let herself continue to not be okay with it.

It was nothing against the boy, personally; in fact, she was nearly completely sure that if he weren't engaged to her sister she wouldn't feel the need lock him in the closet just across the room and, when asked, act like she had no idea where he'd gone.

…She also had the feeling that she wouldn't feel the need to think up a more colorful, tiresome and entertaining way to torment him… And… a way somehow… involving robots?

…Oooooohh, so this was what having a sister complex was like.

Huh…

…Well, she couldn't say she didn't, in some sick, sadistic way, like it.

"So…" Gracia continued smiling at Christopher darkly, wrapping her arm around his shoulders as she slung her bag over her shoulder, "How long have you and Lorelei known one another…?"

"W-Well, our mothers started arranging play dates when we were both four… And we found out we were betrothed when we were ten…"

"Funny…" Gracia narrowed her eyes at him slightly as she led him out of the room, "She's never mentioned you before…"

"W-Well, I just properly proposed to her a week ago…" Christopher blushed darkly, looking away, "I-I didn't like the way a betrothal felt…"

"Hmm…"

"…Lorelei mentioned that you're in a relationship with the Chief Officer of the Black Order." Christopher mumbled, glancing back at her tentatively, "H-How is that… working…?"

It was Gracia's turn to blush and look away.

That seemed to give the boy a little confidence, because he perked slightly and looked up at her curiously.

"…It's working just fine." Gracia mumbled after a bit, fiddling with the strap of her duffel bag, "I… hadn't really known relationships could be this… pleasant…"

"Really?" Christopher blinked, "So… he doesn't mind the lacking physical intimacy?" When Gracia glanced at him sharply, the boy seemed to pale a bit as he took a step away from her, waving his hands, "I-I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean anything by it! I-It's just that… most commoners in this day and age aren't as reserved about sex as everyone used to be! Unlike nobles, there isn't as large a social stigmata about free sex and premarital sex as there used to be among the everyday people!"

Gracia stopped, staring at the boy.

Christopher got even more nervous as he turned to her, wringing his hands and glancing back and forth as he continued to try, and fail, to dig himself out of the hole he'd talked his way into, "A-And while you've been out and about in the world over the past few years, y-you're obviously still respectable enough to be refraining… A-At least… that's what I… think…"

Gracia continued to stare at Christopher blankly.

…There was a distinctive line in the sexual behaviors of nobles and commoners?

People actually practiced premarital sex?

It was… common in the non-noble classes…?

…She hadn't really noticed. Her experiences with Vincent had been… unpleasant, to say the least; after she'd run away, she'd just brushed sex off as unnecessary.

But Komui… It was obvious he was thinking about it. Besides the fact that he was a nearly-middle-aged male, apparently hadn't been in any relationships for at least a few years before Gracia, and was clearly a physical person, Komui's most recent actions when they were alone were nothing short of needy, intense and almost overly indicative.

In fact… Gracia was starting to get the feeling that he was purposefully, _strongly_ hinting to what he wanted from her at that point.

And other than the fact that she was still quite dense because of Sleep, Gracia realized she hadn't been picking up on it that well because… well… of their differing social statuses.

As the daughter of a noblewoman, premarital sex was strictly prohibited.

Hell, as the daughter of a noblewoman, she hadn't even been allowed to converse with males her mother hadn't thoroughly screened beforehand…

Even though it had been brought to her attention several times during her reintroduction to noble life, Gracia had never thought of the differences between the backgrounds and upbringings of herself and Komui.

This boy, it seemed, was better at making her think about things than her mother…

"…Is it…" Gracia mumbled, interrupting whatever nervous tangent Christopher had gone off on when she had remained silent, "Really that important to them…?"

Christopher blinked, then shrugged, "Well, yes… I mean, there are those of them who would say it isn't, but commoners marry for love. And, in the human brain, love is brought about by an amalgamation of personal thoughts and hormones, and hormones arouse the human body, which is more or less wired for sex."

…How in the hell had they gotten on this topic again…?

Oh… Right… the boy was socially awkward and thought it was a suitable topic…

Great. Now she couldn't even focus on being annoyed with him.

Gracia sighed and looked ahead again, mumbling something about finding the others as she went back to walking.

She… had a lot to mull over…

* * *

"…Sister, are you sure about this?" Lorelei asked as Gracia stood in front of the large, dark wood door, "If you'll just tell me where it is, I'll go empty this safe, myself."

"For the last time," Gracia sighed heavily, still facing the door, "I'm fine."

Behind her, Kanda let out his usual, "Tch."

Despite her saying she was 'fine'… Gracia still stared at the door for five full minutes, doing nothing. When Kanda's hand clamped down on her upper arm harshly, jerking in an attempt to pull her away, she set her hand over his and shook her head, tightening her grip on his fingers when he tried to pull away.

Using Kanda as a (reluctant) source of support, Gracia reached out and pushed the door of Vincent's office open.

…It was exactly as she remembered it; dark and cool. The stench of blood that she had previously believed would permeate the room forever had faded, leaving behind the smell of mold and dust.

Gracia opened the door further and let go of Kanda, stepping inside and looking around.

The swivel chair Vincent had been shot in was still behind his desk, the back shredded from the though-and-through buckshot and stained darkly.

After lingering on the chair for a moment, Gracia turned and walked over to the wedding portrait of her and Vincent that hung in an alcove between two bookcases on the right-hand side of the room. Without bothering to study the painting, she grabbed the frame and jerked firmly, something in the wall clicking.

The picture gave way and swung out, and behind it, set right into the wall, was the final safe, this one with both a keyhole and a combination turner.

"…Move." Kanda grunted, the metallic sound of a sword being unsheathed echoing in the acoustical room, "I'm not waiting all day for you to re—" He was cut short when Gracia reached out and deftly spun the dial, inserting the key when the safe clicked and opening it.

"…How did you remember that?" Allen asked incredulously, "You have problems remembering the numbers they assign us for the Ark Gates!"

Gracia, who had already started emptying the safe, paused before mumbling, "…It was the day we found out we were pregnant for the first time."

It wasn't a date she would ever forget.

At Lorelei's sharp inhale, Gracia shrugged one shoulder and went back to scooping the contents of the safe into one of the black bags, pausing and picking up a specific ring she found inside.

Her wedding ring…

And still, she felt nothing.

There was some lingering pain… But it was like a phantom sensation, as if from a lost limb. None of it was genuine or new.

Everyone, it seemed, had been worrying for nothing…

Heaving a sigh, Gracia finished emptying the safe, shutting the door and twisting the combination dial before pushing the portrait back into place.

"…Are we done?" Allen asked softly after a bit, "If we are, let's go down to the entrance. I'll make an Ark Gate back to the—"

"Actually…" Gracia interrupted softly, "There is… one thing I want to do… before we head back home…"

"What is it?" Kanda grunted, "The mission's done. If there's nothing else impor—" He stopped talking when Gracia turned and looked at him, his face going blank.

Allen blinked, far more than mildly shocked as the two seemed to… engage in some sort of unspoken dialogue, an understanding passing between them…

"…Fine." Kanda closed his eyes, crossing his arms and sighing heavily, "Whatever it is, make it fast."

"…Thanks, Kanda." Gracia smiled at him before nodding to the rest of the group, "You all go ahead and go down to the foyer; I'll be back in a bit."

Lorelei furrowed her brow and looked like she wanted to protest, but Christopher put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head slightly, taking a step back with her when Gracia walked past the group.

Link remained as he had been for most of the venture; silent, watchful.

* * *

Lorelei stared after her sister quietly, walking alongside Allen when the group started to head back to the foyer.

"…Is Sister… close to him?"

Allen jolted slightly and glanced at the young noblewoman, blinking, "Pardon?"

Lorelei jerked her chin slightly, indicating to Kanda, who was a ways ahead of them and already descending a staircase, "Jack Frost, there, and Gracia. They close?"

"…You mean Kanda?" Allen snorted. He then sighed slightly, shrugging, "Well… I guess if Kanda could be considered 'close' to anyone, Gracia would be one of the few…"

"Hnn…" Lorelei frowned slightly, staring after Kanda.

"…B-But it's not, like, romantic or anything." Allen quickly stuttered, shaking his head and waving his hands, "Gracia is _not_ cheating on Komui with Kanda."

"Oh, I don't doubt that." Lorelei laughed shortly, shaking her head, "Sister would never cheat, and _Kanda_," She said his name with a sneer, "Doesn't seem like the type to date older women. I'm just…" She trailed off, staring down the stairs as she, Allen and Link got to them.

Allen kept her in the corner of his vision as they descended, frowning worriedly. He then opened his mouth and reached forward when Lorelei suddenly started taking the steps two at a time, obviously hurrying after Kanda.

The frilled hem of her blue dress, though, swayed around the corner of the stairwell before he could call out to her.

"Don't bother, Walker." Link sighed, "Miss Lorelei is too stubborn to be stopped by mere words."

Allen heaved his own sigh, nodding, and sped up a bit, wanting to get to Kanda and Lorelei before another conflict started between them.

He and Link stopped at the bottom of the staircase, though, when they heard the conversation Lorelei started up with the male Exorcist.

"What's my sister like?"

"…What?" The dull voice Kanda had taken to addressing Lorelei with had a slight, confused inflection in it, his aloof disposition wavering slightly in the face of her open question.

When Link made to walk past him and into the foyer, Allen narrowed his eyes deviously and slapped his hand over Link's mouth, pulling him back and shushing him.

Link's elbow meeting Allen's toned stomach was ignored.

Behind both of them, Christopher obediently remained silent without needing to be asked.

"You… Look, I've seen the two of you interact, alright? And you and Gracia… you've mastered silent conversation."

"…Your point being?" Kanda's tone indicated he was losing interest again.

"My point being? My point should be pretty obvious; you have to know someone pretty well to be able to communicate just using glances. I'd just… like to know her half as well as you do…"

"I don't 'know' the support unit 'well' at all. She pays attention."

"Look, will you just talk to me about her a bit?"

"Go talk to her yourself."

"I can't do that without help! Acting charismatic and gushing over finally being able to know her face-to-face will only get me so far! Do you think I haven't noticed how different we are? ! And after we head back, who knows when I get to see her again! !"

Link was no longer fighting against Allen's grip, the two and Christopher listening silently at the tears now obvious in Lorelei's voice.

"If it's that fucking hard for you, start writing her fucking letters and get to know her that way. At least then you don't have to worry about the conversation dying because you don't have time to think things over. Don't fucking bug me just because you're a bad sister."

"You SON of a BITCH! !"

Allen and Link immediately threw themselves around the corner at the sound of metal crashing against metal, Christopher scrambling after them and bursting into the foyer just as Allen grabbed Lorelei from behind and dragged her away from Kanda, Link scowling and flinching as he grabbed the pole of the glaive she was waving around.

Off to the side, Kanda had his eyes closed and was sheathing Mugen calmly.

"I just wanted some _fucking_ help from you, you _prick_! !" Lorelei screeched, a few tears pouring down her face.

Kanda said nothing, ignoring her.

"Kanda doesn't help people." Allen grunted as he tightened his hold on Lorelei, forcing her feet back onto the ground and making her stop her flailing, "It's not just because he doesn't like you; he's a genuine asshole. Getting this angry isn't going to make him change his mind. You're just wasting energy."

Calming down after a moment, Lorelei slumped against Allen's arm and lowered her head, breathing raggedly and gasping on sobs.

"…Lorelei…" Christopher murmured softly, stepping forward and taking her from Allen carefully. He fretted over his fiancée silently, stroking her back and soothing her enough that Link was able to carefully pry the glaive from her grip.

"…I'm sorry, Chris." Lorelei laughed weakly after a bit, pulling back and slapping a weak smile on as she rubbed one of her eyes with her palm, "I just… feel so disadvantaged… I don't know what I was thinking, coming here. It's obvious that I… I can't say anything to make her feel better about this."

"I think the fact that you're trying is more than enough." When Lorelei glanced at him, Allen smiled, "Gracia doesn't fake emotions well; if she wasn't happy you were here, it would have been obvious. Besides… you want to do this right, right? Then don't take shortcuts… Take your time and get to know her on your own terms."

After staring at him for a moment, Lorelei gave Allen a grateful, teary smile. "Thank… you…"

Allen's smile widened a bit and he nodded.

Off to the side, Kanda watched them out of the corner of one heavily lidded eye.

* * *

A slight breeze picked up, making the lightly forested area around the hill rustle and sway, as if it were breathing.

Gracia walked up the path slowly, setting her duffel bag down when she reached the gate. In front of her, the small cemetery was silent. She glanced at the headstones one by one as she walked by them, the closer ones being older and bearing names that were no longer legible. It wasn't as if she actually knew the names of the people in the older graves, anyway…

…The first grave she recognized was a tiny one.

Child-sized…

_Baby Carter_

Gracia paused at this headstone and knelt, staring at it.

She didn't even know if Vincent had actually… put whatever little remains the eight first/second trimester embryos had left into the ground… but it was symbolic… and that was enough for her.

Even as she knelt there, though, she didn't say anything.

What could she say?

She'd run out of ways to apologize, tears to shed, all of those years ago…

The first three times… had all been accidents… Back then, she couldn't have known that she was incapable of carrying a fetus to term.

But after that…

…After that, when she had continued to let Vincent try over and over, knowing it wouldn't work, she'd simply become a bad mother.

She had no right to continue apologizing.

All she could do… was sit silently in her guilt… and never forget it.

…And, of course, never be so negligent as to let herself get pregnant again.

…Not that she was even sure she could anymore…

"…I loved you all…" She finally murmured, "I really did… E-Even when I knew… I would never be able to meet any of you… I… I couldn't help but feel… hopeful… every time…"

Yes… After the first few times, she'd known… She hadn't ever really been exceptionally bright, but there really were some things that… mothers just… knew…

"…Stay close to your Grandpa Silas, okay?" Gracia smiled weakly, "He may do some reckless things… but… he'll always put your safety first… when it looks like things are about to blow up…"

Another breeze rolled through the area, Gracia's hair sliding over her shoulders.

Next… she knelt before Vincent's grave.

"…I know I told you I would die… And I will… in time. But what I said… it was just so you could pass on in peace. …Even though I obviously didn't owe you anything.

"But I said it… because… even though you had been betraying me all along… I still think that… in the beginning… the first time we were pregnant… you were… genuinely happy… and that… if only in some small, selfish way… you really did care for me."

Gracia paused, sighing softly.

"…You and I are done. I will never mention you… or think about you while I'm around Komui again. Komui is all that matters to me now… and I think… I may end up spending the rest of my life with him.

"So… goodbye, I guess… I hope you and Rhea are happy with however things turned out for you."

Gracia stood, running a hand through her hair, then turned and started to walk back.


	76. Protocol Stasis Recording: File I

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia noticed something was wrong before she made it halfway back to the house; while she was walking, the air had suddenly become still, the hair on the back of her neck had stood…

…And, most importantly, Sleep had suddenly burned against her wrist and finger.

Then, a rancorous crash echoed through the air, coming from the house, and Gracia started running.

She swung herself through the front door and straight into a cloud of dust, lights flashing from within it and echoed screams and curses slamming against the walls.

Her heart hammered in her throat and Gracia surged towards the fray blindly, screaming, "LORELEI! !"

She didn't notice the shadow looming overhead until it was too late, and then a black blur plowed into her and pinned her to the ground.

Kanda's hair cascaded over his shoulders and around her head as a loud bang, like the firing of a gun, sounded, the boy gritting his teeth and hissing in pain next to her ear.

Something wet and hot dribbled onto her back, soaking through her clothes—

"KANDA! !"

"'m fine!" Kanda hissed, struggling to pull himself upright, "Go find your bitch of a sister and get her out!"

The wall behind them exploded, letting the breeze from outside blow in and clear away the dust, and Gracia scrambled to her feet as Kanda left her side to take care of the Akuma overhead.

Coughing as the dust she had inhaled rattled in her chest, Gracia ran towards what sounded like another conflict in the room ahead of her; the main sitting room.

Inside, Allen had his Crowned Clown invoked, the skin on his face an unearthly white, his scar standing out even more plainly against his face, and a great, white cape billowing about him, a silver mask atop his head.

He looked up from running his clawed hand through an Akuma, glancing at Gracia before pointing towards the back of the room, "Lorelei and Christopher are over there; get them out of the house!"

Gracia nodded and dashed past him, narrowing her eyes and throwing out her hand when she saw her sister and future brother-in-law, both being shielded by Link, being targeted by several Level 1s.

"Drow Poison : Confusio!"

The group of Akuma shuddered and went limp, still floating in the air as they started to slowly spin in circles, bumping into one another.

Gracia ran straight to her sister, grabbing her wrist, "Let's go. Now!"

As they ran for the door, Link throwing dozens of paper strips he pulled out of his sleeves to immobilize/burn the Akuma that came after them to buy them time, the ceiling above them suddenly fell, a Level 2 with a humanoid body and several long, spindly spider legs growing from its back landing in front of them.

Gracia threw her arm forward again, "Dro—"

The Akuma was fast. Faster than anything she'd faced on her own.

One of its many legs snapped out and caught her neck, and a crunching sound echoed in Gracia's ears as her body was jerked and thrown violently to the side.

In a flash so… blurry she almost couldn't comprehend it, Gracia flew across the room and crashed into the wall, blood roaring in her ears and washing down her neck as she collapsed.

Shock… Shock…

Red… spreading… Flashes of light…

Screaming…

"_Sister? ! SISTER! !"_

"_There's no time! ! Go to the door, now! !"_

Explosions…

"_Not that much force, Walker! ! You'll bring the house down on us! !"_

"_GRACIA! !"_

"_KANDA AND WALKER WILL GET HER! ! GET OUTSIDE, NOW! !"_

Screaming… more screaming…

"_**CHRISTOPHER! !**__"_

And then… against her thigh… something burned…

* * *

_It was struggling, struggling, struggling…_

_The one it wanted to serve was calling out for it…_

_It liked her, but it didn't want to be by her side anymore; it wanted to be by its master's side._

_It knew where it belonged._

_Finally… after searching for so long… after waiting for so long…_

_It was desperate._

_So, she did what Tiedoll had told her to._

_She let it go._

* * *

Gracia watched hazily as the glowing sphere shot out of the pocket in her shirt and flew across the room towards… towards…

Allen was doing his best to defeat the Akuma that were pouring down from the hole in the ceiling like water, Kanda backing him up.

Link was lying prone on the ground, the side of his head bleeding.

Lorelei… Lorelei was standing over a bleeding and cowering Christopher's body protectively, eyes wide, lips parted, face pale… expression reading sheer _terror_, the glaive in her hands shaking as the bore the weight of the two legs the spidery Akuma was pressing down on her as it tried to slit her throat, slash her chest, tear into her body with the bladed tips of its spidery legs…

The Innocence flew straight to her.

As she lie bleeding out on the floor, Gracia watched numbly as the Innocence flew straight to Lorelei.

It bloomed and spread out, looking not unlike the ivy she had taken it from in Greece, and wrapped itself around Lorelei's body like webbing, clinging to her skin tightly.

Absently… Gracia noticed that it shifted and moved so its many tendrils ran parallel to Lorelei's veins…

Lorelei's eyes widened, and she cringed and bowed in on herself, screaming as the Innocence melted straight into her skin.

The spidery Akuma backed off, but not before a sheet of ice spread out along the glaive in Lorelei's hands. Some of the ice touched the Akuma's legs before it could back away, and as soon as it did it spread across them like fire across oil.

Before the ice could spread to the rest of its body, the Akuma sliced the two limbs off, the legs clinking like glass as they hit the floor before they turned to ash and blew away in another gust of wind that came in through the gaping holes in the building around them.

Time seemed to slow for a moment as shock settled over the room…

Then, Lorelei ground her teeth and shot forward, ducking and sliding under the Akuma's legs when they swiped at her again and coming up underneath it, thrusting her ice-coated glaive forward and running the Akuma through.

The spider-like Akuma writhed and screeched, convulsing on her blade, then burst into a fine, gray powder.

There was a pause, then all of the Level 1 Akuma screeched rancorously, the cannons jutting from their bodies starting to glow.

"Drow… Poison… Sopor…"

Everyone in the room shuddered as a strong, hot, angry pulse swiped through the air, the Akuma shuddering before crashing to the ground heavily, unmoving.

"Kanda…" Gracia gurgled through her slashed throat, rolling onto her stomach and making weak attempts to push herself upright, "Finish… it…"

"_Moyashi_, get us out of here!" Kanda barked before taking his stance, Mugen glowing.

"Netherworld Creature : Ichigen!"

Gracia shuddered and allowed herself to collapse, Kanda's illusionary insects slicing through the prone Akuma as Allen's Crowned Clown reached out and wrapping around them in a thick shroud of white.

Above them, a polygonal, glowing plate of white opened against the ceiling, a digital number Gracia couldn't make out in one corner, and the shroud pulled them all towards it.

Just before she passed out, Gracia noticed that her section of the white shroud was quickly getting stained with arterial spray…

* * *

_Hot… thick… itchy…_

_Unbearably… unbearably itchy…_

_Suffocating… Suffocating…_

_Something… clamped tightly… around neck…_

_Suffocating… heat…_

_Swallow… use saliva… to relieve heat… bu—_

_ACK…! ! HURT…! ! Swallowing… hurt…! !_

_Oh… Oh… damn…_

Gracia…?

…_Eh…?_

Gracia… Oh, God, please wake up… Can you hear me…?

_Nnn… Knew… that voice…_

_Soothing…_

Come on… Squeeze my hand…

_Hand… Hand… on arm… Fingers…_

_Wait… wait…_

_There… could feel… now…_

D-Did you just…? ! Oh, thank God… O-Okay, it's okay, y-you're fine, now… You're back home… Just rest…

_Still… so hot…_

…_And what… what had…_

…_Oh no… oh no, oh no, oh no…_

N-No, Gracia, don't try to get up. You need to— Gracia? Gracia, lie down!

Gracia forced herself up, forced her eyes to open, forced her brain to function and take in everything around herself as she panted painfully.

Against her wrist, Sleep was burning hotly, trying to get her to go back to sleep.

Against her neck, the thick, itchy bandages were trying to suffocate her.

Against her side, Lenalee was trying to get her to lie back down, the girl's words flashing in and out of coherence as Gracia's head spun, static ringing in her ears.

"G-Gracia, please, you need to rest!" Lenalee pleaded hoarsely, her eyes red and puffy and her short hair pasted to her forehead with nervous sweat, "You lost a lot of blood!"

"…Lor… e… lei…" Her throat… it hurt so bad… talking… was on the same level of pain as trying to run with a broken leg…

"…Komui's with her." Lenalee whispered, "So are several others from the Science Division, not to mention General Nine. They're doing their best to coax her through the transition. Komui hasn't left her side… Not even once. He'll make sure she pulls through. As… As soon as they get her stable, they'll take her to Hevlaska to remove the Inno—"

Gracia tossed the blankets aside and stumbled to her feet, her back cold from the opening of the medical gown she was wearing and her body from the waist down as uncomfortably warm as her neck.

Still, she brushed it and Lenalee off as she stumbled out of the room, following the sounds of screams.

Two rooms away from hers, Medical Section personnel rushed in and out of the door the screams were issuing from, the arms of the ones exiting laden with towels and bedding that had been frozen solid, some with the eerie, vague shapes of kicking feet and clawing hands in their folds…

As soon as there was a gap in the procession, Gracia stumbled into the room, Lenalee wrapping her arms around Gracia's waist from behind and supporting her when Gracia nearly collapsed at what she saw.

The entire bed Lorelei was strapped to was nearly a block of ice, the IV she had been hooked up to frozen over from the blood catheter in her arm, along the line and all the way up to the bag of fluids someone tried to empty into her bloodstream.

Komui and Reever stood on either side of Lorelei's bed, both of them dressed from head to toe in long, heavy-looking, thick plastic gowns, the gloves on their hands made from the same material.

Komui's back to her, Gracia could see through the ties on his back that he had layered on sweaters and thermals.

Reever was trying with syringe after syringe to inject her with something, tossing each one aside with it froze over, and Komui had her face in his hands and was trying to speak to her through the thick mask he was wearing.

On the bed, itself, Lorelei was thrashing and screaming, her entire body soaked with sweat and, through her skin, the veins in her neck, arms, legs, feet so darkly blue they were almost black. Obviously not completely aware, she threw her body back and forth and kicked wildly against the straps holding her down, other Science Division members strapping her down with new ones every time she froze the old ones over and shattered them.

The air in the room was frigid, Gracia's breath visible clouds and her lips chapping within seconds.

Movement to her right made her glance, and when she saw Klaud approaching her with her lips pressed into a thin line, Gracia pulled away from Lenalee quickly and stumbled across the room.

She pushed Komui aside and, ignoring his protests, fell on top of Lorelei, covering the girl's body with her own and hugging her tightly.

She couldn't speak any commands… she could only hope Sleep still reacted to subconscious threat perception…

Hands were against her back, trying to pull her away, but when Lorelei wrapped her arms around Gracia in return, they had no choice but to back off, fearful of Lorelei's freezing touch.

Even as she laid on top of her, Gracia could feel her clothes, her hair, her skin quickly frosting over, her lungs starting to hurt and her feet and stomach going numb.

The longer she was there, though, the more Lorelei's thrashing decreased… and the more the girl dug her fingers into Gracia's back, hugging her desperately as her screams turned into sobs.

Finally, Gracia felt some heat; Sleep burned against her wrist intensely, making her blood boil from her hand out towards the rest of her body.

Beneath her, Lorelei gasped loudly and arched, then slowly relaxed, finally silent, finally still.

Even as they both lost consciousness, though… Lorelei's body temperature was still so much lower than Gracia's…


	77. Protocol Stasis Recording: File II

^ . ^' Sowwy, sowwy, I be an hour late~! Slept in…

Poll's still up on my page~! Vote away~! *demon voice* Or I will send Mathilda to your house to convince your parents to send you to military school.

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"You know that expression 'that person has ice water in their veins'?" Komui sighed, running a hand through his hair, "Well, this Innocence takes it once step further…"

In front of him, all of the current Exorcists and Exorcist Generals had been gathered, Lorelei's sudden acquirement of Innocence and how to handle the situation being a subject of great importance.

Gracia frowned, her hand tightening around Lenalee's when the girl gave her hand a comforting squeeze.

In the chair beside Komui, Lorelei was silent, her face drooping with exhaustion but otherwise blank as she stared off into space.

"It's parasitic, obviously." Komui shook his head, "And it, as I'm sure you've all heard, gives her the ability to freeze things at an alarming rate."

"Are you and the others alright?" Lavi asked immediately, frowning, "I saw the things those nurses were carrying out of that room… If any part of you had gotten frozen—"

"No, no, we're fine." Komui waved his hand, "The ice only coats inanimate objects; it still hurts like real ice when you touch it, but living organisms can't be coated or frozen through."

"…Supervisor," Allen started slowly, "What you said… It's in her bloodstream?"

"Yes." Komui nodded, "But it's not a crystal type, if that's what you're wondering. While Lenalee's body still does have _traces_ of the liquefied Dark Boots passing through her, the majority of the Innocence is still within the rings around her ankles, and, when damaged, those rings actively draw blood from the wounds they originally opened on her ankles to repair themselves. Lorelei's Innocence, however, is submerged completely in her bloodstream. In fact, from slides I've compiled of blood samples taken from different parts of her body, almost all of her white blood cells now have Innocence in the form of ice crystals affixed to their exteriors."

"…If it's in her blood, how does it work?" Lavi asked next.

"When invoked, the white blood cells, or leukocytes, increase in numbers, as if her body were responding to an infection. Her epidermis then excretes some sort of… oil, and, using that, she can freeze over any inanimate object she touches." Komui explained, "Of course, because it's woven into her immune system, it does have effects on her body… Namely, her standing body temperature is quite a bit lower than it naturally should be, and it only gets lower the longer her Innocence remains invoked."

"…I want it out of her body."

All eyes fell on Gracia. Even Lorelei twitched slightly and glanced over.

"…Gracia?" Komui asked softly.

"Take it out." Gracia croaked through her slashed throat, her eyes tearing in pain. She still met Komui's eyes evenly, going on, "Take her to Hevlaska and take it out. Now. I don't want it in her."

"…Gracia, we can't ju—"

"I can get away with needing to remain here." Gracia hissed, tensing as she started to get angry, "But Lorelei… She's not meant for this. I don't want her here. I want her back in Nalbina, where I don't have to worry about her. We both know Mother will say the same thing, and we all know Mother will win in the end, so let's just get this over with before Mother finds out and gets angry."

"I know, Gracia." Komui assured her gently when she had to stop and press a hand to her still healing neck, "I know what Mathilda will say, and I agree. We do have to take the Innocence out of her. But we can't do it immediately; it's parasitic, and because it's woven so deeply into her anatomy we have to be—"

"I want it to stay."

Attention now shifted to Lorelei, this time accompanied by shock.

"…What?"

"I want the Innocence to stay in my body." Lorelei mumbled, looking away again as her hair fell across her face, "I want to stay here. I want to be an Exorcist."

"…Miss Lorelei, you're tired." Komui sighed, "Having a parasitic Innocence become part of your body was obviously stressful. Let's get you back to the medical ward… You can take a nap and we'll decide wha—"

"There's nothing to 'decide' on." Lorelei turned and scowled up at him, "Accommodators who synchronize successfully and to a point where they're not a threat are automatically enlisted, right? Well, then I'm enlisted. Assign a room to me and I'll go sleep there."

"…Miss Lorelei, I'm afraid that isn't going to work out." Komui sighed, already looking tired at the prospect of the argument he was about to face, "You are the heir of the Solidor matriarch and a Marchioness-in-training; blue bloods of your level aren't held to the same standards as the rest of us. Even the Vatican will surely order me to make you exempt and have the Innocence removed from your body."

"I don't give a damn what others around me are going to order you or me to do." Lorelei growled, glaring at Komui, "I'm staying."

Gracia suddenly stood, unable to stop herself from moving as she stormed across the room.

Listening to Lorelei talk was suddenly _pissing her off intensely_.

The brat needed to be _yelled_ at.

…It was a shame Gracia couldn't yell without needing to worry about bleeding from the neck again.

Lorelei, who had stood as soon as Gracia started walking towards her, set her jaw and clenched her hands at her sides, staring up at Gracia fixedly.

Gracia jerked to a stop in front of her, baring her teeth and moving her mouth wordlessly, unable to sort out what she couldn't shout, anyway.

Finally, she settled on raising her hand… and bringing it down in a strong, knifehand strike on top of Lorelei's head.

And, since she had used the hand equipped with Sleep, the blow had enough force to knock Lorelei's legs out from underneath her, the girl falling flat on her ass.

The sound of the blow echoed through the once again silent room, and Gracia slowly lowered her now throbbing hand back to her side, glaring down at the girl who was now blinking and looking around in shock.

When Lorelei finally blinked up at Gracia, dazed, Gracia whispered sharply, "You… are going to be the one person I don't have to worry about."

Unable to stay and feel like she wouldn't hit her sister again, Gracia lowered her head and turned, storming out of the room and slamming the door behind herself loudly.

* * *

It was her fault.

That was why this was making her so angry… It was _her_ fault for letting the Innocence go when it had asked her to.

If she had just keep the damned thing in her pocket, Lorelei wouldn't have it in her body.

Honestly, what had she been thinking, letting it go? There had only been six of them, and three of them were already Exorcists; that had only left Link, Lorelei and Christopher as possible Accommodators, and, looking back, it just made so much more _sense_ for it to have been Lorelei.

If she had realized it then and just held onto the Innocence, Lorelei wouldn't…

She… She wouldn't…

…Parasitic type Innocence shortened the life of its Accommodator.

Because Gracia hadn't protected her… Lorelei now had something that would end up killing her flowing through her bloodstream.

She might as well have given her a loaded gun or illegal drugs.

Still in medical scrubs and barefoot, Gracia stormed out of the building. When she snapped out of her thoughts and looked up, blinking, she found herself standing in Kanda's private training spot out in the forest…

After standing in place for a moment longer, Gracia walked over to a tree and sat, leaning against the trunk and propping her legs up. She rested her right arm on her legs, the short sleeves of the paper shirt she was wearing letting her stare at Sleep uninhibited as she fiddled with the chain.

Why… Why had this happened?

Why couldn't she have one person in her life she cared about… stay safe…

Against her wrist, Sleep burned comfortingly.

Gracia stroked the thick silver bracelet with her thumb.

Now that she thought about it… it had been such… a long time… since she and Sleep had interacted like they used to.

…They were drifting apart…

They were drifting apart… and the idea didn't give her a panic attack anymore…

"…Are you really going to leave me when things like this keep happening?" Gracia smiled sadly, "Or have you been leaving me ever since we came here… I can't remember the last time I turned to you for comfort. And… even though you still offer it every now and then… it's not the first thing I think of when something goes wrong."

Sleep's comforting burn intensified, making her sigh and close her eyes.

It made her feel pleasantly sleepy… but it didn't dull her senses or her thoughts.

She could still think about what was going on.

"…I can't forget things anymore, even for a moment, can I? That part of our life… is over…" After a moment of silence, Gracia sighed, "Still… I wish—" The moment she made to use Sleep to take a nap, it pinched her wrist painfully, making her eyes snap open and a pained hiss escape her sore throat.

"Stop being stupid; you'll turn yourself into a Fallen One."

Gracia jerked slightly and looked up, blinking at Kanda.

He stood a few feet away, wearing a dark pair of pants and a skin-tight, sleeveless, high-necked undershirt, his dark eyes narrowed and his arms crossed.

"…A Fallen One?" Gracia repeated softly after a moment.

Kanda's brow twitched, his scowl deepening, "No one told you? It's what Exorcists become when they turn their back on the Innocence and God. The Innocence overwhelms the Accommodator, turns them into a monster, then spends all of their life force destroying everything around them. Don't think stupid things when you know the Innocence doesn't want you to."

Gracia stared at him for a moment, shocked, then looked back at Sleep, fingering it gently as it stopped squeezing her wrist, "…Sleep wouldn't do that to me."

"No one wants to think their Innocence would kill them." Kanda sighed/huffed, walking over and removing Mugen from his waist as he sat behind her on the opposite side of the tree, "But it happens. More often than the Order would care to admit."

Gracia didn't say anything to that, not wanting to think about it anymore. She absolutely refused to believe Sleep would ever do anything like that to her. It… It just wouldn't… not after what it had said to her the first time they'd met…

"…I didn't think it was possible, but your brat sister got even more annoying after you left." Kanda clicked his teeth together, "Tch, bitch…"

"…You know how Innocence will do anything to find its Accommodator?" Gracia sighed, tipping her head back, "I think that's why it hitched a ride on Sleep… It could feel Lorelei through me. It probably wasn't coincidence that it was the one of the two, out of all of the others, that Hevlaska gave to me, either."

"…You'd have to ask Hevlaska about that." Kanda said lowly after a moment, "But you're probably right… The way she talks about it… I think the Innocence… communicates with her sometimes."

"…You took a blow for me earlier."

Silence.

Gracia sat up and crawled around the tree, kneeling in front of Kanda and frowning at him.

Kanda had his eyes closed and his arms crossed, and was now ignoring her.

"…You took a bad blow for me. But that marking on your chest… it healed you, didn't it?" When he continued to ignore her, Gracia glanced down, frowning at the wispy edges of the tattoo that were now visible where his shirt ended, "…When we first met, that marking didn't have that extra ring around it. It's getting bigger, and it gets even bigger when it's actively healing you."

Kanda now had his eyes opened and was looking at her oddly. "…Stop staring at my chest when we're on missions."

"What is that thing doing to you?"

Kanda tensed and narrowed his eyes, baring his teeth as he drew his upper lip back in a sneer, "I thought you were going to be the one person who wasn't going to hassle me about this."

"I will be. After this." Gracia frowned at him, "But it's taking longer to heal you now; your back is still bandaged. Injuries like that… are usually gone in an hour."

Kanda stared at her for a moment, then snorted and looked away. "It's nothing. It takes longer sometimes… after it's been used heavily."

"…So, if you take a break for a bit, it'll start working normally again?" She wasn't quite sure if she believed that, and the fact that Kanda didn't answer her didn't make her feel any better.

Gracia sighed and sat back, flinching when the muscles strained her neck, which was already strained from her talking a bit too much.

Kanda glanced at her, watching as she cringed and rubbed her heavily bandaged neck.

"…What are you going to do about your sister?"

For a moment, Gracia didn't answer.

She glanced off to the side and continued rubbing her neck. She was going to lose her voice if she wasn't careful… Not that she would find that to be a bad thing. That Akuma had sliced her neck pretty deeply; she would be happy to have a reason to not have to talk for a bit.

But Kanda did raise a good question…

Even after being attacked by an Akuma, even after killing an Akuma, even after the hell she'd gone through having that parasitic Innocence bind to her body, Lorelei clearly wasn't taking what had happened to her seriously.

She was acting like an entitled brat…

…Which was a bit odd, Gracia realized; usually, Lorelei was far from pompous and entitled.

Just… what in the hell was that girl thinking…

…Whatever she was thinking, she wasn't thinking about it clearly.

And, with Lorelei acting like she had the happy authority to order Komui around, Gracia would have to take it upon herself to make the girl realize just how stupid she was being.

…Lorelei… needed a harsh wakeup call.

Slowly… Gracia turned her attention back to Kanda.

Kanda stared back, slowly quirking a brow.

"…Kanda… I need your help with something."

* * *

"Eh?" Lorelei crossed her arms and quirked a brow, staring across the sand pit she was standing in at the serious Kanda at the other end, Mugen in hand, "What is this? Are you hazing me?"

Kanda didn't answer, his bangs casting a shadow that hid his eyes as he held Mugen out in front of him. He ran his fingers across the blade slowly, making it flash as it was invoked.

"…Seriously!" Lorelei barked, "What's your problem? !"

Around the training room, people started to gather around the pit, muttering amongst one another and watching.

Hiding in the shadows of one of the pillars, Gracia watched silently.

"Kanda!" Trailed by his sister, Allen, Lavi and the Generals, Komui ran into the room, stopping at the edge of the pit and calling out, "Stop that right now!"

Ignoring him, Kanda glanced at Gracia, nodding slightly.

Gracia nodded back, and as Lorelei glanced over at her, she reached out and grabbed the metal pole of a poleax off of a nearby rack, tossing it towards her sister.

Lorelei didn't move as the weapon landed on the sand in front of her.

"What in the… Gracia? !" Komui called out to her, "What in the hell is going on? !"

Ignoring him like Kanda had, Gracia met Lorelei's eyes evenly, her face blank, "Kanda isn't hazing you. I told him to kick your ass."


	78. Protocol Stasis Recording: File III

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Lorelei's eyes widened and she clenched her jaw as the poleax in her hands bore the weight of Mugen, metal screeching against metal until Kanda followed through.

The force sent Lorelei tumbling back across the sand.

"Kanda won't go easy on you…" Gracia called out dully, crossing her arms and leaning against the pillar, "And that weapon won't stand against Innocence for long… You'd better invoke." She then flinched and pressed her hand to her neck, swallowing and making a face when she tasted blood.

She would really need to give her voice a rest after this…

"Gracia!" She continued watching as Komui ran up to her, her face blank as Lorelei jumped back to her feet and narrowly dodged Mugen. "Gracia!" Komui took her shoulders and made her face him, looking down at her with wide eyes and shaking her slightly, "What are you thinking, telling Kanda to fight Lorelei? ! She's not ready for this!"

Gracia blinked up at him, "That's my point."

Out in the pit, Kanda muttered something to Mugen and a band of energy wrapped around his arms and shoulders, a second, ethereal blade appearing in his other hand. He threw himself at Lorelei, both of these blades crashing against the poleax in Lorelei's hands.

The normal weapon, unable to sake the strain, broke in half, and Lorelei went flying again.

"She can't act like coming in and doing this will be easy." Gracia went on, unable to contain a small flinch at the sound of Lorelei's body hitting the walled edge of the training pit, the girl's harsh gasp as the air was forced out of her lungs echoing through the air, "She can't act like she's ready for this. She's… not like me." Gracia's shoulders trembled briefly, "She's an offensive unit. She's a front line unit. She… will be expected to throw herself straight into the fray. She can't… keep acting like such a brat… when she doesn't know what it will be like."

Komui blinked, his eyes slowly widening further as his grip on Gracia's shoulders went slack.

"…This is my fault." Gracia mumbled, "I was the one that was carrying the Innocence that's now bonded to her body. The least I can do… is make sure she knows what she's up against."

Out in Lorelei's hands, the broken poleax suddenly frosted over, both pieces getting fused back together by Innocence-laced ice.

Her weapon now lengthened to a point she was more comfortable with, Lorelei ground her teeth and stumbled back to her feet, screaming angrily as she ran towards Kanda.

Kanda watched her with a blank face, sliding one foot back and lowering his body to strengthen his stance.

"Eight Flower Mantis!"

Gracia closed her eyes and clenched her jaw at Lorelei's ensuing scream of pain.

"I am sick… and tired… of everyone I love… either dying… or being in the Order. I'm… going to have my hand in controlling the safety of at least _one_ person's life… And I'll be damned if that person isn't her."

"…Gracia…" Komui's tone was gentle, worried.

Not wanting to accept his comfort, Gracia turned away and opened her eyes again, watching as Lorelei and Kanda met in a flurry of steel and ice. She forced herself to continue watching, her eyes observing every cut, scrape, bruise and gash earned, ears hearing every cry of pain, curse of anger… She wouldn't look away. This was… part of her own punishment… for everything that was happening.

She wanted to make sure the image of two of the kids she cared about the most fighting each other was engraved in her memory.

When he had Lorelei down on one knee, clutching at an open and bleeding wound on her shoulder, Kanda stood over her and wrapped both of his hands around Mugen's hilt, raising it high before swinging down.

Lorelei's eyes flashed as she looked up and she bore her teeth at him, lifting her ice-covered poleax and guarding with the pole.

Mugen's blade bit into the solid ice void between one half of the ice-coated weapon and the other, and as soon as it did Mugen, itself, started to freeze.

Lorelei smirked.

Kanda's eyes narrowed, then his lips twitched into a dark smirk and he leapt, forcing Lorelei to bear his weight as he flipped around behind her. Facing her back now, he jerked Mugen free of the ice, Lorelei's arms snapping back when she didn't let go of her weapon in time.

Kanda then delivered a strong kick to her back.

Gracia felt a jolt of pain in her chest as Lorelei crashed forward, her face meeting the sand.

Lorelei lie prone for a moment, one hand still locked tightly around her weapon while the other slid up to press into the sand beside her face. Kanda walked over to her calmly, standing over her with a blank look on his face.

The blonde turned her head slightly, her face littered with friction burns from the sand, and looked back up at him.

The moment Kanda lifted Mugen again to strike, right when his guard was open, Lorelei pressed both of her hands to the ground, rolling her weight forward as she kicked up and swung a leg around to kick Kanda in the waist.

As Kanda stumbled to the side, Lorelei brought her feet back down and kicked forward, stumbling back to her feet while scooping her poleax back up.

Kanda barely had time to recover and block with Mugen as she swung at him… with the butt-end of the staff.

Lorelei let him block, the first blow from the end of her poleax loosening his grip on Mugen.

Then, the other end of the weapon came around as she finished the swing, Kanda ducking back to avoid the blade and still getting a cut across his cheek.

And, just when it looked like Lorelei was finally starting to get into the flow of fighting… Gracia held out her arm and used Sleep.

Lorelei's eyes widened and she stumbled, getting thrown yet again when Kanda recovered and lashed out with his foot, kicking her in the stomach.

Leaving Komui stunned, Gracia jumped down into the sand pit, walking over to the two slowly. She had just reached Kanda's side when Lorelei, who had been clutching at her stomach and dry heaving, looked up at them with wide, confused eyes.

"…You think this is bad?" Gracia asked softly, "Kanda and I aren't even trying to kill you. By the standards of some here, this is just training."

"Netherworld Creature : Ichigen!"

Lorelei's body soared through the air, her poleax breaking again before she landed on the ground heavily. Kanda's insects swirled around her slowly before they vanished.

"You think you can do this just because I can?" Gracia walked towards Lorelei slowly, Kanda right behind her, "You think you have an advantage because you know how to use weapons? Compared to the weaponized units here, you're mediocre. As for me, I have an incredibly large defensive range; that's the only reason my combat skills are allowed to suck as much as they do."

"Th-That's what training's for…" Lorelei barked hoarsely, stumbling to her feet, "If… If I suck that much… give me a chance… to get better!"

"On top of that," Gracia went on, ignoring Lorelei, "You are the successor of the head of House Solidor. Ignoring the obvious fact that working for the Order would increase your chances of dying an early death tenfold, how are you supposed to balance your duties as a successor-in-training with those of an Exorcist, who can be sent to anywhere in the world for indeterminate amounts of time at the drop of a hat?"

"Not everyone is as bad at multitasking as you, you know!" Lorelei snapped, getting angry with Gracia now.

Good.

Gracia wanted her angry.

Maybe it would get her to leave.

Still, she made it seem like she ignored her and went on, walking towards Lorelei with Kanda trailing behind her as Lorelei started to back away, "Do you even know what being an Exorcist means to the average Exorcist? These people aren't allowed to contact their friends or families. If they die, no one who knew them before this life will know. Their bodies belong to the Order. The Order places the integrity of their Innocence above their very lives. Most of them have been _forced_ to give up everything. And now, most of them continue to do it with the fervor they do because they've made a family here. Do you even know why you want to join? Do you even have half of the resolve they do?"

Lorelei shook slightly, her eyes watering, "You have to ask why…?" She then asked in a stronger voice, "And what about you? ! Like you didn't have a chance to get out! !"

"I joined when I had nothing!"

When Lorelei tried to stumble further away from her, Gracia reached out and grabbed her collar, jerking her close.

Gracia could feel the blood soaking through the bandages on her neck, could hear her voice starting to give out, but went on.

"And when I came back," She hissed, glaring down into her sister's stunned, dark eyes, "I came back fully willing to give up everything that had been forced on me when I had been found. Even you. Because these people need me more than you do. I'm no saint; I didn't initially join because I wanted to help. I was lonely. But I _stayed_ because I am willing to give everything I have to protect every last person here. And what about you? You want to join simply because you can? Simply because the Innocence chose you when you were screaming out for its help without realizing it? Tell me something, if the Innocence hadn't chosen you, wouldn't you be at Nalbina right now, thinking about how you would _never_ intrude on a mission again and _only_ come to see me when I was here, where it's safe?"

Lorelei opened and closed her mouth soundlessly, not speaking.

"…This isn't something you do on a whim." Gracia mumbled, getting to the point where she couldn't raise her voice anymore, "This is something you're either forced to do, or you do with every intention of dying. I love you, Lorelei. And because of that, I can be enough of a bitch to pound into your head the fact that I don't want you here. Innocence can always be ripped out of an Accommodator's body until a replacement can be found, and frankly, if I weren't so weak right now, I'd drag you down to Hevlaska right now and make her tear every last crystal out of every last white blood cell in your body and shove you back into Mathilda's arms."

Lorelei was now limp, her face the picture of shock.

Behind Gracia, Kanda was completely silent.

Every last noise in the training room had stopped. Were the people watching even breathing anymore…?

"…Do you know what the parasitic type Innocence does to the Accommodator's body?"

Lorelei didn't move.

"…It shortens your lifespan. Do you honestly think you can have ice crystals on your white blood cells, in your bloodstream, and have there be no damage dealt as they flow through your body? Do you honestly think the human body can suddenly have its temperature drop and have it _stay that way_ without any serious repercussions? Do you honestly think the human body can handle having your temperature go even lower when you stay invoked for extended periods of time, and then be able to stand it when it suddenly spikes back up when you're done? Do you think they call it _parasitic_ for _nothing_?"

Lorelei was pale, her lip quivering.

"Solidor family members already have notoriously short lives from the stress that accumulates over the years by just being born into the family…" Gracia smiled down at her sister weakly, her grip on her collar trembling, "And now… you have something in your body… that's slowly killing you… When this stupid war is over… what am I supposed to look forward to… if you're already dead? How… How are we… supposed to catch up… if you're gone?"

"Mistress, that's enough."

Gracia shuddered and caved in on herself slightly as Renault's large, comforting body pressed against her side, one arm wrapping around her waist as his other hand pressed down on top of hers heavily, forcing her to let Lorelei go.

"You've made your point, Mistress." Renault assured Gracia in his low, rumbling, soothing voice, tightening his hold on her and slowly coaxing her to relax against him, "You need to stop talking. You've opened the wound on your neck again."

Oh, she'd done more than just that… Her chest was starting to hurt, her limbs were getting cold, and her wound… she could feel how slow her pulse was along the stitches of the still bleeding wound on her neck… Her bradycardia was flaring up again…

As her vision started to tunnel and the world flashed gray, the first wave of guilt washed over her…

And she was glad that… she passed out before she could start to cry.

* * *

Komui watched as Renault carried Gracia out of the room, then crouched and carefully lowered himself into the sand pit, rushing to Lorelei's side as Kanda walked off and left the girl there.

Lorelei was staring off into space, her eyes wide and her entire body trembling.

"Miss Lorelei…" Komui paused, then sighed, reaching out and gently taking her shoulders, "Let's take you back to the medical ward; Christopher has been worried about you…"

"I didn't mean it… like that…"

Komui paused again, blinking down at her and listening as she went on softly.

"I didn't mean… that I wanted to join the Order… just because I could… or… or anything like that…" She looked up at Komui, the movement of her head sending tears rolling down her face, "I wanted… to stay by Sister's side… B-Because I want to protect her…" She gasped softly, her body tensing up as sobs started to build, "Wh-When that Akuma… slashed her neck… and went after Christopher… I… I was so angry at God… for not giving me anything more… than a glaive to protect them with… And then… And now… I have Innocence… I don't… I can't let it go… B-Because now… now we can be together… B-But she… she hates—"

Komui wrapped his arms around the girl and pulled her against his chest tightly, grinding his teeth and lowering his head as she burst into tears.

Dear God, _that_ was why the girl wanted to keep the Innocence? !

Previously, he hadn't been sure what to think of her decision; Lorelei was a strong-willed, outgoing girl. For all he knew, she'd wanted to join for the adrenalin rush.

But the whole time she'd been silent during his explanation, was this what she had been thinking about…? Had she been replaying the scene of her sister getting slashed in the neck over and over? Had she been remembering her own desperate screams and mental pleas?

Had she been thinking about how desperately she would work to hold onto the power she had gained so she could stay by her sister's side?

…He could no longer think ill of her for her decision. He… had been the same way in his pursuits to be with Lenalee again.

He had had the same mindset.

He had been just as simpleminded and selfish.

He… had been just as upset… back when Lenalee had suggested letting Hevlaska forcibly implant the Dark Boots into her body during the attack on the old Headquarters…

Lenalee's reasons… Lorelei's reasons… Gracia's reasons… his own reasons…

"…I'll talk to her." Komui assured Lorelei softly, "I can't say I like the idea any more than she does, but… I understand."

"…You'll talk to her?"

"Yes… I can't promise you much, but I can promise you that."

Even if it didn't change Gracia's mind, he would make sure she knew that this was all a gross misunderstanding.

* * *

"She's stable." Renault informed Komui in a low voice as they passed one another in the hall, "Don't try to get her to talk and let her rest."

Gracia didn't bother rolling over as Komui shut the door behind himself, staying curled up on her side in her nightgown with her trachea nearly squeezed shut from Renault's thorough bandaging.

His way of keeping her from talking… Crushing her vocal cords.

Gracia didn't respond as Komui sat on the bed behind her, listening to him sigh and start talking…

…Start explaining…

…Even before he had finished, she had rolled over and was looking up at him with wide, tearful eyes, her lower lip quivering.

After what he'd told her… what she had said and done to Lorelei seemed so…

Gracia buried her face in Komui's chest and hugged him tightly when he leaned over and pulled her close.

"I'm not saying you have to change your mind…" He murmured as she cried silently against his chest, "I just… don't want you to stay mad at her for the wrong reasons…"

Gracia nodded weakly, and for a time they were silent, Gracia shaking against his chest and Komui stroking her back slowly.

Then, when someone knocked at the door, Komui stood and walked over to answer it, throwing Gracia a calm smile and slipping out of the room when Lorelei stepped inside.

The two stared at one another silently, Gracia lying prone on her side and Lorelei shifting back and forth nervously.

After a bit… Gracia slowly lifted her arms, holding them out in wait for an embrace.

Lorelei's face flushed, her eyes watering, and she dashed over and dove onto the bed with her older sister, hugging her tightly and sobbing into Gracia's neck as she, desperately, began to explain, begging her sister to stop being mad at her.

And Gracia, who wouldn't have talked even if she could have, just listened.

* * *

_(I don't suppose you all would like to help me reach the 400 mark, would you? ^ . ^' Every. Review. Counts. Usually, only about one eighth of the people who read the chapter actually leave a review, so I know there are more of you out there… All you have to do is pick one thing about this chapter you liked. That's it. I dun like being a review whore, so I won't just say "Drop me a line! Anything! Please! Even if you're just saying 'pinocle'! !" Pick one thing you like about this chapter, or, if nothing comes off of the top of your head, one thing you think I can improve on. Heck, just pick a character and tell me what you liked/didn't like about their actions in the chapter. If I could just get a fraction more of the people who read to actually review, 400 will just blow right on by…)_

_(Oh, by the way, angsty Komui/Gracia 'fluff' next chapter. *evil cackle* And then for a few more chapters after that… Oh, so much angsty, steamy, skin-to-skin fluff! ! Get your imaginations and wet washcloths/brandies/cigarettes ready~!)_


	79. Protocol Stasis Recording: File IV

d_^ . ^_b Congratulations, everyone, we did it~! Ten reviews in one chapter (the highest number of reviews this story has ever gotten for a chapter), and the review count is now at 403~!

A special thanks to my 400th reviewer, **TheRandomGirl**~!

Others I would like to thank are: **EmpressSaix**, **mebo1**, **karina001**, **Serendipital**, **Inuyoshie**, **Ryo Hoshi**, **SuperYuuki**, **Funo-chan**, and **MikaUchiha666**.

For the support you gave me in the last chapter, a special treat for the ten of you:

_Eh ceq lrybdanc, Gracia yht Komui vehymmo naylr dra haqd cdyka uv draen namydeuhcreb~!_

XD I wonder how many of you will actually be able to figure this out…

Well, in the meantime, enjoy the beginning of a very special arc dedicated to _fluuuuuff_. *snerk* You fanservice nerds should appreciate this~. ^ . ^

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia had absolutely no idea what Lorelei had said to Mathilda.

None whatsoever.

And, considering what Lenalee had told her about Lorelei's last debate with Mathilda (the one about Gracia rejoining the Order), she was far more than certain she didn't want to know.

Whatever it had been though… it must have been utterly brilliant, because after a mere four hours in Komui's office, Lorelei walked out with a wide, triumphant grin, dark circles under her eyes and her cheeks still red from the strain of screaming but everything about her posture expressing victory.

Back in Komui's office, the phone she had argued over her mother on was completely destroyed.

"I'm in!" Lorelei beamed. She then glanced at Christopher stonily, "But _you_ have to go back to Nalbina and sit in on my lessons for me. Even the lady lessons."

While Lorelei had skipped off happily, chirping something about 'celebration champagne,' Lavi had turned to Christopher and quirked a brow, "Are you really going to let her walk all over you like that? You two aren't even married yet; you start being submissive now, kid, you're going to be a woman by the time you're twenty."

"My fiancée is fucking scary." Christopher croaked with slightly widened eyes before he turned and trotted after Lorelei dutifully.

While Lavi found this amusing to no end, Gracia sighed softly and pinched the bridge of her nose.

No. She wasn't going to delve any deeper into this.

Whatever Lorelei had said to Mathilda had been said (and, frankly, Gracia was more than slightly sure the issue hadn't been settled fully).

Gracia had no intention of helping Lorelei stay in the Order, so if Lorelei and Mathilda were going to fight about it again later, it was none of her business.

She hadn't rested properly since coming back from Golomore.

She was exhausted.

For the first time in a while, she wanted to lie in bed, curl up with her electric blanket, and not wake up for a few days.

Leaving Lavi, Allen, Lenalee and the other members of the new Exorcist generation (save Kanda) to go after Lorelei and congratulate her (while she was no longer mad at Lorelei, Gracia was still nowhere near condoning any of this), Gracia slipped off down the hall and started to head back to her bedroom.

Not Komui's. Hers.

Because Brigitte was already grabbing Komui's ear and dragging him back into his now free office, meaning she would actually have some alone time.

And the timing… was perfect… because the weather was overcast and the air was chilly with the promise of a freezing winter rain. Perfect conditions for hibernating…

Ignoring the pleading cries Komui bawled out after her, Gracia navigated the hallways with increasing slowness, Sleep fogging her mind at the familiar prospect of a good, long nap…

In her room, she sleepily switched the electric blanket on and took off her shoes, not bothering to remover he overcoat or take her hair down before she crawled beneath the blankets.

Sleep was warm around her wrist, but only just, and not enough to actually put her to sleep.

So Gracia was stuck conscious… And, now that she had time to relax, she was stuck thinking about the last truly pertinent conversation she had had before the mission in Golomore had ended…

The one she'd had with Christopher about how important physical intimacy was to normal people in normal relationships.

…Now that Gracia had sworn over Vincent's grave and promised herself that she would stop comparing their relationship to the one she had with Komui, a large chuck of the reasons she'd had for not being intimate with Komui no longer applied.

Retroactively speaking, she wasn't a noble anymore (not that she'd actually acted like one in recent years, anyway), thus she had no reason to keep using her upbringing as an excuse.

Unlike things had been with Vincent, Gracia was certain she cared deeply for Komui, and when they did interact on an intimate level it wasn't with the intention to procreate (not that she could anymore), but rather for the enjoyment and bonding aspects of the activities.

Basically… refraining for the sake of propriety was no longer necessary.

So really… the only thing holding them back… was her…

…And that wasn't very fair to Komui, was it?

Because Komui had been making it so blatantly obvious that he wanted more than kissing, more than cuddling, more than the occasional heavy make out sessions he managed to catch her off-guard with…

Yes, she was the female in the relationship, thus no one would really say anything to her about being selfish, but…

…Relationships weren't for the sake of one.

It was a mutual understanding between two people. It was meeting halfway without needing to be asked to, without it even needing to be hinted that the meeting had to occur in the first place. It was stepping out of your own comfort zone to make the other happy, especially when times were hard or the other needed to be cut a break…

It was doing… damned well near whatever it took to make the other genuinely happy…

…At least… that was what all of those stupid romance books that had never really garnered her interest had said…

…For some reason… as long as she kept Komui in mind… they didn't seem as stupid as they once had.

She was awake, now.

Awake… and feeling like… she had something she needed to do…

…

…

Gracia stood slowly and walked over to her dresser, sliding one of the drawers open and looking at the contents. She slipped a hand inside and shifted through the alternating silky, cottony, satiny things inside…

…Whatever it took, huh…?

Gracia… settled on one article of clothing in particular, carrying it into the bathroom and starting to get undressed.

* * *

Later that night, after Brigitte had dismissed him after a "hard day's work" (more like six solid hours of slave driving), Komui slunk back to his room, pausing and blinking when he opened the door… and saw that Gracia wasn't there.

He pouted.

Sure, he hadn't asked her to be there or anything, but he thought that after being away for a bit on a mission she'd actually… _want_ to spend the night with him.

…Well, fine. If she wouldn't do it voluntarily, he'd impose his presence on her yet again.

Grinning his evil little Komui grin, he cackled and dashed into his bathroom, determined to take a quick shower, put on clean clothes, make sure he didn't have coffee breath… She could probably find various reasons to kick him out of her bed.

But he wasn't going to let her do that.

Not tonight.

No… After everything that had happened, tonight he definitely wanted to stay by her side, no matter how much she whined, kicked him and called him names.

Showered, in his pajamas and slippers, with his hair limp and a ridiculous sleeping cap in place of his beret and giggling to himself maniacally as he planned, Komui slipped out of his bedroom and dashed down the hall, getting the… look on his face he gets when he thinks up a new Komlin concept.

When Komui reached Gracia's bedroom, though… he found himself miffed once more.

Her blankets were pulled and twisted from obvious use, but she wasn't in bed…

When a noise came from the bathroom, Komui relaxed and closed the door, walking over and jerking the blankets straight before making himself comfortable on her bed. Oooo, she had the electric blanket on… Good choice; it was cold outside.

Kicking off his slippers and adjusting the pillows, Komui stretched luxuriously and grinned, crossing his arms behind his head and staring at the bathroom door.

…Would she come out naked? Komui cackled.

His smugness… planning… and general train of thought… it all slipped through his fingers when Gracia opened the bathroom door, shutting off the light inside almost immediately after.

Komui sat silently on the bed, his wide eyes staring at where he had last seen her silhouette through the darkness. Even though it was now almost completely impossible to see… the image was still burned into his mind.

Her hair looked slightly messy, but purposefully so, as if she'd deliberately brushed it only to run her fingers through it the wrong way to give it body… She was completely awake and fully aware of the fact that he was there, her eyes having been staring right into his before she'd turned the light off… Her body… she wasn't as covered as she usually was; arms from the shoulders down bare, a plunging neckline, legs…

The hem… ended… at her midthigh…

…He couldn't even remember what the color was; all he knew was it had seemed to make her auburn hair even redder.

It felt like he sat there for an eternity, alone in the dark, with her, presumably, somewhere in front of him…

Part of him wanted to say her name, but his throat was dry.

Not to mention his heartbeat was a bit loud in his ears… as was the static…

When he felt the end of the bed dip slightly, Komui jolted, heat building up in his neck before it slowly moving upward as he felt (and vaguely saw) a dark form crawl up the bed and over him, limbs and palms brushing his legs before she sat on his lap.

Komui felt his heart in the back of his throat when Gracia cupped his face and pulled him up against her chest, her lips brushing his lightly before she tightened her hold on him and kissed him harshly right after.

His hands twitched uselessly at his sides as her mouth continued ravishing his, her fingers combing through his hair roughly (pushing his cap away) and her nails digging into his scalp as she raped his mouth with her tongue. After he'd (somewhat) gotten over the initial shock, though, Komui's hands flew up and clutched at her back, the slick material of the garment she was wearing sliding through and around his fingers like water.

And, even when he started to respond, he was still too stunned to find the strength to retaliate to her complete _ferocity_; he was being dominated, thoroughly.

Komui shuddered, almost missing the unwitting noise the crawled up the back of his throat when her hands left his hair to drag down his chest, her fingers fumbling with the buttons of his nightshirt as soon as she felt them.

His shirt was jerked open and pushed down his shoulders slightly, her mouth never leaving his or ceasing its actions, and then her hands were on his torso again, fingers splayed and palming his pectorals before sliding down and feeling along his stomach gently before she gripped at both sides of his waist, pushing her chest to his and forcing him to tip his head back as she sought more control.

Komui didn't get a chance to breathe until she pulled away from him suddenly and smashed his face into her chest, her fingers scraping against his back as she fought to get his shirt unstuck from between his body and the pillows he was leaning against. He panted harshly into her cleavage, his eyes wider than ever, his glasses pressed against his face uncomfortably and his cheeks getting slick with the fine sheen of sweat that covered what of her breasts was exposed by the neckline of her garment.

As… rough… sudden… shocking… borderline terrifying as it was… his body was still on _fire_, his lips throbbing and already swelling, his chest and back breaking out in goosebumps wherever her fingers brushed/scraped/dug in, the tension in his groin – dear _God_, his groin – getting hotter and tighter every time her hips shifted against his.

Then, his shirt was gone and she was pressing him back against the pillows, somehow managing to pin him with her significantly smaller body (and tossing his glasses aside carelessly, he absently noticed) as she started kissing him again.

Komui, whose earlier gripping had been derailed when she'd shoved his face into her chest, went in again to grab at something, anything, because he needed to do something with his hands in order to be able to focus…

Her hips. Shit, he had her hips in his hands. He had her hips in his hands and he could feel skin.

With the position she was in, her form straddling his so she was nearly kneeling over him but their bodies still pressed together tightly, the hem of the garment she was wearing had ridden up, _baring her thighs_.

Bare hips.

In his hands.

Garment riding up.

Garment, garment, garment, _garment_… he didn't know what else to call it. Garment: a piece of clothing. It was just that; a piece. For someone like Gracia, there should have been _so_ much more to it…

But there wasn't.

And it was riding up, and he had her hips in his hands, and her thighs were bare and straddling his hips…

And when she _purposefully_ ground against the growing… reaction… in his pajamas, Komui couldn't take it anymore; he rolled over swiftly and pinned Gracia to the bed, panting as soon as he pulled back and staring down at her in shock.

Her face was blurry without his glasses, but he could see her looking back up at him, panting like he was but her face unreadable…

"…G-Gracia…?" Komui stuttered softly, "D-Did you… Did you drink something from my room again…?"

She shook her head slowly after a moment.

"Th… Then what…" He stopped, remembering that she couldn't talk. But… they couldn't drop it… and they couldn't well _continue_… as much as he wanted to… b-because something wasn't… "…I have to work _hard_ to get you to do things that aren't even fractionally this racy…" Komui muttered after a moment, slowly starting to panic now that what _Gracia_ had _initiated_ hit him fully, "And then… then you just… out of nowhere… I… I don't…"

Gracia remained silent.

"…D-Did something _happen_? Did you hit your head or something…?"

In an instant, Gracia had stiffened and turned away from him, pulling away and sliding under the blankets where she curled up tightly, refusing to look at him.

Komui stared at her in shock, then felt around on the bed until he found his glasses, slipping them back on and studying her closely.

Thoroughly.

Gracia was still curled up tightly, facing away from him and hugging the sheets close to her body, as if they weren't enough coverage. She had a blush on her face that settled in a thick, crimson band across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, and her lips were pressed into a thin, grimace-like line.

The way she kept shifting underneath the blankets, trying to pull them even closer, her body language…

_Did you hit your head or something?_

…Shit. She was ashamed of herself. He'd said the wrong thing in the wrong way at the wrong time during activities _she_ had summoned the courage to initiate, and now she was ashamed of herself.

Oh, he had to salvage this… quickly.

"Don't be like that…" Komui sighed softly, lying down slightly so that when he reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist it wasn't awkward, "I'm just… worried… You can't have thought that you would suddenly be able to do something like that without me having my questions, right? Even you know how… way out there that was for your character… I'm not saying it was bad, and I'm not saying that we have to stop, but I really would like to know what started it…" He paused, then pulled her back against him, "I thought you wanted to wait. It's not like you to… change your mind about something like that."

Again, though, she couldn't answer him… Komui sighed again, thinking.

What had happened recently…

…She'd gone to Golomore. From Kanda's report, she'd visited Vincent's grave.

While that automatically leapt up on his list of suspicious circumstances, it didn't stay up long; there was absolutely no way visiting the grave of a husband she hated would change Gracia's attitude about physical intimacy.

Near death experience resulting in a 'live in the moment' mindset?

Again, no; beyond the fact that she'd come close to dying before, Gracia was far too lazy for anything to make her adopt the idea of 'live in the moment.'

Partners were Kanda and Allen… Nothing to worry about there…

Lorelei and Christopher had—

Komui blinked.

Wait… Lorelei and Christopher were engaged, and Lorelei had always been extremely forward in how she talked to Gracia… It wouldn't have been so far out there to think that sex might have slipped into the conversation, especially considering how openly ecstatic Lorelei was about Gracia's relationship with Komui…

And a sex talk… between nobles…

Nobles believed in no sex until marriage, and while Gracia was a noble, Komui wasn't…

…Oh, hell…

Like Gracia would have thought of this on her own; she'd only been in one relationship, intimacy had only been for procreation, and, from what he'd gleaned, it hadn't been pleasant. Sex _definitely_ wasn't a priority for her, both by breeding and by her own developed mindset.

But what nobles must have said to Gracia, who was in a relationship with a _commoner_ (who were "notoriously loose," if the conversations Komui had heard from nobles in the social situations he'd been required to go to as part of his station were any indication)… Not to mention what Komui, himself, had been hinting to recently…

Hell… She was forcing herself for him.

Komui cringed and pinched the bridge of his nose, pulling away from her slightly.

She'd put that short slip on, waited for him to come to her room, made sure he was in her bed, and then proceeded to act entirely out of character and molest him because she was trying to make him happy.

Damn.

This was not what he had meant when he had planned on getting her to jump him.

"…Gracia…" When he reached for her again, he regretted pulling away in the first place; she flinched and curled up into an even tighter ball.

Komui paused, thinking carefully.

Then, he laid his hand out along his body and just pressed his chest against her back, scooting close and curling around her slightly.

What should he say, what should he say…

…What do you say to someone who's trying to force themselves to be sexually liberated when they've only had one partner (that they hadn't really cared for)?

…Well… for starters…

"…If you want to enjoy it, you shouldn't start out like that."

That violent approach wasn't something she would have been able to plan out on her own. Some of that was obviously Vincent's fault (which pissed Komui off more than a little).

When Gracia didn't pull away from him, he sighed and pressed his mouth to her hair, going on, "Some might… appreciate that approach… but it's pointless if you don't like it, as well. Besides… we both like it so much better when I start…"

Gracia tensed against him but didn't struggle as Komui nuzzled her hair aside, lips brushing along her neck, just below her ear.

Tentatively, he reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist again, immediately tightening his grip on her when she didn't protest. Komui then slipped his hand under the comforter, running his palm down her body slowly and feeling her through the slip.

Gracia's chest heaved beneath his hand, her stomach shuddering as his hand continued trailing down, easing her body into straightening out slightly.

Even as she shook against him, Komui kept calm, staring down at the side of her face softly as he pulled the hem of her slip up slightly, observing her widening eyes and the bit of color her face lost.

The moment his thumb brushed across the band of her underwear, Gracia cringed and ground her teeth, clamping her eyes shut and curling in on herself tightly once more.

Komui stared at her sadly. "…This aspect of the relationship… isn't about meeting halfway." When she twitched against him, Komui got the feeling he'd hit a mark. "Both sides have to be completely ready, and on their own terms. I'm not going to let you force yourself to do something you're not ready for…"

Gracia bit her lip and squeezed her eyes tightly shut, some scant wetness leaking out.

Komui wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close, kissing her temple, "I—" '–_love you–_' "—care for you… a great deal. And… when it finally does happen… you're going to want it as much as I do."

Gracia turned towards Komui and pressed her face deep into his chest, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

Komui sighed and hugged back, closing his eyes and burying his face in her hair. He then grinned deviously.

"You can keep that skimpy slip on, though."

Gracia twitched and dug her fingers into his back, kneeing his thigh.

Komui cringed and whined loudly, but when he felt her face heat up hotly against his chest, he was grinning again.

Tension broken.


	80. PSR HPPD Flashback: Record Maintenance

XD Alright, before I start the story, I gotta give some props to two smarticle people:

**Inuyoshie** and **TwiDawnLight**

Why do they get props? Because they decoded the message I left in the last chapter; **Inu** with her mad cryptology skillz (and no knowledge of the video game series that that language comes from) and **Twi** with her knowledge of said video game and her Bhedian nerd-ness.

Alla ya, bow before these two, for they be awesome in their own similar but different ways.

Also, because I can't very well post a chapter the day after the release of a certain long-awaited chapter and not say anything…

HOLY FREAKIN' SON OF A CHAIN SMOKING FURBY, KANDA YU IS BACK! ! NOT EVEN HEIWAJIMA SHIZUO COULD STAND UP TO ME WHILE I'M ON THIS ELATION HIGH! !

…ah… there goes the high. and now i'm tired. goodnight. (not really, but maybe a nap…)

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"…Gracia…" Lenalee murmured, looking over the older woman's shoulder with a disturbed expression, "Brother is… staring at you again…"

Oh… So that's what that uncomfortable feeling had been. 'Ignore him.' Gracia mouthed soundlessly, still unable to speak, before she went back to her turkey-filled meat pie.

"Okay, but… it's getting creepy…" Lenalee frowned deeply. When _she_ was verbally confirming that her brother was being creepy, it was _bad_.

After they finished their lunches, Gracia and Lenalee went for a walk, Gracia showing Lenalee a few of the hidden corridors that had previously been used by the servants, the maintenance (and only) entrance to a small, enclosed garden in the back of the building (put there purely for aesthetic purposes), her father's private library…

Along the way, they gained a few members; Allen was interested in the corridors (probably so he could have new ways to avoid Link [who was _right there with him_ at the time]), Kanda wanted to know how to get into the garden (probably so he could hide), and Lavi wanted to see the library (up until then, the door had been locked, and the books were just calling out to him).

And every. Last. One of them. Noticed. Komui. Immediately.

"…He's got a sort of… perverted look on his face…" Allen mumbled, trying really hard not to look back at Komui again. He already knew he was gonna have nightmares after the first peek… "And he almost looks… hungry…" He'd seen a similar, but so much darker, look on his Master's face so many times…

"Somethin' happen between you two?" Lavi asked Gracia, glancing at her and quirking a brow.

Gracia twitched and didn't acknowledge him, but felt her face get hot as if to spite her.

Even if Komui didn't realize it, he was only making things worse; she could practically _feel_ him undressing her with his eyes and putting her back in that chemise, and it just kept reminding her that, as much as he'd apparently appreciated it, he'd _rejected_ her. And ungracefully, at that.

_Did you hit your head or something?_

Was she that bad at being… provocative?

…Probably.

She had never, ever, ever, ever tried to be… _sexy_ before… So the only thing she'd thought of doing was being dominating and violent (contrary to Komui's belief [not that Gracia knew Komui's thoughts on the matter], it wasn't Vincent who had implanted that idea in her head. it had been Rhea).

And Komui had thought she'd hit her head.

To hell with it. She would never try to be sexy for him again.

"Whoa, dark aura." Lavi suddenly stepped away from her, holding up his hands, "Allen, have you been rubbing your Noah aura all over Gracia?"

"Why do you keep assuming that whenever someone gets angry? ! You were _just_ asking her about Komui; maybe she's mad at him!"

"Whoa, _Moyashi_, no need to get so—"

"Walker, have you been _touching_ others while under the influence of the Fourteenth? !"

"…And that, Lavi, is why I'm touchy about it. And don't call me that!"

"Ara, sorry, Allen. And really, Linky, you definitely would have noticed something like that by now with your eagle eyes."

"I can see your teasing through the plastic flattery, Bookman."

"Really, you guys, please stop… We were all getting along so well…"

"Sorry, Lena. I was just trying to make Grace and Allen feel better… You know how glum they've been lately."

As the teens behind her slowed to talk, Gracia continued walking, Kanda being the only one who kept up with her due to his refusal to participate in the banter.

It was only when Gracia stopped walking that Kanda paused, glancing back at her.

Gracia pressed a hand to her forehead, staring at the ground thoughtfully. Where else in the house had she not been to since coming back…?

…Her father's laboratory…

…But did she really want to go there when Komui was _still_ freaking stalking her?

…Well… it might get him to stop looking at her like she was walking around nude.

Gracia looked up at Kanda, shrugging slightly in acknowledgement of his barely offered frown before she tipped her head slightly.

Behind them, the four teens watched silently as Kanda nodded, both he and Gracia suddenly changing course and going down a new hall.

"…How in the _hell _does she do that? !" Lavi pouted, dashing after them, "Yu! ! Why aren't you and I that close? !"

"We've been over this, _Baka Usagi_," Kanda hissed venomously without looking back, "She _pays attention_! ! And—" Kanda whipped around in a flash, Lavi barely jumping back as Kanda swung his leg around, the older teen's foot getting buried in the wall, "_Don't call me that._"

"Kanda, not the walls…!" Gracia whined slightly in a very, very hoarse voice back at him, scowling, "They're paneled! That whole damned section will have to be replaced now!" As soon as she was done talking, she cringed and closed her eyes, rubbing her bandaged neck as her eyes watered out of pain.

Kanda scowled, a look flashing across his face briefly before he huffed and jerked his foot out of the wall, slapping his leg quickly to dust it off before walking after her again.

Gracia frowned at him, then sighed and shook her head when he gave her a glance that, in an alternate universe, could have been considered sullen. She then resumed walking, ignoring the petulant aura she could feel way, waay behind them…

_Komui_…

Gracia led them through another narrow, hidden passageway that had been concealed behind a tapestry, though this one, unlike the others, angled straight down into a staircase.

She pressed her hand against the wall, shuddering as the familiar feel of the worn, soft carpet was the only thing she was aware of as they were quickly doused in darkness.

"Uhh… Gracia?" Lavi called out to her after they had been descending into nothing but black for two minutes, "Where are w—"

Suddenly, the narrow passage was filled with the sound of several loud clicks, and Gracia glanced back as the motion sensors flicked the lights on, smiling amusedly when she saw all of the teens were now on edge, Kanda and Lavi both with their Innocence out.

Gracia then turned to face the large, metal door right in front of her, at the end of the staircase, reaching out and fiddling with the giant dials of the combination lock that had been built into the door, itself.

Nostalgia washed over her mind, and she found she remembered the combination better than she did her own birthday, age, height and weight…

The teens behind her were silent as the door clicked, and Gracia pressed both of her palms against it and pushed. When it didn't budge, she frowned. Her father had made sure that the door was always well-kept so she would be able to open it easily… Once the combination was entered, it should have practically swung open.

"Here, Gracia," Lavi's voice suddenly got closer, "I'll—"

Gracia stepped back slightly and clenched her hands at her sides, bracing herself as she lifted her leg and slammed it forward, the bottom of her thick boot ramming the metal loudly. The door shrieked briefly, then swung open as easily as it once had once the initial rust issue on the joints had been passed.

The room on the other side was even darker than the corridor staircase… Nothing but inky black.

Still swimming in nostalgia and confident because of it, Gracia stepped into the blackness and reached out to the immediate right, her fingers wrapping around the handle of the knife switch that she knew was waiting right there. Then, with some effort, she threw the switch upward.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw several jaws drop as the _expansive_ room light up noisily, the large halogen lights overhead humming as they took their time brightening fully after having been left alone for so long.

The large, cement room was full of echoes as dozens of footsteps followed Gracia into the room, her nostalgia reaching its peek as she looked around at the walls lined nearly up to the ceiling with industrial shelves full of experiments, raw material, tools…

The center of the room had six different U-shaped workstations, each one featuring the six final projects her father had been working on; Mathilda didn't know the combination to the room, and Gracia had never touched anything after her father had died, so it had all sat there, gathering dust and rusting…

And, on the far wall was a large, grid-like computer screen displaying all of the different floor plans of Barheim, one for each floor.

"…Holy shit…" Lavi gapped, "I thought you said your dad _tinkered_!"

Gracia turned to him slightly and shrugged, using her hands to mime an explosion; had any of her father's experiments actually been successful, she would have been able to call it more than tinkering. Having a lab and lots of power tools didn't make a person a mechanist.

She then stood back and watched the teens spread out across the room, all of them finding something to ogle.

"Oi, is this the prototype of the first cordless, portable talisman? ! _Your_ dad was the one who proposed the idea? !"

"O-Oh, Allen, look! It looks like it might be one of those talisman-equipped golems Headquarters was considering a few years back!"

"Considering?"

"Well… they all kinda… blew up…"

"I see… I-Is that a forklift? ! How did he get _that_ down _here_? !"

"Walker, don't touch!"

Kanda stood quietly in front of the giant computer screen, his eyes darting across the detailed floor plans.

"…The fuck is this…?" Kanda muttered as Gracia walked up to stand beside him.

She paused, then sighed and shook her head, pressing a hand to her throat. It was too complicated to explain without words.

Movement from back by the door made Gracia glanced back, and she felt a flash of triumph when she saw Komui shuffling his way into the room and looking around with wide eyes.

Ha. She knew she'd get him to come out…

"Holy…" Komui gapped, looking around in shock that slowly melted to wonder as he stumbled around a bit, "I knew Silas had done some tinkering in the past to try to help out the Order, but… B-But this…" Komui's eyes got wide and sparkly, looking like he was on the verge of… letting out a girly squeal and hugging the nearest gadget. He then turned to Gracia, going back to being stunned as he whispered dramatically, "You must be a skilled mechanist, too…"

Gracia blinked vapidly.

Skilled mechanist? Simply because she'd passed her dad a few tools while he'd fiddled with some glorified toasters?

Slowly, Gracia's stare at Komui flattened and she pointed to the walls.

Komui (along with the teens, who had started listening in curiously), looked over, eyes widening and then flinching at what Gracia was pointing to.

Scorch marks.

Bits of wall blown away by past explosions.

Even entire, eight-foot-long, clean, deep gashes, as if the stone had been cut by a giant sword.

Silas? A skilled mechanist?

"Lord Silas was a mechanist of questionable skill, at best." Renault suddenly walked into the room, his face void of emotion as always when attention shifted to him, "The only experiment he ever performed that didn't blow up in his face was that," He pointed to the giant computer Kanda had been staring at, "And that experiment only proved he was more skilled at computer programming."

"…Well, what _is_ that?" Komui asked with peeked interest, looking between Gracia, Renault and the computer with wide, child-like eyes.

Renault glanced at Gracia, who turned and stared at the computer for a moment.

Did she even remember how to run the program…?

…

Gracia walked over to the keyboard at the base of the giant screen, staring at it for a moment before reaching out and pressing a button.

Above her, the monitor clicked loudly and started to glow, and with the affirmation that she'd done something right, Gracia began typing.

…The key's felt so much smaller than they had when she was a child…

Pausing after she'd finished the code, right before hitting the Enter key to execute the command, she looked up at the screen.

_Initiate building-wide talisman barrier?_

The room was engulfed in silence.

"…Your father…" Komui started slowly after a moment, "Actually managed… to design a talisman system large enough to encompass an entire building…? _This building_?"

"Actually, the Little Mistress had to help with that." Renault's voice sighed, "After he tried to bug the entire house and nearly burned it down, she forced him to go through the proper steps to see how far away each separate conduit had to be so nothing overheated when the electricity overloaded." Renault paused, then asked, "Why do you think Lady Mathilda gave the Black Order this building as soon as she heard you had her daughter?"

"…She gave us this building… knowing it had the talismans… because of Gracia?"

Gracia continued staring up at the question on the screen, starting to feel a bit… upset…

"Of course she did. This project… was one of the few Lady Mathilda approved of them both working on together."

It was also the last one she and her father had worked on together before he died.

With a level of anger that shocked even her, Gracia shut the program down and turned, keeping her head lowered as she quickly walked out of the room.

It wasn't anyone's fault… She was the one who had led them all to the laboratory, after all. She just didn't want to be there anymore, not now that she was dwelling again.

She hated dwelling.

She missed the days when she couldn't dwell because she didn't remember enough to dwell.

Gracia frowned as she walked up the steps and back into the hall, realizing that she actually… genuinely hated something.

…It was a first; yes, there were things that annoyed her… things that made her angry… but things she hated…?

Gracia blanked her mind completely and continued walking, knowing exactly where she was headed. When she walked into her parent's old bedroom, she headed straight for what had been her father's side of the bed and laid down, dust automatically coating her.

She didn't care, though.

For the first time… in a long time… she found herself missing her father.

Looking back now, she knew the man had had difficulties loving her, if he actually had at all… He was from a long line of emotionally distant people and his wife was domineering and borderline abusive. Of course he… would have felt awkward for actually caring about her.

But he had gone out of his way on numerous occasions to protect her. And after he had died… her life had become miserable. Even if her child self had misinterpreted his affections, he had played a major part in molding what her understanding of parental love was.

…Or, at least, what it was supposed to be.

…Why had she gone to the laboratory…? She should have just left it shut…

"Hey… Lift your head."

Gracia complied without thinking, blinking her eyes open when someone set their hand on her head after a moment and made her lay it back down. She felt her face heat when she realized her head was now resting on Komui's lap.

She shuddered and bit her lip when he started to slowly rake his fingers through her hair, his nails razing her scalp and making her skin prickle from her neck down.

"…Why didn't you tell me you could program computers?" Komui had a slight pout in his voice, "You probably could have gone over the programming I did for all of my Komlin and saved me from so much trouble!"

Gracia didn't answer… or even move… She didn't feel like—

"…Not up for teasing?" Komui guessed softly, still dragging his fingers through her hair.

Still not able to talk, Gracia sighed in response. He really was… good at reading her…

"…Would you mind showing me how to start up the building talisman system later?"

Gracia immediately shook her head, not even really needing to think about it. She should have shown it to him sooner… She should have _thought_ about it sooner, really, but it was, had always been, hard for her to remember to think about things if they didn't come up.

"…Would you mind if I looked at some of the other gadgets in your father's laboratory?"

Gracia shook her head again. Unlike Komui, Silas had always tried to work on _practical_ things that would help the Order. Of course, knowing Komui he'd find a way to work a robot into it…

"…Would you mind wearing that lingerie to bed again tonight?"

Gracia didn't even really hear his question, too busy thinking about the myriad of robots Komui could create out of all of her father's old toys. She only knew he asked her a question, and considering the previous questions he'd asked had been ones pertaining to her allowing him to do things she would have let him do, anyway, she started to shake her head again…

…And then processed the question.

Gracia sat up quickly, her head spinning at the rush of blood (both from moving too quickly after lying down and from the dark blush that was probably dyeing her face crimson) and her ears ringing for it.

It didn't stop her from punching his side, though.

Komui flinched and chuckled, grabbing her wrist when she went to punch him again. He pulled her close, his other hand pressing against her lower back and moving her into straddling one of his legs.

"Fixed your depression." Komui pointed out brightly, his lips parting in a cheeky smile. Gracia scowled at him, and he giggled and let go of her wrist, cupping her jaw and pressing their lips together chastely.

She tried to stay mad at him, but… when he nibbled on her lip, she got a bit distracted and relaxed, letting out a soft, embarrassed noise and kissing back.

He'd pay later…


	81. Protocol Stasis Recording: File V

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"So you'll be going back to Nalbina rather than your parent's house?" Lenalee blinked at Christopher, spooning some sugar into her hot cereal.

"Yeah…" Christopher smiled weakly, adjusting his glasses, "Since Lorelei won't be around to learn her lessons, Lady Mathilda has me sitting in on them and taking notes…"

Lorelei glanced at him, smiling amusedly, "Even my lady etiquette class?"

Christopher lowered his head and drooped, his cheeks turning red.

"Aww, I'm sorry, Chris…" Lorelei giggled, reaching out and ruffling his hair.

Lenalee watched them fondly. Even if the idea of arranged marriages didn't exactly… sit right with her, it was obvious the two younger teens in front of her cared for one another…

"Sorry I can't send you back using the Ark…" Allen smiled at Christopher sheepishly, "I haven't been to Nalbina… You'll be stuck here until transportation's been arranged."

"Oh, it's fine." Christopher smiled back with a similar expression, "The longer I'm not in Nalbina, the longer I'm not learning feminine speech…"

Lorelei snorted her amusement, going back to reading the book in her hand and drinking from a glass of orange juice.

"…Lorelei, are you reading those erotic novels again? !" Christopher squeaked.

The other conversations at the table ceased (a few people snorting into their breakfast drinks), and when Gracia slowly looked up from her cold cereal, Lorelei was getting incredulous, red-faced looks. Even Kanda had looked up from his soba and was staring at her, his eyebrow twitching.

"Mm-hmm…" Lorelei hummed distractedly, turning the page with one finger while still sipping at her juice.

Christopher blushed darkly when he realized people were staring at them, lowering his voice and hissing, "Lady Mathilda took your collection away and burned them! Why do you keep buying new ones? !"

"They're thought-provoking." Lorelei answered bluntly, "You'll thank me later."

A wide-eyed, mortified, vulnerable look crossed her fiancé's face, Christopher lowering his head and covering his expression with his hands. Beside him, Lenalee gave him a consoling pat, her own face red and her eyes diverted away from the book.

Lavi lowered his head, grinning and covering his mouth, and slapping Allen on the back when the boy gapped at Lorelei, his mouth moving wordlessly.

Kanda's eyebrow twitched and he threw Gracia a poisonous look.

Gracia sighed in acknowledgement of the silent command, reaching out and pointedly jerking the book out of Lorelei's hand.

Lorelei blinked, then looked over at Gracia with a pout, whining, "Hey!"

"I don't give a damn what you read in the privacy of your own room." Gracia said flatly, shoving the book into one of her large jacket pockets, "But you will not read this filth at the breakfast table."

"Oh, come on!" Lorelei groaned, rolling her eyes, "It's not like I'm putting the acts, themselves, into practice; right now I'm just plotting out scenarios! It's good stuff! I mean…" She paused, then grinned at her sister slyly, "Komui liked that slinky chemise I left in your room, didn't he?"

Lenalee's eyes widened and she started choking on her bagel.

Gracia's eyes widened, the color first draining from her face, then coming back violently as she barked/squeaked, "You're the one who put that in my underwear drawer? !"

"Yeah…" Lorelei's grin widened and she leaned forward, "Did he like the color? Whereabout did it fall on your hips, because I could totally get you something shorter. Oh, and was the grade of the material okay? Thread count pretty high?"

Gracia ground her teeth and stood, picking up a glass of water and moving to throw it in her sister's face.

Before the water left the glass, though, Lorelei reached out and touched the rim, the glass and its contents freezing over.

The two sisters met one another's eyes heatedly for a moment, then Gracia turned and started to storm away.

"I'm only doing it because I love you!" Lorelei called after her.

…How? How in the _hell_ did that work? ! What made her sister _think_ that putting that slip in her drawer would _help_ her in any way? ! Because of that damned chemise, she had made an idiot out of herself in front of Komui! !

Sleep flashed hotly around her wrist, making Gracia slow and calm.

She stumbled slightly, her breathing getting heavier and her heart rate calming.

…Alright, no… What she'd done after she'd put it on… wasn't Lorelei's fault… What she'd done after… even putting in on in the first place… it had all been by her own decision.

Her own… inexperienced decision…

…Inexperienced…

…Gracia slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out the romance novel, looking down at the title.

_Sunset in the Virgin Islands_.

Gracia's brow twitched slightly.

…She had a feeling she was going to regret this decision, too…

* * *

"…I'm… not sure how I'm supposed to look at you anymore…" Allen admitted to Lorelei, who was nonchalantly eating a jelly-filled pastry (one of several dozen she had on a plate in front of her, only she didn't inhale her food like Allen).

Lorelei quirked a brow at him, tipping her head innocently, "What did I do?"

"Th-That book!" Allen gapped at her, "Reading it at the table! At _breakfast_! !"

"Oh, that?" Lorelei smiled, "I wasn't reading it. That wasn't even my book. That was all planned."

"…B-But… what you said… to Christopher…"

Christopher lowered his head sheepishly, scratching his cheek.

"…A-And… you just got here… where did you get that…"

Lavi suddenly smirked.

Lorelei beamed at the incredulous looks Lenalee and Allen gave her, Lavi and Christopher, "I never would have been able to do it without Lavi's help, and Christopher was a nice touch, don't you think?"

"Lavi…" Lenalee glanced at the redhead with wide eyes, "You helped them with…" …Actually, it all made a bit more sense if you threw Lavi into it…

"What can I say?" Lavi shrugged, shaking his head, "Watching her stumble around the Supervisor's advances is painful."

"And as mad as Sister is at me…" Lorelei sighed, fingering the frozen glass in front of her, "I still want her to be happy…"

"…So you gave her an erotic romance novel?"

"…Well, I figured it would be a lot more educational than a pat on the back and a box of cond—"

"Too much information!" Allen cut her off, flushing and waving his hands.

Off to the side, Kanda glared at his soba angrily.

Goddamn it. He'd lost his appetite.

* * *

As soon as she'd finished the first chapter, Gracia set the book aside, lowered her flushed face into her hands, and tried to not die.

The chapter had started off so innocently… like a regular novel…

_How_ had they _gotten_ that _far_ in just _twelve pages_? ! Seriously! The woman was a blushing virgin who was terrified of sexual advances, but the author had _somehow_ managed to _seamlessly_ get the debonair male lead to get his hands up her skirt! !

And it was _plausible_! !

And the descriptions were… were so graphic… And they were just _innuendos_! They hadn't actually even _done_ anything yet!

But… still…

The woman's metal transformation was… relatable…

Gracia keened, digging her fingernails into her forehead…

…And then she picked the book up and started to read the first chapter again.

She wasn't analyzing… She wasn't _planning_ on analyzing the entire book carefully.

She wasn't! !

I-It was… just… an automatic reaction… She'd only ever read… educational books before… and she'd always been expected to… analyze them… and… yeah…

Just shy of admitting that she was actually trying to glean something from reading smut, Gracia turned the pages quickly and started reading the first sentence again.

Then, when she was finished with the first chapter, she went onto the second. And then, when she had finished the second chapter, she read the second chapter again. And, once she'd read the second chapter again, she read the first _and_ second chapters again.

Slowly… gradually… Gracia started to build a very intimate, thorough understanding of the text, to the point where… if someone were to try to talk to her about the first four chapters… she'd probably be able to keep up with the conversation.

In the fifth chapter, though, it all came crashing down: The moment she started reading the sex scene, she couldn't stop, unable to tear her eyes away, and as soon as the chapter was completed (poetic description of the woman's orgasm and all), Gracia threw the book aside and dove under the coffee table of her sitting area, covering her head and letting her long, uniform coat comfort her by draping over her body heavily.

She hid… from the book… Hid under her coffee table for she had no idea how long, acting like the book was a grenade about to go off.

And, as she hid, the mental visual that always forms when one reads a book was stuck on replay; the long, silky blonde hair of the book's main character cascading down behind her as she arched her spine and head clear off of the bed, the body of the strong, exotic native molding against hers as they—

Gracia whined, slamming her forehead against the floor.

This had been a bad idea.

A _terrible_ idea…

Gracia didn't realize that the door had opened and that someone had walked in until she heard Komui's confused voice, "_Sunset in the Virgin Islands_…? By Maria L.—…" He paused, then his voice got slightly amused, slightly curious, "Doesn't she write novelized soft porn?"

Gracia didn't answer, biting down on her lower lip so hard she tasted iron.

She then jumped and squeaked when Komui's sideways/upside down face appeared in front of her, Komui bending over and peeking at her with a grin on his face.

"You read smut?"

The pressure in her face from the intense blood rush to her head made her dizzy, and Gracia could barely grab the hood of her jacket and pull it over her face, twitching and cursing (words she'd learned from Kanda) at Komui's ensuing laughter.

Finally, Gracia just couldn't… take his teasing and prodding anymore…

…Not silently.

"…Last time I try to do anything for you…" She mumbled weakly.

Komui's laughter trailed off at that. After a moment of silence, she heard him sigh softly, "You're still trying to force yourself…?"

"…I would think this is more easing than forcing…"

"Oh? So, you plan on—" Komui paused, and there was the sound of pages ruffling before he cleared his throat and went on, "_—caressing his_— or rather, 'my,' —_oiled pectorals,_— You know, I actually don't think oil's very sexy at all, —_her timid gaze wandered down_— Okay, I can see you being timid… —_to watch the swelling of his_—" Thankfully, he cut himself off, staying silent for a moment, "…Hm… this description isn't plausible at all, really… He'd have to be on some sort of supplement—"

"Oh my god, shut up!" Gracia shrieked, her voice cracking (unused to the abuse) and her fingers digging into her head.

Another pause, then Komui chuckled, something papery fluttering and hitting the top of the coffee table before Gracia's arms were grabbed, Komui pulling her out from underneath the table and onto his lap as he sat in the chair behind himself.

Twitching and grinding her teeth at the contact and still fully effective embarrassment, Gracia crossed her arms and refused to look at Komui, unable to keep her face from getting redder when Komui wrapped his arms around her waist and made her fully straddle his lap.

"Aww, come on…" Komui had an exaggerated pout in his voice, "Don't ignore me…" He paused, then there was a smirk in his voice, "You'll make me do smutty things to get your attention again."

When she felt a hand cup one side of her rear and squeeze, Gracia's eyes widened and her head throbbed as all of her blood rushed to it again, her voice high and thin as she nearly incoherently shrieked Komui's name and slapped him.

…At least, she tried to slap him.

Gracia didn't really realize just how slow she was until Komui caught her wrist without looking, a cheeky, wide smile on his lips.

When her pulled her against his chest and kissed her, she couldn't help relaxing at the familiar action.

Komui ran his hand up and down her back slowly, soothingly, before letting go of her wrist and bringing both of his hands around, their mouths never parting as he slipped his hands into her coat through the front and up the back of her long tunic to palm her back.

Gracia shuddered and relaxed against him, letting out small, involuntary noises as his actions loosened the sash around her waist, making her clothes baggy and giving him more room to move his hands up and down her back before bringing them around to stroke first her stomach, then her chest.

Automatically, her back bowed back, trying to get her away from the attention, but Komui sighed into her mouth before wrapping his tongue around hers and gently drawing it into his mouth…

"Nnn… nnnnnn…" Gracia relaxed against him completely and closed her eyes, barely able to kiss back as her senses of touch and taste were absolutely… overloaded…

Coffee… he tasted like coffee… His coffee, at that, which he always drank black…

…She hated his coffee…

…But… there was something else there that made it… bearable…

…Was that bitter chocolate…?

Then, taste was pushed to the back of her mind as his hands found her chest again, and this time, with her eyes closed, she had no choice but to focus on the sensation entirely; goddamn, his fingers were long…

Her body just got progressively weaker and weaker as she was groped, her head eventually just falling onto his shoulder where she panted against his neck with almost uncomfortable heat, unable to do anything about the noises coming out of her mouth…

…Vaguely, vaguely, vaguely, she got the feeling that things were escalating more than Komui had meant for them to… Slowly, she could feel him starting to tremble beneath and against her, and it seemed like, all to quickly, the air between them was becoming quite _hot_…

Gracia let out an almost unconscious whimper when his hands left her chest to move down to her hips, where they latched on as h—

Had she any air in her lungs, what came out of her mouth as she threw her head back would have been a scream. Not that she would have heard it even if she had had any air in her lungs; her ears were ringing and she felt like she was going to pass out after that… _action_…

When she slowly melted back into coherence, the ringing starting to fade, her head was still tipped back and she was staring at the ceiling, gasping desperately. Komui had buried his face in her chest and was panting, though not as harshly as she was, and her hands were buried in his hair, fingernails digging into his scalp.

Below them, _between_ them, where they _connected_, Komui still had his hips canted up against hers, though the effect wasn't nearly as… blinding when there was no (_rough_) movement. And, hell, they were both still fully clothed…

And, even though it felt… so… arousing… something else was welling up… in her chest… making her panic… making her shake… making her… fea—

"…Stop… please…"

Who was talking?

Komui stiffened beneath her.

"S-Stop… stop… I… I'm not…" The voice of the person talking cracked.

Why was her vision getting blurry?

Against her chest, Komui's breathing evened before it stopped.

"I-I'm… I'm sorry… P-Please… don't…" …Oh… that was her voice…

Not entirely sure why, Gracia lowered her head when Komui slowly pulled back and sat up to look at her, and through the blurriness she could somewhat see small, damp patches forming against the dark material of her uniform. She shuddered and closed her eyes, trying to shrink down and make herself smaller as wetness continued to fall.

Shame.

Hadn't they gotten past this? He'd just ground their hips together… Why… did that simple action… scare her…

Shame…

How was he looking at her at that moment?

So… much… damned… shame…

But… as much as she liked it… she couldn't… let him… continue…

Gracia tensed slightly when Komui's arms wrapped around her gently, then relaxed and let him ease her into turning so she sat sideways on his lap, the side of her face pressing against his collarbone and his chin resting on her head.

And… even though Gracia wasn't thinking about it at all…

…Komui knew that somehow… this was Vincent's fault.

…Even if she hadn't thought about him since Golomore, Vincent still overshadowed him.


	82. Protocol Stasis Recording: File VI

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

It was starting to affect her; it was making her tired, haggard, unpleasant…

…Hell, she'd punched Regory Peck when the man had hit on Lenalee.

Well, not that the man should have been hitting on Lenalee, anyway (he had to be at least six or seven years older than her, and even though Gracia felt Komui was being way too protective of Lenalee, even _she_ could pick up on the lecherous way the man was looking at her), but she'd actually _punched_ the man.

In his upper arm.

Fortunately, she seemed to have avoided making a major social faux pas by hitting someone she barely knew: Lenalee had sighed in relief, Regory had whined at her, Mark Barrows had assured the man he had gotten what he had deserved, and Reever cast an appreciative glance in Gracia's direction.

Despite the appreciation she received for her action, though, Lenalee and Reever had still thrown her worried glanced.

Gracia didn't hit _anyone_ other than Komui. Anyone.

Especially not people she didn't particularly socialize with.

Before either of them could talk to her about it, though, she'd walked away as quickly as she could.

Ever since her… breakdown after her last heavy make out session with Komui had gone a bit too far, the… stress that had been building up… had actually been starting to get to her.

She didn't nap anymore.

She hardly ate anymore.

She and Komui had… taken to sleeping in separate rooms again…

…Just… thinking about it made her feel like she needed to cry.

It wasn't that Komui was too pushy, it wasn't that her noble morals were getting in the way, it wasn't even that she had difficulty enjoying it…

She was afraid.

She was honestly and genuinely afraid of intimacy.

…She needed to go on a mission.

Unfortunately, her last few missions had been within a few weeks of one another, so now it was time for another general (not that she was one yet, but for the sake of mission assignments she was basically up there) to cycle out.

And the one who had been sent out was her own General, Tiedoll, who was being accompanied by Lenalee, Miranda and Krory. Socalo had managed to go behind Komui's back and secure a solo mission from the Great Generals, so, at the moment, Gracia and Klaud were the only General-class Exorcists left in Headquarters. And, with the Akuma attacks suddenly picking up again, and with more Level 4 sightings, there… was no way in hell the Order would have any less than two Generals in Headquarters.

So, since she couldn't talk to Tiedoll or Lenalee, couldn't exhaust herself training with the Judge-Sal and Socalo, couldn't go on missions… Gracia, for once, found herself wandering to the training area of her own volition.

She wasn't even sure why… Like she would train in actual combat. _Komui_ was more dexterous than her, and she could well be a _General_ soon; it was too late to be worrying about her lacking physical combat capabilities. No, no, she would just have to do what she always did and work on strengthening Sleep's effects and her ability to control Judge-Sal…

…So, again, she wasn't sure why she was going to the training area. Conventional training just… didn't work for her…

…Well… failing at training/watching others train was a better alternative to sitting in her room and dwelling.

When she made it to the training room, Gracia sat by a pillar near the sand pit, watching quietly as Lavi trained Lorelei on how to use her pole-weapon Innocence. Gracia sighed, relieved. At least Lorelei had someone (marginally) mature as her mentor…

As soon as Lorelei saw her, she beamed and dropped the weapon (a trident this time around) in her hands, leaving Lavi to yelp and struggle to hold his enlarged hammer back as the girl trotted over to her sister quickly.

Gracia sighed when Lorelei reached up from within the pit, the older leaning over to hug the younger, "You can't do that to your sparring partner. Lavi could have really hurt you."

"Mah, he won't." Lorelei grinned up at her sister cheekily, speaking up so the Bookman's apprentice could hear her, "He's not as stupid as he makes himself out to be. Close, but not really."

"Heeeey!" Lavi whined, his hammer shrinking but the pole staying elongated as he crossed his arms.

Lorelei giggled, then smiled up at her sister mischievously, "So, did you read that book? How did things work out between you and Komui?"

Gracia twitched slightly at her sister's question. …Had the girl planned— When, over Lorelei's head, she saw Lavi glance over, an inquisitive look on his face and the corners of his mouth twitching in a smirk, Gracia twitched.

Oh.

They'd _both_ planned it.

Well.

In that case—

"Judge-Sal."

* * *

"Supervisor," Brigitte sighed heavily when she walked back into Komui's office to find him doodling on what was _supposed_ to be the quarterly report for Central Agency, "Get back to work." She looked down at his paper, quirking a brow when she saw it littered with amalgamations of his and Gracia's names, as well as a few broken hearts and (of course) a crude drawing of Lenalee.

In response to her command, Komui only heaved a heavy, wistful sigh, starting to color in one of the broken hearts.

Brigitte's brow twitched. That ink was going to bleed onto the papers below…

"If I attempt to give you womanly advice," She reached out and snatched the fountain pen from his hands, "And it makes you feel better, will you get back to work?"

Komui looked up at her with wide eyes and a puppyish look on his face, and she could almost imagine him having a rapidly wagging tail as he nodded enthusiastically.

"Good." Brigitte crossed her arms, "What has gone wrong between you two this time?"

Automatically affronted, Komui's eyebrows creased and he opened his mouth to object (things did _not_ go wrong _that_ often, thank you very much! !), but when her eyebrow twitched, he sighed meekly. There weren't many other women he could go to; he shouldn't screw this up…

So, Komui explained the whole situation; how Gracia had slowly been opening up to affection, opening up to him, how he was getting her more comfortable with being around him, how she mentioned her husband less and less, how she seemed to actually be getting into the relationship… and, in the most recent episode, how she'd seemed to become terrified as soon as an intimate moment had… escalated, and how he was convinced it was her late husband's fault, and how he felt he couldn't do anything about it because, really, no matter how nonchalant she was about it, her marriage to Vincent was still a taboo subject, not just by her standards, but by propriety and decency's standards.

And, as she listened, Brigitte's carefully painted lips and thick eyebrows creased into deep frowns, her naturally narrowed pupils narrowing further.

Komui gulped. Crap, he knew that look… He'd done something wrong.

"…Supervisor, when was the last time you dated?"

Komui blinked at the question, tipping his head as a helplessly exasperated look crossed his face, "Eeeeh? What does this have to do with… Well, never, really. Why?"

"…You're doing it wrong."

"…Oh?" Komui quirked a brow, pursing his lips petulantly. Really, he might not have had much experience, but he _was_ a thirty-year-old male, after all, not some teenager. He couldn't have messed up _that_ badly.

"…You don't ease a noblewoman into a standard relationship by invading her private quarters on a constant basis and molesting her whenever you feel like it." Brigitte glared at him, as if she could read his mind and was annoyed that he actually thought he wasn't doing anything bad, "You ease her into it by taking things nearly twice as slow as the normal pace, and by exaggerating doing things that normal dating couples do. For instance; the 'never kiss on the first date' rule? Well, if you would normally wait for the second date, then to do things right with her you would need to wait until the fourth."

Komui twitched slightly, his confidence in his rightness waning.

"And if it normally takes a common woman one to three months—"

…_Wait… three… doubled is…_

"—to allow physical intimacy, then you should be expecting to wait six months."

Komui was now openly gapping at the woman in front of him, her next words a murmur even though she was probably speaking at a normal level ("…or until she verbalizes that she's ready and, since she's done it to you before, you don't think she's forcing herself.").

"…–nd intimacy milestones aside, have you actually taken her on a _proper_ date?"

Komui blinked as he zoned back in on Brigitte's talking, blinking up at her blankly.

After not getting an answer, Brigitte bristled and hissed, "Are you telling me you have been going into her room every night and forcing her to cuddle with you and you _haven't even taken her out for dinner_? !"

…Oh, now he was feeling even meeker than before…

"…w-well… we do… eat together… in the cafet—"

"The European Branch Headquarters canteen," Brigitte's glare turned absolutely poisonous, "Is not an acceptable dating location."

She couldn't believe this.

She could _not_ believe her boss was as dense socially as he was professionally.

But he was.

And now she was feeling horrible for Gracia's sake.

So, as unprofessional as it was, she was taking matters into her own hands; she knew several teenage Exorcists had been trying to help the couple, but they were just that: teenagers.

And this problem was far beyond them.

"You will take her into town when you have a day off…" Brigitte seethed, her aura growing so black Komui gulped and shrank back in his seat, "You will go through the local restaurant listings, reserve yourselves a table in one that serves food you know she will like, and you will _take her out on a proper date_. And, when the date is over, you will take her back to her room and _not follow her to her bed_. You will bid her a good night and go sleep in your _own room_."

Female camaraderie was far from dead.

Brigitte would _not_ let the idiot in front of her do this to a member of her sex.

She was going to save Gracia from this moron if it was the last unprofessional thing she did.

"Supervisor! !"

The intense atmosphere was broken when the door slammed open, a wide-eyed man in the standard training uniform rushing in.

"G-General Solidor is attacking Exorcists Lorelei and Lavi with the Judge-Sal in the indoor training area! !"

Brigitte's eyes widened and Komui's jaw dropped.

Then, the three were scrambling out the door, heels clicking and cloth rustling loudly as they flew down the stairs.

When they reached the indoor training area, Komui had to pause and stare at the scene before him with wide eyes, the Judge-Sal's hulking form making the spacious room actually seem small, especially with _both_ of its swords drawn…

In the middle of the sand pit, Lorelei and Lavi were desperately dodging the armored knight's massive feet as it stomped at them, Allen somewhere on the upper levels and holding the ethereal form's upper body still with his Clown Belt.

"I was just trying to help!" Lorelei shrieked, "Really!" Lavi slammed into her side, wrapping his arms around her waist and sliding across the sand with her when a giant foot slammed down on the spot where she'd been.

Komui was in shock. What was Gracia thinking? ! What had happened to make her this angry? !

The moment he saw Christopher, cowering behind a pillar but peeking out and in Lorelei's direction desperately, he ran over to the boy and took him by the shoulders, shaking him when the boy looked up at him with wide, terrified eyes, "What is going on? !"

"L-Lady Gracia!" Christopher yelped, "Sh-She figured out that Lorelei and Lavi conspired to get that dirty book into her hands on purpose so she'd read it and— and…" The boy swallowed harshly, an incredibly guilty look crossing his face.

Komui's eyes widened. They had…

He glanced out towards the training pit, biting his lip.

Komui knew that that night had… affected her more than she would let on. The fact that he knew was the reason why he'd been giving her her space…

…Maybe he should have talked it out with her. Letting her keep it in… apparently hadn't been a good idea.

Komui let Christopher go and, despite reason dictating that he should run _away_ from the giant suit of armor, he dashed towards the training pit, pushing his way through fleeing bodies and jumping down when he reached the edge.

Sand somehow managed to work its way through his socks in an instant, but he ignored it as he started waving his arms at the Judge-Sal, calling out, "Gracia! ! Gracia, stop! !"

Judge-Sal stopped just as it had been about to break free of the Crowned Clown, its armored head turning towards him.

Komui heaved a relieved sigh, then spoke in a voice several notches above regular speaking level, "What are you doing? !"

"**…Training.**"

Komui shuddered (as did everyone else still in the room). That voice was still damned creepy… "We've been over this. You don't invoke Judge-Sal indoors, and you don't train with it against anyone other than General Socalo."

"**…Training isn't for me. For the brats.**"

"Gracia, you aren't allowed to train regular Exorcists in combat without permi—"

"**Not combat training. Etiquette training.**"

…Komui felt a stab of disbelief and exasperation. …And amusement, to a lesser (but still present) extent.

"…Gracia, I know what you're upset about, and I'll talk to them about it, alright? Now… put Judge-Sal away. I think you need a nap."

"**…**" The Judge-Sal's ethereal form evaporated, leaving Allen's Clown Belt straps to flutter and fall before he quickly retracted them, the boy heaving a loud sigh of relief.

Komui set his hands on his hips, sighing and shaking his head, then looked around, "…Gracia? Where is your body?"

"…Up here…"

All eyes slowly traveled upwards, the atmosphere thickening awkwardly when people saw Gracia lying with her body draped across several curved arms of one of the overhead chandeliers. She turned her head and glanced down at Komui sheepishly, waving.

"…Allen, please help Gracia get down." Komui called out, turning to the exhausted, sand burned and bruised duo that had been the focus of the General-in-training's anger when the white-haired boy somewhere still overhead called back with an affirmative. "As for you two… You're coming with me to my office. Now. We're going to talk about why teenagers aren't allowed to meddle in the romantic affairs of adults." When the two blinked at him, looking a bit relieved, he decided to up the ante and smiled, "And the one delivering the sermon will be my assistant, Miss Fey."

"With pleasure, Supervisor." Brigitte's subarctic voice cut through the air.

Lavi and Lorelei's relief immediately turned into pale-faced worry.

Komui grinned and almost cackled.

Someone other than him would be getting one of Brigitte's scary lectures today~!

* * *

Listless, Gracia dragged her feet as she crossed her bedroom, opening the door to see who had knocked.

As soon as she saw Komui, she lowered her head and tried to shut the door, clenching her jaw when he caught it and held it open.

If he'd talked to Lavi and Lorelei, then he knew… the book… and why…

"Would you like to go out this Saturday?"

Gracia twitched, freezing.

…What…?

When she looked up at Komui properly, she blinked. He was… wearing his civilian clothes, with a pair of carefully pressed, light gray pants, a matching waistcoat and tie and a white undershirt. He wasn't wearing his beret…

…And were those actual Oxfords on his feet…?

When she looked back up into his face, Komui was glancing off to the side, flushing slightly and adjusting his glasses with his right middle finger. He had gloves on… "…My uniform wasn't appropriate for this conversation." (Or so Brigitte had hissed like a possessed viper-woman when she had looked over his game plan.)

Gracia blinked up at him dumbly. "Conversation…?" He looked… so good in civilian clothes…

Komui frowned slightly at her apparent inability to follow the conversation, then blinked when her eyes continued flickering up and down his body, a small smile twisting on his lips when he realized…

…She was checking him out.

Realizing what she was doing several prolonged, silent moments later, Gracia blushed darkly and looked away, acting like she didn't notice the wide, happy smile Komui had on his face.

"Conversation." He went on, "I'm asking you to go out with me this Saturday, remember?"

"…Where…?" She mumbled.

"The town on the other side of the island." Komui's smile widened slightly, "I've called one of the restaurants there and booked us a table."

"…Why?" Eh…? Why would he do that?

"I think the younger generations these days would call it a date." Komui was starting to look progressively more and more amused. It made her already fairly dark blush darken further.

"…A date?" She looked back up at him, frowning and confused, "Why would we do that?"

"Well, we are _dating_, aren't we?" And now his voice was taking a teasing edge.

"…But going on actual dates is what normal people do."

"Now, Gracia, you may be a noblewoman, but you're also nor—"

"I was talking about _you_."

Komui's teasing, amused smile was gone in an instant as he pouted. "…Don't make me make a scene."

"Why do I get the feeling you'll make one, anyway?" Gracia didn't mean to be so skeptical; really, she didn't. She was tired, cranky, and now Komui was blindsiding her and exploring aspects of relationships she didn't even know he knew about, as if it were normal.

"Because you're asking for it." Komui answered nonchalantly before he fell to one knee, pressing one hand to his chest and holding out the other dramatically as he bellowed in a thespian tone, "Forsooth, it seems my lady will not accompany me on the morrow! Ah!" He threw his head back, the hand he was holding out splaying palm out over his eyes, "How cold she is to meeee! ! 'Tis but one date I ask for, and she looks at me as if I demand her head on a spit! !"

Aghast, Gracia could only stare down at Komui in shock, feeling like her face would catch fire from the heat that was building up and getting muggy beneath the collar when a few doorways in the hall opened, people peeking out curiously to watch the scene.

"Tell me, my good people!" Komui stood quickly, holding out his hands and walking around in a circle as he met the amused eyes of those watching, "Am I so undesirable? !"

"Nay!" Someone called out, playing along and making the others in the hallway grin.

"Is a simple date so much to ask? !"

"Nay!" A few more voices joined in.

"Should I not be given the opportunity to make my lady happy? !"

"Aye! !" Now he had the whole damned hall in on it… Save Renault, who was watching with a blank face but the slightest flash of amusement in his eyes.

"Then shall I ask her again? !"

"Aye! !"

"Then I shall! ! I ask that all of you pray for my success! !" When he turned back to her, down on one knee yet again, Komui had the largest grin on his face Gracia had ever seen him sport.

And she could still only stare down at him in shock.

"My lady," Komui took her hand, lowering his head and pressing a kiss to her knuckles, "Please, do not cause my heart pain again with indecision! ! Won't you accompany me on a date this Saturday? !"

Her mouth moving silently, Gracia stared down at Komui numbly, grinding her teeth and lowering her head when a few people cheered and called out for her to say yes.

After taking a few moments to process, Gracia jerked her hand out of Komui's and grabbed him by his tie, yanking him into her room. A few catcalls followed them before she slammed the door shut, and she pushed Komui up against it, grinding her teeth and hissing, "You bastard…"

"Ah-ah." Komui chuckled, cupping her jaw with one hand and brushing his thumb over her cheek, "You asked for it."

Gracia glared at him, shaking out of mortification and embarrassment.

Komui just smiled down at her gently, "So? Will you?"

"…O-Only if you… promise… to never—"

Komui leaned in and cut her off before she could finish, speaking against her lips with a grin, "Sorry, no promises."

Gracia kept glaring at him but kissed back.

Men…

"Oh… And get a good night's rest, alright? You're starting to get a bit bitchy."

Gracia narrowed her eyes and bit his lip.


	83. Protocol Stasis Recording: File VII

Birthday's comin' up soon… I think I'll go see _The Lion King_. I love that movie, but I hate 3D, but I figure if I'm only ever going to make myself watch one 3D movie, just for the experience, seeing the Lion King would be a good choice.

Seriously, though 3D movies freak me out. I blame it on that SpongeBob 3D movie I watched when I went to some amusement park (can't remember which) when I was waaay younger… Havin' SpongeBob leap out of the screen and get close enough to rape your eyeball with his nose is not fun.

But, yeah, _The Lion King_… ^ . ^ Aaaah, good memories.

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia sighed as she stood in front of her sister's door, knocking. She couldn't believe she had to do this…

Lorelei opened the door, blinking up at Gracia, then blushed before paling, lowering her head, "Sister, I am so, so, so—"

"Forget it." Gracia cut her off, looking away and speaking in a low mumble, "I… need your help."

Lorelei immediately perked, standing upright and tipping her head, "Ne? With what?"

"…W-Well…" Gracia wasn't really sure why she was stuttering… She just wanted to ask for some clothes for her date. What was so embarrassing about that? "I… am going out on a date with Komui this Saturday… and the only clothes I have… are my traveling clothes from when I was a wanderer… and my uniforms—" Gracia's head snapped back slightly when her wrist was seized and she was pulled inside of the room in a flash.

Absently, as Lorelei dragged her over to her closet and squealed and prattled on excitedly, Gracia noticed how… cold her sister's hand was around her wrist… It made Sleep, which Lorelei was gripping, flash hotly, which made Lorelei yelp, let go and spin around.

Dizzy from Sleep's rapid response, Gracia swayed a bit, mumbling, "S-Sorry… Sleep was just responding to your… Innocence…" Gracia trailed off, realizing she didn't even know if her sister's Innocence had been given a name. …She really had been neglecting her…

"…Blood Ice." Lorelei smiled weakly, "Dumb name, right? Komui's the one who suggested it… I'm still a bit… freaked that it's in my body, so I wasn't able to think…" The girl paused, then glanced down at her arm, turning it over and staring at her wrist. Her skin pale, Lorelei's veins stood out proudly, microscopic, unseen shards of Innocence flowing through them…

"…Does it hurt?" Gracia found her numbed lips mumbling, "Being… so cold all of the time…"

"…At first it did…" Lorelei nodded slightly, her voice even and strong but her eyes sliding over to the side, "The first few hours were… hell…" She paused, then looked back at Gracia and beamed, "But now it's pretty comfortable. And with winter getting so close, the air feels fantastic! I've never really been one for cold temperatures, so this is the first time I've actually enjoyed the end of the year!"

Gracia watched Lorelei's back silently as the girl turned towards her closet, going through all of the dresses inside. How did she have so many dresses when she hadn't even gotten her things from Nalbina yet…?

…As she watched the girl, Gracia started to feel… guilty…

It had been so easy, initially, to connect with Lorelei… but now it felt like they were struggling.

…Was it because, after she'd left Nalbina, she'd accepted the idea that she would probably never see her again?

…The thought made Gracia feel… terrible…

It was true that it wasn't entirely her fault; it was hard to be enthusiastic about interacting with someone who was so closely related to you when, before a few months prior, you had no idea they existed. Not to mention that it took Gracia a long… long time to form significant emotional attachments…

…But the guilt that came with watching Lorelei try so hard when Gracia, herself, hardly went out of her way to interact with her… had a ball of acid eating away at the lining of her stomach.

"—uessing you wanna go simple, right? Hmm… Oh, here!"

Gracia blinked as she came back to the present, staring at the article of clothing in Lorelei's hands. "…Lorelei, that's a dress."

"Yeah, I know." Lorelei made a face and nodded, looking it up and down, "Too dressy of a dress, right?"

"No… I meant just that… It's a dress. Don't you have any nice pants I can borrow?"

Lorelei turned back to her sister and stared at her blankly, silence settling between them for a moment.

"…Thank God you came to me."

* * *

"What about this one?"

"It doesn't have sleeves."

"Of course it doesn't; this is an informal occasion!"

"…Seriously, it doesn't have sleeves. Or a neck. …What holds it up?"

"Your chest, you prude. Fine. What about this?"

"…Where's the rest of it?"

"What do you mean the re— Gracia, it's _supposed_ to end at the knees!"

"…Are you serious?"

"Am I… Aaaagh… Fine. This one has sleeves _and_ it's ankle-length."

"…But it doesn't have a back."

"For God's sake, Gracia, I'm not sending you on a date dressed up like an old maid!"

"I'm not saying this out of any inflamed sense of decency; I'm saying it for the sake of comfort. Seriously, just let me wear a pair of pants…"

"Hell no. You're just uncomfortable from looking at them because you've never worn things like this before; now's a good time to start. You're a woman, for Christ's sake! Women should be used to wearing things that subtly show off their bodies!"

"…That is just… so… stupid…"

"There's a line between being a feminist and being belligerently stubborn. A woman who's truly comfortable with herself would know when to dress up a little. Now… this one! !"

"…No."

"…I will strip you."

Outside of the bedroom, Christopher smiled softly, walking away. He had been worried about leaving Lorelei by herself when she and her sister seemed to be on the edge of a falling out but…

…It seemed like things would get better between them.

* * *

Gracia blushingly hung the dress Lorelei had leant to her (threatened her with bodily harm if she refused to wear it) in her closet, sighing and running a hand through her hair as she started to get ready for bed.

She was just pulling a nightgown over her head when she realized… that her room was unusually quiet.

…Not that she wasn't used to/didn't prefer silence, but for some reason it seemed… out of what she had subconsciously started to recognize as being the 'norm.'

It was only when she had pulled her nightgown on completely and was looking around her room that she realized just what the problem was.

…Komui wasn't settling down in her bed.

Not that he hadn't been sleeping in his own room for a week or so now, anyway, but that night she actually found herself… realizing that she missed looking over at her bed and seeing him in it. She was as slow as ever, it seemed…

A pair of socks in hand, Gracia walked over to her empty bed and sat on the edge, pulling the socks on slowly… reluctantly…

As much as she had made a fuss about it, she found herself missing having the familiar, warm company in bed…

…She missed the cuddling.

She wasn't sure how long she had simply stood there, but when Gracia blinked again, she was standing beside her bed with the covers pulled up in one hand… and no intention in her mind whatsoever to climb in.

…She wasn't actually thinking about doing it, was she?

Gracia continued staring at the spread of mattress beneath the blankets she was holding up, subconsciously lifting her free hand to run the edge of her nails back and forth over her lower lip.

No matter how long she stood there, though, she couldn't muster up the will to make herself consider crawling into the bed alone…

Before she knew it, Gracia had set the blankets down and patted them back into place, then walked out of her room and through a few halls before coming to a stop in front of Komui's door.

…This was ridiculous. She was a grown woman. She should be able to sleep in her bedroom, alone.

In the end, though, she hadn't even been able to _try_.

…And was there something so wrong with being comfortable with sharing a bed with the person she was in a relationship with, a part of her wondered.

Even if they didn't treat their relationship like others typically would, she and Komui weren't in a typical relationship. They lived under the same roof, and at any given time she could be summoned to travel halfway around the world for months on end.

There was nothing wrong with them spending as much time together as they could, even if that time was after hours and in the same bed.

…That last part made Gracia flush, and she paused just as she was about to knock on the door. She then sighed and shook her head, opening the door, instead. She really needed to stop being so immature and twitchy about that…

Being as quiet as she could be (which she was actually fairly good at), Gracia slipped into Komui's room and shut the door behind her, her face heating up when she realized she could already feel herself getting drowsy. She sighed, then turned and walked, through the dark, to Komui's bed. She then stopped at the edge, crossing her arms over her stomach and staring through the darkness at the lump underneath the blankets.

Sheets rustled and Komui let out a soft noise as he rolled over, now facing Gracia as he nuzzled his pillow, a slight frown on his face.

Gracia blinked, feeling a dull spike of worry at how uncomfortable Komui's sleep seemed to be, and pressed her hands against the mattress, leaning over.

When one of Komui's eyes flickered open, swiveling up to regard her blearily, her eyes widened and her face heated as she jerked away, stumbling back a few steps.

Komui blinked slowly, shocked, then sat up, running a hand through his hair slowly and speaking in a thick voice, "Aahh… Gracia…?"

"I-I'm sorry…" Gracia swallowed, her neck getting muggy below her hair as her blush darkened, "I-I-I thought y-you were asleep…"

"…Couldn't sleep." Komui sighed heavily. He then frowned at her, looking worried, "Is everything alright?"

"Y-Yeah… I just…" Gracia paused, then sighed, "Couldn't… sleep… either…"

When a pause came to the conversation, something that… made her a bit annoyed/anxious starting to permeate the air, Gracia wished she had found another way to word that…

"…So…" Komui's voice took a teasing note, a sly grin spreading across his face, "You couldn't sleep… so you came here?"

Without answering, Gracia turned and made to leave, stopping and twitching when Komui's hand latched onto her wrist and pulled her back until the backs of her knees hit the edge of the bed, making her sit.

"Don't be like that…" Komui chuckled next to her ear as he leaned over, wrapping his arm around her waist lightly and tugging, "I was teasing… To be honest, I was just thinking about sneaking into your room…"

Gracia sighed softly and let herself relax back against him, her eyelids drooping heavily as how absolutely exhausted she was washed over her.

Komui's grip on her faltered and he grunted softly next to her ear, pulling at her weakly before falling on his side, Gracia falling with him and both of them landing with their heads on the pillows. "Sleepy, huh…?" He asked softly, his voice more tired than it previously had been.

"…Yeah…" Gracia barely managed to nod, Sleep pulsing warmly around her wrist, "Sorry… Sleep's… interfering…"

"I noticed…" Komui hummed, "It feels nice…"

Gracia smiled slightly. Did it really…? She was too tired to notice… Sighing, she mustered the last bit of energy she had left and found herself using it to turn around and face Komui. She didn't want to sleep with her back to him… not that night…

Komui blinked down at her, then smiled and pulled her close.

Gracia sighed and closed her eyes when her face ended up pressed against his chest, relaxing. He was warm… and he smelled like he had actually bathed recently…

"Goodnight…" Something about Komui's tone, softer and milder than usual, made her blush.

"…You take me somewhere stupid on our date, and I'll make you serenade Brigitte."

Komui's arms twitched around her and he swallowed audibly.

"…And goodnight…" Gracia smiled slightly, actually feeling… shy.

She thought Komui might have giggled… or chuckled as he pulled her a bit closer, and she thought he might have kissed her…

…Fortunately, she was saved the embarrassment of knowing for sure by falling asleep.

* * *

Gracia opened her door blearily, frowning down at Lorelei and taking a moment to comprehend who she was. "…Need somethin', Lor…?"

"Well, of course _I_ don't." Lorelei rolled her eyes, stepping into the room with a slowly growing grin, "Your date's in a few hours! I'm here to help you get ready!"

Ever since Christopher had left a few days before, Lorelei had been trying to hang around her older sister more and more often…

…Unfortunately for her, ever since she and Komui had smoothed things over, Gracia had been able to nap again. And Lorelei had just woken Gracia from one of those naps.

"I have four hours." Gracia whined, turning and stumbling back over to her bed, "I still have time to nap…"

"Ooooh no you don't." Lorelei grabbed her sister's shoulders before she could flop down, turning her and starting to push her towards the bathroom, "Why do you think I came a few hours early? It'll take that long to get you ready."

"…Are you kidding me?" Gracia mumbled after a moment, Lorelei's words taking time to sink in; enough time for the girl to make her sit on the lid of the toilet and set a bag she had slung over her shoulder on the counter.

Lorelei just laughed, as if Gracia had said something almost excessively funny, and turned to the bag, opening it and taking out various makeup containers, brushes, inks and skin pencils.

Not used to someone doing her hair and makeup for her (she had always preferred to do both herself), Gracia couldn't hold back a scowl as Lorelei closed her eyes with her fingers and spun her around.

As soon as she felt her long hair being tugged at, Gracia automatically sat up straight, sighing and keeping her cringing to a minimum as the strands were pulled back tightly… Cringing made the skin shift, which resulted in the hair sitting improperly when the face was relaxed again…

Much tugging and pulling later, Lorelei twisted Gracia's hair up into something tight; Gracia didn't bother to open her eyes to see what… Then, Gracia was being spun around, Lorelei's thin, cold but soft fingers tipping her head up.

"So, has he told you where he's taking you?" Lorelei asked conversationally, though she stuck with asking a 'yes' or 'no' question as she took a brush and stain to Gracia's lip.

Gracia hummed a negative response, the sound coming out a bit louder as Lorelei pressed her thumb against the skin just below her lip and pulled to make her lips part.

"It'll be a place in the town on the other side of the island, right? How are you guys getting there? Does Allen have an Ark Gate that goes there?"

"Uh-huh…" Gracia pulled her tongue to the back of her mouth so the brush and stain didn't touch it. That stuff tasted nasty…

"…And Komui's actually going to pull rank so you can use an Ark Gate for a date." Lorelei snickered, "Oh, that guy is hilarious…"

Gracia's lips twitched into a smile and she laughed shortly. When he wasn't being annoying or sly, Komui could be very funny… Actually, even during his annoying and sly moments, he was still amusing.

"Looking forward to tonight?" Lorelei asked, her voice getting a happier inflection as she bounced slightly on her heels and giggled, "You'll both be seeing such different sides of one another, you'll both be able to talk uninterrupted about things you couldn't discuss at work… Hell, you'll have to think of new topics. All you'll have to distract yourselves will be one another."

As her sister had spoken, Gracia realized with an ever-increasing sense of impending dread that… she was right…

…This was a _date_; one-on-one interaction. They would have to keep one another entertained with stories about… one another…

…With no interruptions.

Lorelei kept babbling and doing Gracia's makeup as the older woman slowly started to realized just what… going on this date would mean…

…Why did she never realize these things until several days after the fact/right before the occasion occurred?

Slowly, slowly, Gracia started to filter through her memories, trying to find things it wouldn't be too depressing to talk about.

…Before she'd run away from home, the only thing she could actually think of that was conversation-safe would be her father and how she and him had spent their time together; everything else would either have Mathilda or Vincent in it.

Everything after she'd run away… Well, her travels across Europe could possibly have some interesting stories… if she searched; she'd never thought of her life in those terms, so she couldn't think of anything off of the top of her head.

…Crap… If she didn't think of anything to talk about…

…And what should she not try to bring out of Komui? What parts of his past would he not want to talk about? They were going out on a romantic social event; common sense and decency automatically point out that every person had their own taboo subjects that were not to be brought up in such situations!

But she… she didn't know Komui well enough to know what not to ask about…

Oh… hell…

Gracia slowly sank back into her thoughts, unwittingly leaving her sister to taking care of her appearance.

…She didn't even notice how much time had passed until petite, pale fingers with long, glossed nails were snapping right in front of her eyes, breaking her out of her stupor. She tensed when she realized she was standing in front of a wide-eyed, blushing Komui. When in the hell…? !

"Honestly…" Lorelei sighed dramatically from behind her, "Making me doll you up and dress you while you zoned out and had a mini panic attack…" The girl's voice then took a teasing note and she patted her sister on the shoulder, "Have fun, you two! Mister, you have her back before eleven or I'll send someone out after you!"

That said, the young woman left the two blushing, stuttering, awkward adults to one another.


	84. PSR: Record Manually Prioritized Pt 1

Now that we're at the chapter before a chapter everyone's been anticipating (without knowing when exactly to be anticipating it), I'll give you a hint to the hint I gave five chapters back:

_Google "Al Bhed translator" and click on the first option (the one with phonetics). You'll know what to do from there. XP_

Saw _The Lion King_ in 3D for my birthday yesterday, and it was fan-freakin'-tastic. While it turns out 3D movies give me killer headaches, the art and sound were amazing, and I spent the first twenty-or-so minutes of the movie trying not to cry because it was such a nostalgic feeling. XP I even sang along during Scar's song, "Be Prepared".

*wistful sigh* But you all wanna read the chapter more than you want to listen to me sob over my childhood… So enjoy~! (**And save checking out that spoiler for the end of the chapter ne? ^ . ^ You'll appreciate this chapter more if you do.**)

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia walked alongside Komui silently, awkwardly, with her hands clasped in front of her and her eyes trained down. She flinched when she saw a flash of skin from her legs as the dress Lorelei had somehow managed to ease her into without her noticing swayed around her knees. Against her back, her _bare_ back, the evening air was already a bit cold, the hairs on her arms from shoulder to wrist stood at attention, her chest felt far too bare…

The v-neck, halter-top cocktail dress, made of a slick, dark green material that insisted on clinging to her skin, was _not_ made for this time of the year, something Lorelei _must_ have known…

…Sneaky little brat…

Feeling more self-conscious than she ever had before, Gracia kept her head lowered and her mouth shut, extremely aware of how loudly her heels were clicking against the cobblestone and of the body walking next to her.

Komui's body…

…She was still stunned by how… attractive he looked in civilian clothing. The way the tighter clothes hugged his body, the way both clumps of his bangs framed his face without his beret in the way, the way those gloves looked on his hands… Seeing him dressed up almost made his uniform look childish.

…Yeah, that was right; that was the right way to word it. Even though she knew there wasn't really anything childish about his Black Order uniform, seeing him dressed up in semi-formal wear made him look that much more mature…

…And striking.

…Great. Now that she'd thought that, there was no way she was going to be able to look at him without blushing.

"Ah, here we are…"

Gracia stopped beside him and looked up, blinking at the building they were in front of. Dark red bricks, royal blue cloth over the metal frame of an overhang over a darkly tinted window that was emanating a soft orange light…

This restaurant hadn't been in town the last time she, her father and her mother had been living in Barheim.

"This place came highly recommended by a few of the couples back in the office…" Komui said, glancing down at Gracia with a sheepish smile as he scratched his cheek with a gloved pointer finger, "Personally, I thought you would have been more comfortable in a place a little less formal, but Lorelei said she would be dressing you nicely, so…"

"I-It's fine." Gracia lowered her eyes again, shaking slightly as a breeze blew through the town, "Can we go in…?"

"…R-Right." A guilty look crossed Komui's face and he nodded, gingerly reaching out and setting a hand on her lower back.

An innocent gesture he was just intending on using to guide her in out of the cold, but it had his hand touching her bare skin, the smooth fabric of his gloves sliding along her spine…

Extremely sensitive because of how self-conscious she was feeling at the moment, Gracia let out an involuntary noise, clenching her jaw in an attempt to stifle it and lowering her head in an attempt to make her blush less obvious. Her hair, though, was pulled back, so she couldn't hide behind it…

If Komui noticed, he didn't say anything as he lead her inside, talking to the maitre d' and handing over his coat just before they were lead through the finely furnished establishment.

Gracia blinked, looking around as her brow slowly lifted. Satin drapes and tablecloths, varnished red wooden furniture, a nice scent in the air likely from hidden air fresheners, classical music from what was either a small, real band or a phonograph hidden behind a curtain somewhere…

…This wasn't something Komui could have heard about from "a few of the couples back in the office"; Black Order employees weren't paid this well.

As they were seated, Komui nervously ordering the first course for both of them when he glanced at Gracia to find her staring at him intently, she thought about it, waiting for them to be left alone.

"You picked a place this fancy on purpose." Gracia noted bluntly as their server walked away, "The Order is a non-profit organization; no one you interact with would be able to afford to eat at a restaurant of this caliber without flashing the Rose Cross, which no one carries around on their day off."

Komui snorted slightly into the glass of ice water he had been sipping at nervously, quickly bringing a cloth napkin up to press against his mouth as he stared at her. A bit of time (likely time he had been using to think) later, he lowered the napkin and the glass, smiling sheepishly, "I-I don't know what you—"

"And you hate formal occasions." Gracia interrupted, still being blunt, "Formal occasions require that you wear shoes, which make your feet sweat, which makes your feet stink, which Lenalee doesn't like, which you bemoan."

Komui blinked at her with wide, childish eyes as his glasses slipped down the bridge of his nose slightly, a guilty, sheepish look flashing across his face. "…Eh-heh…"

"And, like you said, I don't like these places, either…" Gracia sighed, "So why…?" She then narrowed her eyes at him slightly, "And don't use Lorelei's name; if I start to fall under the impression that you're letting my sister pull our strings, you'll be serenading Kanda before noon tomorrow."

Komui's eyes lowered and slid to the side, shamefaced as he squirmed slightly in his seat.

Gracia waited some time for him to answer, glancing up at their server and nodding slightly when he came over and set their appetizers down in front of them. She then stared at her plate, blinking slowly.

…Komui obviously hadn't known what he was ordering. There was snail in there…

Gracia sighed and looked up just in time to see Komui absentmindedly picking up a fork, scooping up some of his appetizer and opening his mouth t—

Her hand flashed out and grabbed his wrist, Sleep's chain chiming softly.

Komui flushed, staring at her in confusion, guilt and worry. Was he afraid she was going to use Sleep to get an answer…?

"Do you like snail?" Gracia asked blandly.

After staring at her for a moment, his mouth open, Komui seemed to get was she was asking, his eyes widening a bit more before he looked down at what was on his fork, mouth closing and twisting as his skin turned a bit green. Slowly, he set the fork down.

Gracia sighed softly; even if he was trained and conditioned to do well in formal occasions with those above his social class, he still wasn't a blueblood…

"Excuse me…" She reached out and tapped the arm of a passing server, keeping her face blank as she gestured to hers and Komui's appetizers, "We ordered these under the impression that they were land snails, but they seem to be periwinkle… I'm allergic to saltwater shellfish."

"Ah, I am sorry, Madame." The server bowed to her, "The menu must not have been changed to reflect the alteration of tonight's culinary options. I'll bring your menus back immediately and you may reorder." The server then took both of their plates and hurried off.

Gracia sighed softly and turned back to Komui, blinking when she was faced with him staring at her.

"…You're… allergic to shellfish?" Komui blinked. He had though she hadn't had any allergies…

"…No." Gracia quirked a brow slightly, "But they don't let you reorder an _appetizer_ just because you didn't realize it had snails in it. You can always get something else, but you still have to pay for your mistake. That's why you make it seem like they're at fault if you don't like something."

"Ooooh…" Komui nodded, then relaxed and smiled at her wryly, "Well, aren't you sneaky…"

"Well, aren't you topic-dodging…" Gracia countered calmly, frowning when Komui quickly tensed and looked away again. "…Seriously, why go through all of this trouble?"

Komui sighed, reaching up and adjusting his glasses out of (adorable) habit, "I just… wanted to… make sure our first official date was… up to par…"

Gracia spent several moments thinking about his answer, then asked, "Do I… really set the bar this high to you…?"

"…Yes."

Gracia felt the heat and pressure build up in her face and knew she was starting to blush darkly. She didn't get it… She honestly… didn't get why Komui felt she was worth this much…

Numb and head swirling, Gracia reordered their appetizers absentmindedly when their server came back, she and Komui handing their menus back without looking at one another. When she did hazard a glance at him again, she found herself smiling slightly at the sight of him fiddling with his gloves nervously, contemplating taking them off or leaving them on.

"Off, Komui…" When he looked up at her, his eyes a bit wide and helpless, she sighed, still smiling, "Etiquette says you take them off."

Immediately, obediently, Komui unsnapped the buttons at both wrists of the gloves and slid them off, pairing them neatly and folding them over before he started to look around.

Something bubbled up in the back of her throat, and it was only when it left her mouth that she recognized it for what it was – a giggle.

Komui stopped and stared at her with slightly widened eyes, then flushed and huffed. Gracia never giggled… Not that often, at least…

"On the inner left side of your jacket…" Gracia managed between giggles, "There should be a small pocket…" When he found the pocket, tucking the gloves away, Gracia lowered her head slightly and pressed a hand to her forehead, holding back giggles. Her shoulders still shook slightly as she shook her head.

Komui huffed again, muttering a petulant, "Meanie…"

Then, they both fell silent.

And, the longer it stayed, the more awkward the silence seemed to get.

Gracia's hand twitched and she, unconsciously, began to fiddle with Sleep, her eyes wandering off to the side as anxiety began to well.

Damn it, damn it, damn it! What should they talk about? Should she say anything? Should she wait for him to start the conversation? Why did they have to do this? ! She was terrible at these kinds of things… Mathilda had always spoken for her in these kinds of situations…

When she looked over and saw Komui floundering like she was, his lower lip clamped between his teeth as his eyes darted back and forth, something in her chest deflated.

D-Damn it… Things were… things were already dying… and she didn't know what to do…

"…Gracia?" She blinked, then quickly looked away at Komui's slightly wide-eyed, concerned expression, "Gracia, what is it? You look like you're about to cry…"

"…I'm sorry I'm so socially awkward…" Gracia found herself muttering, looking at a corner of the table as she clenched some of the fabric of her dress against her lap and tugged at it nervously, "I can't… I can't think of anything to talk about…"

Komui stared at her, incredulous.

Gracia continued tugging at her dress frantically, unable to keep her hands from shaking.

"…You know, if you tug that down much further, you'll end up letting me see more than you probably want to."

Gracia blinked and automatically looked down, her eyes widening slightly and her face heating when she saw she had tugged and stretched the low neckline of the dress until the dip was touching her bellybutton. She clamped her lower lip between her teeth and grabbed the edges of the parted neckline, tugging it back up slightly before pressing the cloth together and covering herself.

Across from her, Komui was grinning cheekily, a slightly flushed and very pleased look on his face.

"Not that I was complaining, of course." Komui said teasingly, chuckling, "I most certainly support an older sister's right to wear the skimpy dresses of a sister over ten years her junior. They sit on your taller, more filled body so nicely…"

"Do you kiss your sister goodnight with that mouth…?" Gracia hissed, lowering her head and blushing darkly.

"Not before I use mouthwash~." Komui sang, giggling.

Gracia huffed and lifted her head slightly to glare at him, the previous awkwardness starting to… fade from her mind… without her even realizing it.

"How are things between you and Lorelei?" Komui asked, sobering a bit but still smiling with a slight hint of cheek as he picked up his glass of water and took a drink.

"…Alright, I suppose." Gracia shrugged slightly, her face still a bit hot as she glanced off to the side, "I'm still… not going to support her decision to stay as an Exorcist… But as long as we aren't talking about that, things are… fine…"

Fine… things… weren't fine…

Though they had their moments, Gracia was still finding it… hard to feel as close to her sister as she had back at Nalbina. She even (guiltily) wished Lorelei had gone back to Nalbina; it felt like… they could get along easier… if they weren't living so close.

…Maybe the reason they'd gotten along so well before was because they had a common enemy in Mathilda.

"…It's difficult for you, isn't it? Having someone who feels so close to you, who really is so close to you in ways you're not familiar with… trying to impose themselves into your life."

Gracia tensed slightly at that, looking up at Komui in shock. At the soft, calm look on his face, she cringed and lowered her head again, guilt welling in her stomach. "I… am a terrible sister…"

"No, you're not." Komui assured her gently. He paused when their server came back, watching as plates were put in front of them, then reached across the table and took Gracia's hand when she went to grab a fork, waiting until the server was gone before going on, "You've said it yourself so many times before; you're not good in social situations, and emotions are not something you're good at. I mean, really," Komui smiled at her wryly when she looked up at him, "Do you remember how long you went around referring to your developing feelings for me as "the weird"?"

…She appreciated the effort, but it didn't make her feel better. "I envy you." She forced a smile that actually caused her face pain, "I watch you and Lenalee… and I envy you so much… I interact with _Kanda_ better than I do Lorelei." Gracia drooped, lowering her head, "And Kanda doesn't even really like me."

"That's not true." Komui shook his head, "Kanda likes you, more than I've seen him openly like anyone else. It's actually unnerving sometimes." He smiled slightly when she breathed out a short, half-laugh, then sighed, "And Lenalee and I… we aren't perfect siblings, either. You're not the only one… who's failed as an older sibling. And you have a much better excuse for your shortcomings than me."

Gracia looked up at Komui at that, frowning at the way his eyes had lowered and slid to the side, the pained expression on his face.

…What in the hell was he talking about?

Komui? A bad brother? To Lenalee?

…No. No, that concept didn't even compute properly. Her mind kept reading it as "ERROR".

At her silence, Komui looked up, smiling wryly as he took in her expression, "…You don't believe me."

"No." Gracia confirmed bluntly, "I don't."

"…My fault…" Komui looked away again, even more guilty than before, "I never told you… I should have told you… a long time ago…"

"…Told me what?" Gracia asked softly, their appetizers forgotten. When he started, and then paused, she turned her hand, which was still in his, and laced her fingers through his.

At that, he inhaled, then nodded and sighed.

"…A long time ago…" Komui muttered, still not looking at her, "Before I joined the Order… before I even knew what the Black Order was… our parents… Lenalee's and mine… were killed by Akuma."

Gracia tensed slightly, but made sure Komui didn't feel it through their held hands, their laced fingers. Her guilt increased when it suddenly hit her… than she'd never stopped to think about how Lenalee and Komui had come to be at the Order. They'd just… been there… for so long… and seemed to be… so at home… that the idea of them ever being anywhere beforehand wasn't an easy concept to grasp.

"A passing Exorcist who had saved Lenalee and I from our parents fates…" Komui went on, his glasses glaring slightly as the soft lighting overhead angled down on his lenses, making his eyes obscure, "Was carrying a shard of Innocence Lenalee was compatible with… The Anti-Akuma Weapon, the Dark Boots. Back then… things were so much harsher than they are now… and I was still only a teenager… There was nothing I could do to stop them from taking her from me." He laughed shortly, bitterly, "I still remember the look she had on her face as they dragged her away. Lenalee could only speak Chinese, and she was still so young… I tried to make her understand, but when they tried to cut our final moments short, I got angry. I had to be restrained, and Lenalee was pulled away still not knowing what was going on."

At that point, Gracia's grip on Komui's hand was so tight her knuckles were white. She had to grip him so hard it hurt; his hand was completely limp in hers. As if he was insubstantial. He felt so far away… and it terrified her.

"It took me… so many years…" Komui lowered his head, "No one who isn't an Exorcist starts out at the European Branch Headquarters. Headquarters is only for the elite; you have to prove yourself before you can transfer there. You start out at one of the subsidiary branches… For me, that was Asian Branch, the closest one. And I was still so young… No matter how hard I worked, no one took me seriously enough to help me climb through the ranks. And, even when I was in the Order, they wouldn't let me call her or even tell me about her condition. I still wasn't important enough… So I studied, I struggled, I clawed… I did… some things… I'm ashamed of… Things I will never… _ever_ tell Lenalee about…"

He was only getting… further and further away…

Shit, why had she wanted to talk? She missed the awkward silence.

"…By the time I finally transferred to the European Science Division, Lenalee was…" Komui shuddered, lowering his head and pressing his free palm to his face, "They had her tied down to a bed… They'd bandaged her wrists so thickly… She'd tried to scratch her wrists open. Suicidal… violent… they'd labeled her insane…"

…

…

"…It took everything I had… to keep from breaking down in front of her when I saw her…" Komui's jaw and neck strained as he clenched, "I had to… help them condition her into the mindset that the Order was her home. It was the only way to preserve her fragile sanity… And the psychological ramifications of that have actually shaped her into the person she is… I don't know… how she would do on the outside anymore… I don't know… if she could function properly if she wasn't an Exorcist… I failed her and my parents. I came to save her… and in the end I only pushed her in deeper."

…

…

…Silence…

Their food came… sat… got cold… and when they ate… it was in silence. Not uncomfortable, nor acceptable… It just… was… And coldly so… As if some supreme force had snuffed out mankind's ability to talk, and acknowledging it was forbidden.

Dinner ended, Komui handling the bill with soft, guilt-ridden words to the server before he weakly stood beside Gracia's chair and helped her to her feet when she numbly took his hand.

The atmosphere around him… was thick… and swirling with guilt… And when Gracia, staring ahead blankly and trying to process what she had heard, saw his reflection in the windowed door of the restaurant… and saw him glancing at her in the reflection… and saw the guilty look on his face intensify… She realized he wasn't still swimming in his dark memories.

He'd realized too late that his story had ruined their chances for talk during dinner, and he was blaming himself.

…Outside of the restaurant, Komui took off the coat he was wearing and draped it over her shoulders, the night colder than it had been two hours earlier.

Gracia let him, silently, and they walked side-by-side through the town, their hands hanging at their sides and a foot of space between them.

Unlike whatever it was Komui might have been thinking about her reaction, though, Gracia wasn't silent because she had nothing to say to him. She was silent because she had so much to say to him that, as always, she had to take her time to think it out.

What she'd seen of how he'd handled that story… If she wasn't careful with her words… she could hurt him.

At the same time, though, if she waited too long, she could hurt him in an even worse way.

Once they were outside of town, at the edge of the forest, the Ark Gate that would take them back to Headquarters glowing warmly in front of them, Gracia finally stopped him.

"Komui… wait…"

Komui paused and turned back to her, blinking slowly, a tired, defeated look on his slightly pale face.

"…I'm only going to say this once, alright?" Gracia mumbled, reaching up and grabbing the lapels of his coat to hug it close around herself, "Because I'm not going to be able to remember how to say it the same way later… so listen carefully…" When Komui inclined his head slightly, turning to face her, Gracia sighed, her breath visible on the air before she inhaled and looked up at him seriously, "You… did not fail her." Not waiting for him to even think about protesting, she went on, "You don't see what I see in her when we're out on the field. I have never seen… a more compassionate and beautiful young woman than the one I see Lenalee developing into. Lenalee is smart, bright, confident, empathic, strong, independent and dependant in all the right ways… And, at the same time, she has all of the faults of a normal teenage girl. She can be insistently stubborn, easily angered, inappropriately harsh when expressing frustration born out of concern, almost cripplingly insecure…

"And you're right. Instead of saving her from all of this like you wanted to, you most certainly pushed her in deeper. You've woven everything the ideal Order stands for, and everyone in it, so deeply into her psyche that all of this… is her entire world. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, because she turned into the person she is because of that. And personally… I wouldn't be satisfied if she were anyone other than who she is today."

She couldn't see his expression anymore… A passing breeze had shifted the boughs of the tree overhead, the shadows they cast hiding his face.

"You took a bad situation… and you turned it into something so startlingly, sorrowfully beautiful that it hurts, and regardless of what you think… I believe your parents would have been just as proud of you as I am."

Again, silence… Only this time… it felt different…

Komui closed the distance between them with just a handful of his long, even strides, his hands flashing out, one pressing itself against her lower back and pressing her against him tightly and the other cupping the back of her head and tipping it up, thumb pressed along her jaw to angle her face. Then, his mouth was covering hers, lips parting and breathing synchronizing.

When Komui's coat fell from her shoulders, Gracia much more interested in wrapping her arms around his neck to close the distance between them, both of Komui's hands shifted, large palms almost completely covering the bared skin on her back.

Oh… So this was what bonding… what dates were supposed to feel like… This feeling of spaces closing, of minds and thoughts lining up, of realization and understanding…

…This feeling of…

…Regardless of how the evening had begun… she couldn't have been happier with how it ended.


	85. PSR: Record Manually Prioritized Pt 2

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Later, when they were both red-faced, panting, clinging to one another and leaning against a tree for support, Gracia shivered and pressed herself deeper into Komui's arms, the late evening air colder than it had been before.

"…Let's… go home…" Komui rumbled, his voice oddly husky. As odd as his low voice sounded, though, it sent a… wave of shivers down her spine.

Gracia shuddered and nodded slightly, feeling oddly vulnerable against him.

Komui slowly eased them both upright, picking up his discarded coat and brushing it off before slipping it over Gracia's shoulders again.

She bit her lip and shuddered again when his fingers brushed, lingeringly, across her neck.

Somehow, they ended up with their hands clasped, fingers entwining as easily as if they'd done it countless times before. They walked close, sides brushing, and without really realizing what she was doing, Gracia tipped her head slightly and leaned it against Komui's shoulder.

Around her hand, his tightened slightly.

As soon as they stepped through the Ark Gate and into the Mediterranean-style ghost town within the Ark, the door they had walked through shut, locking. Part of the terms Komui had set up to avoid getting Allen in trouble over the Ark getting used for such… trivial things…

In a companionable, comfortable silence, they walked, Komui subtly leading Gracia back with the slightest movements that she picked up on so easily, hypersensitive to his presence.

Somehow, things felt… different now… Her emotions had shifted subtly, though where they were wasn't really any different. In fact… it all seemed to be… more intense than before…

…Same at the base of it all… but deeper… more committed…

And because of that… when they arrived back at the door labeled "Home" and found it shut and locked, both of them obviously having arrived well past curfew, Gracia found it didn't really bug her.

Komui twitched and groused, fiddling with the door uselessly before turning to Gracia with a guilty look on his face. "Sorry…" He rubbed the back of his head, smiling sheepishly, "It looks like we're stuck here until the Ark is opened again tomorrow morning…"

"…I don't mind." Gracia found herself answering to his apology, glancing away when he stared at her, her face heating slightly. "Not… all of the doors here actually lead to the special 'rooms,' right? One of them must actually lead to a _proper_ bedroom… It is Noah's Ark, after all."

"…R-Right." Komui nodded, his glasses slipping down a bit and his hand going up automatically to adjust them as his cheeks reddened, "A room here…"

Gracia's felt her lips twitched into a smile and her face get a bit warmer before she took Komui's hand and started to walk with him, heading for the nearest door.

Initially, Komui lagged a bit, his hand a bit sweaty and clammy in hers, but by the time he was helping opening and close doors, their fingers were entwined again and he was pressed close to her side.

By the time they found a door that didn't lead somewhere strange (something that was probably strange in and of itself), Gracia was close to falling asleep on her feet, pressed against Komui's side heavily. When had his scent become so… comforting to her…?

"Oh, good…" Komui sighed as he opened the door at the top of a small staircase, "An… actual bedroom…" The last door they'd opened had gone to a greenhouse full of giant, sentient and very hungry plants.

This room was small and cozy and warm, the walls made of the same stone everything else was but painted a lazy tan that was easy to look at. A low dresser made of rough, dark wood was pressed against the wall right next to the door, two wicker chairs and a simple table made a small sitting area next to the window that was in the wall on the other side of the door, and most of the room was taken up by a bed with a wrought iron frame and cool-looking white sheets.

Automatically responding to seeing a bed, Gracia stepped into the room and shrugged Komui's coat off, draping it over the back of one of the chairs and drawing the curtains over the window shut before going over to sit on the edge of the bed, taking off her heels.

Exhausted, she was only absently aware of the sound of cloth being shuffled as Komui removed his clothes, his outfit consisting of… more, in general, than hers.

It was only when she stood and went to take of her dress, the room being too warm for her to wear it to bed, that she realized how… little she had on under it, Gracia becoming hyperaware of Komui's presence once more.

…Lorelei hadn't let her wear a brassiere.

Why? She wasn't incredibly sure. Something about "Damn it, you don't wear a bra with a dress that has that kind of neckline! !"…

…If she took off the dress, all she would be wearing to bed were her panties.

…She could always just wear the dress to bed, but… when she thought about it… she didn't care if Komui saw…

"…Gracia?"

Gracia turned back to Komui, blinking and then flinching slightly when a bit of pain pinched her arms. She must have just been standing there with them raised and behind her head, her hands grasping at the tie of her dress…

"…I'm not wearing a bra." She smiled at Komui sheepishly in response to his questioning, slightly concerned look.

Komui's eyes widened briefly before he flushed and smiled back similarly, chuckling and rubbing the back of his head, "Your dress is backless, and I didn't see any straps earlier, so I figured it was so…"

Gracia nodded slightly… then untied the straps holding the top of her dress up.

Komui's eyes widened again and he stepped towards her quickly, pressing his hands against both sides of her collarbone to keep the dress up as she let the straps go to let it fall. When she blinked up at him, he flushed, torn between giving her a strained smile and swallowing harshly. "I can't…" He muttered, his voice a bit thin, "Sleep next to you… when you're…"

Komui was very in control of himself, but…

…He was male, after all…

"…I know." Taking advantage of Komui's shock at her acknowledgement of his predicament, Gracia pressed herself against him evenly and leaned up, closing her eyes and kissing him.

The straps of the dress having slid through his hands in his moment of shock, the dress fell and slumped in an uneven ring around her feet.

…It was strange, having the cloth of someone else's clothes pressed against her bared chest. But when Komui shifted slightly… said cloth sliding across her skin as he did… it went from being odd to being surprisingly pleasant.

Her fingers dug into his waistband as she clutched at him for support. She stayed pressed against his body, against his mouth, waiting calmly for a response.

Calmly… even though her neck was hot and she could feel her pulse on the back of her tongue, getting more and more frantic.

And it only got worse when Komui's hands desperately grabbed at her lower back, his arms encircling her waist and tense through the fabric of the dress shirt he was still wearing.

He finally, harshly, kissed back, his voracity catching her off guard, even though she'd asked for it, and making her knees buckle slightly as she faltered. His grip on her tightened in response, one of his hands dragging up her back roughly, nails painful as they razed her skin, before the hand slid around to the front to cup one side of her chest with barely restrained desperation.

Gracia gasped and arched against him, tipping her head to the side and pressing her forehead to his shoulder as she bit her lip, every muscle in her body starting to get draw so tense her toes curled.

Her mind was getting hazy… her thoughts were scattering… she was only aware of sensations; loud, strained breathing next to her ear, frantic hands palming, jerkily trying to stop but still moving, heat building up in the air and in various places in and on her body…

It should have scared her even more than all of the previous times when things that weren't half as borderline had occurred, but while it did make her anxious… she wasn't terrified…

…When she found herself anticipating it, Gracia let go.

And, when she came back to coherence pinned to the bed, Komui hovering over her with a torn look on his face, a question obviously forming on his mouth, she spoke before he could.

"Why are you stopping?"

Komui blinked and stared down at her, his mouth opening and closing slowly, his train of thought obviously derailed.

Gracia shuddered, moving her hands so her fingernails went from digging into his waistband to digging into his hips through his pants, pulling him closer, "Don't stop… You don't have to… Not this time… please…"

Komui gapped down at her a bit longer, his eyes flickering back and forth as he searched her face and his glasses close to falling off. His grip on her shook slightly.

When he was starting to take too long, Gracia tightened her grip on his hips again, pulling him down until their hips molded toge—

Gracia gasped and kissed back when Komui's mouth suddenly, painfully, met hers, and she moved her arms and hands until her nails were digging into his back, legs parting automatically when his knees carefully but almost frenetically nudged.

Komui's movements continued shaking with barely contained anxiety until it finally sank in that he wouldn't have to stop, and after that he became more focused on getting her to drown with him in the heat and passion that quickly swelled between them, which she did… willingly.

* * *

When Gracia woke the next morning, she was actually lying on top of Komui… for once.

Usually, the man moved so much she was the one who ended up getting rolled over on.

That day, though… Komui seemed intent on keeping her right where she was, if his grip was any indication; a hand on her waist, a hand on the back of her head, legs still entwined intimately…

Gracia didn't move, keeping her breathing even and her head resting on Komui's chest so that, if he wasn't already awake, he would stay asleep a bit longer.

…She didn't want him to wake up yet. If he woke… there was a good chance he'd break the tranquility in order to do something screwy and tiresome… like celebrate, or rush back to the Order and set off fireworks.

…Back to the Order… She didn't want to go back yet.

She wanted to rest… in the silence… pressed against him… with the fact that, eventually, it would have to end far from her thoughts.

…She wanted to act like this bubble, this space they had made that couldn't be broken by the outside, only by them, from within, never had to burst.

Because last night… had been the first time she had connected sex… with strong, positive emotional attachments…

She flinched slightly at how her mind had automatically worded that.

…The way Komui had said it… had been so much nicer…

* * *

_He panted something into her ear, voice so ragged it wasn't really discernable._

_Even though she wasn't able, or even coherent enough, to tell him she hadn't understood, her mouth and vocal cords too occupied with gasping and other noises, he said it again, though this time an ill-placed keen in response to a particularly pleasurable pulse kept her from hearing him._

_Verbal silence fell again, though both continued to be vocal, gasping, whining, moaning, letting out indicative noises to direct one or the other to do this or that, then more positive noises when the action was performed and it brought more euphoria…_

_Heat started to build in her stomach and she scratched at his back desperately, mouth opening slightly in a hoarse, weak scream that rose and fell in pitch with the coupled movements and heat and growing tension…_

_He hissed at her nails against his back, lightly biting the skin beneath her ear before saying it again…_

_And this time… she heard him…_

_And those three words… pushed her over the—_

* * *

…She hadn't been able to answer.

Neither of them had noticed it at the time, but looking back now… she hadn't been able to say anything in return.

And it hadn't just been because he'd… insisted on continuing (and continuing, and continuing, and continuing…) and it had slipped from her mind…

…Guilt.

What had been a tranquil, serene bubble was now being mottled by guilt…

However, with her mind only being able to focus on one thing at a time in her post-sleep haze, Gracia's attention swung fully to Komui when he stirred beneath her, his hand flexing in her hair as he whined.

"Nnnn…! ! Reeeever… Briiiigiiiitte… not the… antlers…"

Gracia sighed and relaxed. He was still asleep… Then she had to keep herself from tensing when he groaned and tipped his head up a bit and nuzzled the top of her head, the hand on her waist rubbing soft circles against her skin.

Now he was getting coherent…

Instead of making any movements that might have woken her if she was asleep, though, Komui settled back down and stopped moving, his breathing changing a bit and his heartbeat increasing slightly now that he was awake, but his body otherwise immobile.

Gracia exhaled softly and stayed settled and relaxed for some time longer, and when she finally decided to tip her head up and look at him, Komui was already staring at her calmly, as if he wasn't at all shocked that she was awake.

The hand on the back of her head pulled her up along his body gently until their breaths were mingling, and she kissed back slowly when his lips brushed hers.

She pulled back slightly after a bit and they stared at one another, Komui's gaze visibly hazy without his glasses, and, silently, she settled down against him again, her head next to his on the pillow this time with her nose and lips pressed to his cheek and jaw and Komui's grip on her waist tightening to keep her on top of him.

For a while longer, they laid together in silence.

"…You're going to be in trouble." Gracia murmured after an hour (or two, or more?).

"I'm already in trouble…" Komui hummed in response, turning his head slightly so the corner of his mouth brushed her cheek, "And there are only so many hours in a day, so it's not like the can increase my work hours… I think the only thing they can resort to anymore is physical punishment…"

Before she realized what she was doing, Gracia was tensing and growling, "No. Your body is mine." She then froze, her face quickly flooding with heat.

Komui glanced down at her from the corner of his eye, his lips curling into an amused smirk as he chuckled, "I'll be sure to tell them that…"

Gracia looked away, biting his jaw lightly in response.

Komui flinched and whined softly, but it quickly dissolved back into chuckling.

Gracia sighed, feeling a twinge of disappointment as the tranquility was brushed aside. She then muttered, "If we take too long, Allen will be the first one to find us…"

At that, Komui fell silent.

Then, he sighed, his hands' grip on her hair and waist tightening as he slowly sat up, keeping her pressed against him.

Gracia had to straddle his hips to keep the shift from getting awkward/painful, and when they found themselves in that position (again), they only had to look at one another for a few seconds before they were kissing once more, Gracia's arms wrapping around Komui's neck and Komui's hand somehow weaving even deeper into her hair, the hand against her lower back and waist keeping her hips pressed against his.

They both managed to silently agree, though, that starting again wasn't a good idea (especially considering how exhausted Gracia got afterwards), so their actions gently tapered off, Komui finally moving his hands to hug her tightly and Gracia dropping her forehead onto his shoulder as she slumped against him, her arms going limp and falling.

More time passed with both of them simply staying in place, then one of them shifted slightly, prompting the other to shift, and finally they both reluctantly pulled away from one another and stood, shifting through the clothes strewn on the ground.

Gracia, having fewer articles of clothing (and better eyesight), finished before Komui, retrieving his glasses from where she'd left them under one of the pillows and turning Komui to face her when he started to get frustrated with his blurry fumblings. She gently slid his glasses onto his face for him, inexplicably finding herself blushing when he blinked and smiled at her.

Komui chuckled at the blush, kissing her forehead before going back to getting dressed (with more success than before).

Once they were both dressed, they lingered where they stood, still reluctant to leave the special space they'd created within that room…

The lingering, though, started to make Gracia nervous, and she shifted as she started to doubt…

…What if they… didn't want to leave… because they were both afraid they would never be able to recreate this feeling? What if… after this… what was between them dissolved…?

It would be one thing if she was the only one hesitant… but if they both were, then…

Komui, though, didn't seem to be following her train of thought, because when he glanced at her his expression became colored with worry at the (likely anxious) expression she wore. Then he, somehow, seemed to understand, because he smiled, took her hand, and finally led her to the door, opening it easily.

And, even though she still didn't want to leave, Gracia relaxed at that, lacing their fingers like she had the night before and following him out of the room and back to the "Home" door.

It was already open, with a man from the Swiss Guard and Marvin Huskin of the Science Division manning it.

Gracia didn't really listen as Komui grinned in his typical goofy way and made up a story for Marvin on the spot about how he'd gotten lost, hadn't been able to find the "Home" door and how he and Gracia had ended up wandering the entire uninhabited city for they had no idea how long (because the 'sun' or whatever source of light there was in the Ark dimension never set/went out to separate night from day).

Fortunately, Gracia seemed to look exhausted enough that, when he looked at her, Marvin didn't seem too skeptical, though the man did smirk slightly when he saw their joined hands.

If Komui noticed from behind his goofy, closed-eyed grin he didn't say anything or make any moves to let Gracia's hand go, simply bowing slightly to the two men at the door before walking through and pulling Gracia through the Ark Gate and back into the European Headquarters.

An anxious Allen waited on the other side with a few others, the white-haired boy sighing and smiling exhaustedly, apologetically, as they walked towards him, "Oh, good, you two are alright! I tried to get them to let me leave the Ark Gate unlocked for as long as I could, but it kept getting later and later and the guards were exhausted…"

"Oh, it's fine, it's fine!" Komui assured Allen brightly, beaming and waving his hand, "It didn't detract from the evening at all!"

"…But you two would have been locked inside the Ark all night." Allen blinked, tipping his head slightly, "What did you d—"

"MY LEEEENAAALEEEE! !" Komui suddenly burst, letting go of Gracia's hand and launching himself at his sister to wrap her in a tight hug, shaking her back and forth slightly, "MY MOST PRECIOUS SISTER, I'M SO SORRY I WASN'T THERE TO READ YOU YOUR GOODNIGHT STORY OR GIVE YOU YOUR GOODNIGHT KISS OR WIND UP YOUR SINGING DAKIMAKURA! !"

…Even though she felt a twinge of annoyance, Gracia couldn't bring herself to be mad at Komui as he started the over-the-top routine that usually incensed her.

She found her attention further detracted from Komui's actions when Lorelei suddenly appeared at her side, smirking up at her slyly.

"Your hair's down, Sister…" Lorelei noted in an overly dramatic stage whisper, "I take it you had fun last night?"

The area went silent, Allen and Lenalee looking around (pointedly, anywhere but the two adults), an amused Lavi off to one side suddenly smirking perversely and, on the other side, Kanda closing his eyes flatly and Link pursing his lips with an eye roll and a shake of his head.

In front of Gracia, Komui was frozen in place, and Gracia, herself, simply hadn't responded at all.

And she was saved from responding when Brigitte suddenly stormed up, a murderous and poisonous look on her face.

"Late… This is what I get for giving you the benefit of the doubt." The woman seethed, reaching out for Komui's ear, "Supervisor, let's—"

"W-Wait!" Komui suddenly squeaked, dancing and spinning away from her hand before waving his hands at her frantically, "There's one thing I absolutely have to do before going to work! Let me do it, and I'll let you keep me however long you want to! I won't even take a lunch break! !"

"…Fine." Shadows crossed Brigitte's face, "Twenty minutes. Then, I'm writing a report to the Inspector."

Komui flinched but saluted her, flipping around and leaning in to give Gracia a flash of a kiss before he took off down the hall.

Gracia blinked at the airspace he had just occupied slowly, then sighed and started to walk back to her room, making it a point to ignore the teenagers and comments she knew were following her.

The route back to her bedroom led Gracia (and those who were trying to pry things from her [or, in Kanda's case, those who were going in that direction, anyway]) down one of the hallways that framed the large courtyard…

And… partway down the hall… the building's intercom system suddenly crackled and—

Gracia flinched and covered her ears as trumpets and other brass instruments suddenly blared over the intercom, taking a moment to realize it was the infamous climax of the _1812 Overture_, and that, in the sky above the courtyard, fireworks were going off.

Gracia was frozen in place, her body numb and her mind blank as Lavi's whooping laughter echoed through the hall. Colors bled around her as the teens shifted forward to study and try to talk to her, but she didn't really…

The teenagers stopped their line of questioning (which had gone from mildly teasing to concerned at the… eerie look on the older woman's face) when Gracia suddenly resumed walking, as if recorded cannon fire _wasn't_ going off on the intercom and there _weren't_ fireworks of various colors shooting up into the sky and exploding.

Then, Lenalee worriedly asked, "K-Kanda? Where's Mugen?"

Silence, then Kanda swore and rushed after Gracia, the others following half a heartbeat later.

Even before they reached her, though, screams were already echoing through the building.

"OH MY GOD! ! GRACIA, N-NO, WAIT! ! WAAAAAH, I'M SORRY! !"

"KOOOOMUUUIIIIIIIII! !"


	86. Protocol Stasis Recording: File VIII

Songs I've listen to while writing this story (in no particular order) Pt. 1:

"Hotblack" - Oceanship

"Tsunaida te ni kiss wo" - Sanae Kobayashi

"Airplanes" - B.o.B feat. Hayley Williams

"All I Do Is Win" - DJ Khaled feat. T-Pain, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross

"Steal Your Heart" - Augustana

"Lacrimosa" - Kalafina

"I'm Alive" - Becca

"The Asshole Song" - Jimmy Buffett (Kanda's theme XP)

"Party Rock Anthem" - LMFAO feat. Lauren Bennett and GoonRock

"Pain Redefined" - Disturbed

"No Hands" - Waka Flocka Flame feat. Roscoe Dash and Wale

TBC

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia sulked in the sitting area of her room and glared at the empty space in front of her stonily, too anxious to lay down but not about to set foot out of her room.

No… She wouldn't be leaving her room anytime soon.

Not now that Komui's 'celebratory announcement' had assured that the entire building knew that they had consummated their relationship (with those who had been part of the original Headquarters picking up on what the music and fireworks had meant right away [they all had known about the date] and everyone else figuring it out or deducing it through word of mouth).

The only good (if it could even be called that) that had come from Komui's little display was the Department Heads stepping in and separating Komui and Gracia, Komui for abusing his powers and Gracia for trying to hurt him (some suspected a _certain part_ of him) with Mugen, and putting them both under temporary restraining orders; while relationships between Order members weren't, technically, allowed or encouraged, most wouldn't do anything about things that developed as long as it didn't interfere with work (they _lived_ at work, for God's sake; it wasn't like things would never develop, they just had to be professional about it).

Now, because of their intervention, Gracia didn't have to talk to Komui in person to tell him to fuck off.

…She would, though, have to apologize to Kanda, she realized.

She knew how twitchy he could get about Mugen… and she knew that twitchiness would only be worsened by the fact that he hadn't noticed her take it.

The only thing that had probably saved her from getting killed by him was their odd relationship; had anyone else, such as Lavi, even acted like they were going to take Mugen, they would have gotten their fingers hacked off.

Gracia had gotten away with a whack to the side of the head with the scabbard.

Still, she had been concerned when he hadn't met her eye before, during, or after, so… She was thinking she might actually be in a bit more trouble with the young man than usual.

Sighing and sick of sitting in her room, anyway, Gracia stood, brushing her long civilian-clothing sweater and dress pants straight before walking out of her room and down the hall. Maybe, if apologizing went well, she could get Kanda to go outside with her and she could watch him go through his kata and exercises and, possibly, do some sword practice with him… She needed to be distracted from Komui's latest display of jackassery…

…Gracia wasn't entirely sure what she was expecting (or thinking, really) when she walked into Kanda's room without knocking…

…But she certainly wasn't expecting to walk in to find the dark-haired young man pinning her sister to the wall, Lorelei's legs wrapped tightly around his waist and her arms around his neck with Kanda's hands gripping and supporting her by her ass as the two kissed fiercely, as if they were trying to eat one another's faces.

…Gracia's brain short-circuited.

"WHAT THE FUCK? !"

The two teenagers froze at that, their eyes snapping open and meeting. Quickly, near identical looks of shock crossed their faces, then Kanda's face was overtaken by disgust and he stepped away from the wall, dropping Lorelei in a flash.

Lorelei fell to the ground, cursing loudly when she hit her head on the wall.

Then, the two seemed to remember _what_ had snapped them out of their violent make out session and looked over at Gracia slowly.

Gracia was staring at the two with wide eyes, swaying slightly as her pulse pounded in her ears and panting as she started to hyperventilate.

Too… fucking… much… in such… a short… amount… of time! !

"S-Sister!" Lorelei jumped to her feet quickly, waving her hands, "I-I can explain! !"

"YOU! !" Gracia screeched, pointing to Lorelei violently, "YOU RUINED MY IMAGE OF YU! !"

Kanda's brow twitched.

Her Kanda… Her Yu… Her violent, aloof, periodically adorable, completely asexual Yu… The one person/aspect of her life… that she was depending on to be _constant_…

And Lorelei… had given him a libido…

She would never… be able to look at him again… without seeing…

Lorelei's reddened, bruising and swelling lips curled into a frown, "Your image of me…" She raised her voice, "No, Gracia, wait, you have it all—" Before she could finish, Gracia had taken off out the door. "Damn it!" Lorelei made to dash after her sister, only to run into Brigitte in the doorway.

The woman frowned down at her, looking between Lorelei and Kanda slowly, glancing after Gracia, then looking at the two teens in front of her again and speaking, "I was sent here to have Kanda come clear up a discrepancy on a recent mission report… But it seems… that both of you… should come with me back to the Supervisor's office…"

Lorelei sighed heavily and Kanda scowled.

* * *

"…And then she screamed 'You ruined my image of you' and ran off…" Lorelei concluded with a scowl, not liking that she had had to explain this in front of the Bookman and his Apprentice. She flicked her wrist and waved a hand slightly, "But I don't get how something like that would make her so upset as to ruin her image of me—"

"She probably said 'image of Yu,'" Lavi interrupted, sighing and shaking his head, "Not 'image of you.'"

Lorelei tore her gaze away from an exasperated Komui and threw the Bookman Jr. a frown. Crap, this was going in the History Book, wasn't it…? "…I don't hear a difference."

"Kanda's given name," Lavi grinned wryly, pointing to the stoic swordsman standing on Lorelei's other side impassively, "Is Yu. Y. U. You ruined her image of Yu."

"…Her image of _him_?" Lorelei looked back at Kanda with a scowl.

"Yes, Gracia's image of Kanda." Komui sighed jadedly from behind his desk, leaning back in his seat. His desktop was littered more than usual, and now he had to deal with this, not to mention Gracia wasn't talking to him… "Gracia is… particularly attached to Kanda. From what I can tell, she seems to have put him on a pedestal… and she tends to go to him when she needs to clear her mind." Which was… probably why she'd gone to Kanda's room, Komui realized sadly, "She needed a bit of stability, but when she walked in on you two…" Ah… right… Lorelei and Kanda… Komui was still having problems processing that one. "What were you two doing, anyway?" Komui scowled, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Lorelei, you're engaged. Kanda, you… well… you hate romantic attachments."

Kanda snorted, glancing off to the side and scowling. Had Gracia been there, she would have noticed the lack of any tinge of red on his face, and thus would have had her panic assuaged and been assured that it hadn't been anything serious.

"It was an accident." Lorelei said with a heavy sigh, frowning and waving her hands emphatically as she spoke, "We'd gotten into an argument over something stupid, the arguing got really close as we tried to stare one another down, then the arguing tapered off and… what I'm pretty sure was supposed to be a more violent physical confrontation ended up turning into _that_, instead." She made a face and shuddered as she said 'that,' still unable to completely believe she'd made out with _him_…

Kanda's scowl deepened. The feeling was mutual.

Komui stared at the teens in front of him, then slapped his face with the flat of his hand.

"What? !" Lorelei barked, getting a bit red-faced as she twitched, "We're hormonal teens, alright? ! There's a fine line between arguing and making out, and a finer one between physical confrontation and sexual domination! !"

Kanda let out a loud, barking noise at that, throwing Lorelei a disgusted look, "As if I would _ever_ with _you_! !"

"The feeling is mutual, asshole! !" Lorelei snapped, throwing Kanda a withering look.

"Both of you stop it! !" Brigitte barked.

At that point, Bookman had walked out, as this development wasn't at all interesting or significant, though Lavi had stayed, grinning. This was proving to be quite entertaining.

Once the arguing between the two teens in front of him had stopped, Komui dragged his hand down his face enough to open his eyes, looking between them slowly, "…_Whatever_ is going on between you is not going to escalate beyond this, do you understand? The Order does not condone senseless sexual relationships, especially not between its younger members and _most definitely_ not when they're Exorcists."

Lorelei looked like she wanted to say something else (likely a scathing remark about it being Kanda's fault), but bit her tongue and nodded.

Kanda just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"Good…" Komui sighed, now removing his hand from his face completely and muttering worriedly, "Now… Where's Gracia…?"

"…No idea." Lorelei sighed, drooping slightly, "Like I said, she ran off…"

Komui's worried frown deepened and he glanced at Brigitte.

Brigitte glanced back at him, then sighed, "The restraining order is still in effect, Supervisor. I will have someone go look for her, but you are not allowed to look, yourself."

Komui drooped and whimpered.

"As for you two," Brigitte turned back to Kanda and Lorelei, pressing her lips into a thin line and shaking her head, "Well, I just hope we won't see any more problems of this kind between you two, otherwise, Lorelei, stripping you of your Innocence and having you sent back to Lady Mathilda will have to be _seriously_ reconsidered."

Lorelei flinched and looked at the floor, muttering incoherently. She then turned quickly, making to leave, only to freeze when… the entire building seemed to shake, a loud, crashing thump echoing from somewhere outside of the room.

Komui's office fell into a temporary silence, then there was scrambling and skittering, Brigitte's thick brow twitching slightly and Kanda rolling his eyes as Lavi, Komui and Lorelei rushed over to the door and opened it.

They looked up and down the hall, Komui frowning when he saw others peeking cautiously out of other doors that lined the hall before he found himself faced with many an accusatory glance.

"It's not me!" He hissed, looking around nervously again when there was another loud, crashing thud, then another, and then a series of them, like giant… footfalls…

Komui and Lavi shuddered, dread creeping in at the familiar sound.

Lorelei was just confused… until, way down the hall that ran perpendicular to the door of Komui's office, she saw a distant shadow.

A _huge_ shadow that… took up the entire hallway as it lumbered towards them.

Lorelei, who couldn't make out just why the males flanking her were slowly getting more and more tense and terrified, got it as the hulking shadow got closer…

…And revealed itself to be a giant robot.

However… it wasn't just a lone giant robot…

…It was a lone, giant robot with Gracia standing in a special, rail-lined platform on top of its flat head.

…And if seeing a giant robot looming over her weren't enough to start scaring Lorelei, the heavy, slightly crazed glare her sister was directing down at her was.

"…G-Gracia…?" Lorelei started shakily, taking a step backwards, "Wh-What's that…?"

"Good question…" Gracia's crazed glare never left her sister, "Ask the one who made it… while you still have the time to."

Lorelei twitched.

"…G-G-Gracia…" Komui started slowly, taking a cautious step forward and lifting his hands in an attempted placating motion, "Wh-What are you doing with the Komlin XL…?"

"Well…" Gracia never looked away from Lorelei, "You said I couldn't use Judge-Sal to train Exorcists… so I'm using a Komlin, instead."

"…And what exactly are you trying to teach Lorelei?" Komui continued speaking slowly, edging in front of the blonde cautiously and going against every instinct in his head that screamed that stepping in front of a Komlin wasn't a good idea (something he agreed wholeheartedly with only because he wasn't the one controlling it this time around).

"…That no one…" Gracia, who still wasn't looking away from Lorelei, narrowed her eyes further, "Defiles my Yu."

"…What?"

Even though looking away from the giant robot was probably a bad idea, Komui, Lorelei and Lavi (who had been trying to keep from busting a gut) glanced back as Kanda slowly stepped forward (and now Lavi's face was getting red as he worked harder to keep from laughing).

Kanda glared up at Gracia, a corner of one of his finely angled eyes twitching slightly, "What in the hell do you mean by 'my Yu,' woman? I don't belo—"

"Looooooreeeleeiiiiiiiiii…"

Lorelei turned back to her sister at the low growl, swallowing harshly and sweating a little when she saw her sister slowly raising her clenched hands, the Komlin XL copying the move.

"HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY YUUUUUUU! !" The Komlin's arm was thrown forward and several screams echoed down the hall, Kanda barely having time to drag Komui back into his office and out of the way by his hair (while leaving Lavi to dodge on his own) and Lorelei bolting down the hallway, screaming.

Lavi, Komui, Kanda and Brigitte stared in shock as the Komlin XL, driven by Gracia, took off after Lorelei, Gracia screaming out things like "HARLOT! !" and "HOMEWRECKER! !" as she chased her sister through the building.

"…I wonder who she learned that from…?" Lavi asked slowly, sardonically, a wry grin starting to grow on his face as he glanced at Komui.

Komui, who was sprawled out on his butt, his arms and legs flailing from Kanda still pulling on his hair, froze, twitching.

Then, something seemed to hit Lavi and he looked at Kanda, pouting and whining, "Yuuuu! ! Why didn't you try to pull me out of the way, too? !"

"Because we don't really need you." Kanda growled bluntly, glaring after the Solidor sisters with his eye still twitching. And, across his cheekbones was a…

Lavi noticed and slowly smirked, "Yuuuu-_kuuuun_… Are you bluuushing? Does it touch you to see Gracia acting so motherly for your sak—"

"Mugen… _Invoke_."

"Y-Yu, why are you sore with me? ! _I'm_ not the one fighting for _your honor_ as if you were a _child_ or a _teenage girl_! !"

"…Die, _Baka Usag_i! !"

"You two stop fighting and go stop Lady Solidor from killing her sister! !" Brigitte snapped, a look of exasperated disbelief on her face (she still hadn't seen a _real_ Komlin incident of this magnitude since she had transferred in).

Kanda stopped his Mugen in mid-swing, and Lavi stopped his backwards stumbling.

After taking the order seriously for a moment, both males took off down the hall.

Brigitte sighed heavily, clenching and unclenching her hands at her sides, then slowly turned on Komui and narrowed her eyes down at him.

Komui, still sitting on the floor and using his hands to prop himself up, swallowed nervously, his beret on the ground, his hair mussed and his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose.

"…I told you to _get rid_ of your robots." Brigitte seethed down at him.

Komui said nothing to that, simply staring at her incredulously, either shocked that it had been a _serious_ order or that she had _seriously_ expected him to _obey it_.

"…What does the Komlin XL do?" Brigitte asked, her voice shaking as she barely stopped herself from throwing her pride, sense of propriety and professionalism aside and kicking him in the face.

"…Th-The 'XL' stands for "eXtreme Librarian"…" Komui mumbled, looking away and bringing his hands forward to tap his forefingers together, "That's why it has a control platform on its head… The bookshelves in the library here are huge. I thought it would help…"

Brigitte started to relax. A librarian robot… That didn't sound… too dangerous…

…Still… it was one of _Komui's_ robots, and while she hadn't seen a _true_ Komlin incident yet… she'd read enough about them before accepting this transfer.

"And does it do anything else?" Brigitte asked patiently, as if she were talking to a child.

It became obvious that asking had been a good idea when Komui tapped his fingers together faster, his eyes darting around nervously.

"Well—"

They both jumped when the building suddenly shook with a loud explosion.

"…YOU GAVE IT EXPLOSIVES? !"

"WHAT'S A GIANT ROBOT WITHOUT ROCKETS? !" Komui whined, "BESIDES, LIBRARIANS HAVE VERY, _VERY_ BORING JOBS! !"

…At that, Brigitte decided to say to hell with propriety.

She was going to kill the idiot.


	87. Protocol Stasis Recording: File IX

Songs I've listen to while writing this story (in no particular order) Pt. 2:

"Vanilla Twilight" - Owl City

"I Believe" - Jessica Tyler

"How to Love" - Lil Wayne

"Bad Romance" - Lady GaGa

"Sha la la -Ayakashi NIGHT-" - Saeka Uura

"Again" - Yui

"Beautiful Lies" - B-Complex

"Explosive" - Bond

"Best Thing I Never Had" - Beyonce

"Eyes On Me" - Faye Wong

"I'm Still Here" - John Rzeznik

Okay, so after you've read this chapter you're all going to do something for me, ya? ^ . ^ Good~!

- First, you're gonna go to my "Reviews" that have compiled for this story by clicking on the number of reviews at the top of the page.

- From there, you're gonna scroll down until you find a review (any review, really) submitted by a person named **SuperYuuki**.

- From there, you're gonna go to her user page by clicking on the link her name makes, and then from there you're gonna go to her deviantART account, which is linked to on her user page as the "_Link of Awesomeness_".

- That'll take ya to her deviantART account, and from there you're gonna scroll down a bit, and what is it you're gonna find there…?

Oh mah lordly cheese, is that _*Le GASP*_ Gracia? ! Rendered in MikuMikuDance? ! Daaaaaamn skippy it is. ^ . ^ You all know what to do from there (if you have a dA account, that is).

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"CRADLE ROBBER! !"

"HE'S OLDER THAN ME! !" Lorelei shrieked in her own defense, jumping over the railing and shrieking as she plummeted to the floor below in order to avoid another rocket.

"HOMEWRECKER! !"

Lorelei rolled back to her feet and bolted passed a group of Science Division personnel, who hardly looked up from their work as they parted to make way for the giant robot that was hot on the blonde's heels. It seemed it was easier to be calm when giant robots were on the loose when Komui _wasn't_ the one controlling them.

"THAT TERM ONLY WORKS FOR THE _THIRD WHEEL_ OF AN ILLICIT RELATIONSHIP, NOT ONE OF THE PEOPLE IN THE ESTABLISHED ENGAGEMENT! !" Lorelei looked around desperately for someone, _anyone_, who looked like they might pity her and had the power to save her.

She wasn't having much luck.

"HARLOT! !" The machinery from the robot behind Lorelei shrieked as another rocket was launched.

"ISN'T THAT A BIT MUCH? ! IT WAS JUST A KI-IIIIIIIIIIISS! !" Lorelei screamed when the ground beneath her feet exploded and she was sent flying through the air.

"E-Extend, extend, extend! !"

Lorelei's spiraling downward descent was halted when a strong arm wrapped around her waist, her eyes opening slowly and looking up to meet Lavi's sheepishly grinning face, his other hand and his legs wrapped around the now extended pole of his Anti-Akuma hammer.

"Man, I didn't know your sister could be this bonkers…" Lavi chuckled nervously, glancing over to where Kanda stood between them and a now no longer advancing Komlin.

Lorelei swallowed harshly, murmuring, "Sh-She really does… care for him, doesn't she?"

"I think, in her mind, their relationship's gotten to the point where she's… kind of a surrogate to him." Lavi deduced (though he really had a much better idea of the situation, not that he'd dare say it out loud when he knew Kanda was still in hearing range).

Gracia, basically, thought of Kanda like Tiedoll did… only in a much more personal and far less obsessive way (at least until he was approached by females, apparently). Gracia had surrogated Kanda in as the child she had never had.

And Lavi found that hilarious.

"Woman," Kanda growled up at Gracia, Mugen drawn but not poised, "Put the robot away and take a goddamned nap. You're acting more moronic than usual."

"Kanda, move." Gracia kept her stare locked on Lorelei intently, "I can't stop until the image of her crawling all over your innocent body is out of my mind."

Lavi nearly fell off of his hammer, his lungs hurting with withheld laughter.

Kanda twitched, his mouth opening and closing before he barked, "Damn it, support unit, shut the fuck up and get down from there! !"

This time, Lavi was even more sure than before that Kanda was blushing; the backs of the Asian teen's ears were red.

"I can't do that, Yu—"

"Do not freely assume that you have the right to call me that! !" Kanda raised his voice, lowering his head slightly, "You and I are not the flippy-haired idiot and Lenalee! ! You have no right to lord over my life! ! _You are not my mother! !_"

A hush fell over the area, the choking sounds Lavi had been letting out as he held in his laughter, Lorelei's heavy breathing, and the amused mutters of those who had been watching from a safe distance all coming to a stop.

It wasn't a secret that Gracia was one of the few people Kanda worked well with.

It wasn't a secret that Kanda had, on more than one occasion, shown protective inklings towards the older woman.

It wasn't a secret that Gracia was one of the very, very few Kanda seemed to be able to tolerate during his personal time.

It wasn't a secret that Kanda had gone out of his way for Gracia on several occasions (such as when he'd gone to Nalbina after her).

It wasn't a secret that, over time, Gracia had gone from being submissive around Kanda, obeying his every order, to just being a more than slightly equal presence at his side, that she had become someone people would speculate Kanda might actually possibly talk to.

It wasn't a secret that, when she was around Kanda, Gracia seemed to get more maternal.

And, when Gracia's face went completely blank at his last shout, the Komlin beneath her jerking to a stop, it was no longer a secret that Gracia hadn't thought about it in that way until then, and that being denied the right to think about it in that way, before she had even started, hurt.

Kanda didn't move as Gracia stared at him silently, his jaw clenched until the tendons on his neck stood out and his grip on Mugen so harsh his knuckles turned white.

After a while, Gracia stood straight, the Komlin following her move before the robot turned and started to make its way back to the Science Division.

"…Yu, I don't think you've ever been more of an asshole to her than you were just then." Lavi observed simply, bluntly, when she was gone.

Lorelei squirmed against his side, gnawing on her lip.

Kanda didn't acknowledge him.

* * *

Exhausted from her completely out-of-character and utterly insane tirade, Gracia stumbled back to her bedroom, her chest aching with pain.

…She hadn't even realized what she'd slowly been doing to Kanda until he'd pointed out his blatant disinterest and refusal to participate in the subject.

What in the hell had she been thinking, trying to mentally categorize Kanda as a child… and _hers_, at that? Other than needing someone to talk to on occasion, Kanda was perfectly capable of taking care of himself.

For God's sake, the boy was almost twenty years old… Even if she didn't _like_ to acknowledge it, the chances were very slim that he hadn't already had sex with at least one partner, and, his attitude aside, it wasn't as if Kanda couldn't attract attention (from either gender)…

And she'd been worried about Kanda so much she'd turned on her own _sister_… Not that it was okay for Lorelei to have been doing that with Kanda anyway, but…

…She really had been hanging around Komui too much.

…Still… as wrong as she knew she'd been… Kanda's declaration had… hurt… She wasn't sure why, but it had.

Had she really woven the concepts of 'Kanda' and 'son' so closely together in her mind?

Gracia sighed and laid on her bed heavily, cringing as she slowly replayed the last few hours in her head. Dear lord, she'd made a Komlin incident near the same level as Komui's happen… She'd pulled a Komui again, only this time, unlike how she'd been when it had been Christopher on the receiving end, she'd gotten so into her overly maternal instincts that she'd gone after the person she was angry with – her own sister – with a giant robot.

She no longer had any right to be annoyed with Komui when he went on a squealing, whining tirade about boys being too close to Lenalee.

…She no longer had any right to assume she was someone Kanda could and would talk to.

She hadn't just ruined her relationship with him; she'd taken herself away as someone he could rely on.

All because she'd had a weak moment and had expected Kanda to forever hold up to a standard she had no right to force on him to begin with…

…And now Gracia was feeling stick to her stomach.

…She had thought… that she'd bypassed her biological clock's occasional buzzing desire for children years ago… before she'd run away for those four years.

It seemed, though, that she had been wrong… Dear God, had she been wrong… She'd probably only been able to phase it out for those four years because of Sleep, and after she'd joined the Order and started to reconnect with her emotions and human relationships, it seemed she'd subconsciously filled that need with the kids around her, with Kanda standing forefront.

She didn't understand her own emotions in the slightest.

As Gracia slowly worked herself into a depression, she failed to notice her bedroom door open and close, only aware of the fact that she was no longer alone once a hulking, looming form was behind her.

She glanced over her shoulder tiredly, looking up into Renault's impassive face.

"…Shall we go for a walk, Mistress?"

Gracia stared up at him, silent, then nodded, rolling over and slipping her legs off of the edge of the bed to stand. When Renault held out his arm, she took it, sliding her arm over his and leaning against his side slightly as he started to lead her to the door.

Knowing Barheim as well as, if not better than, his mistress, Renault led Gracia through a few small hallways and down a short flight of stairs that ended in a simple but strong and well-bolted door.

The door took them to the thin strip of land that stood between Barheim and the cliff that overlooked the water on the western side of the island.

They walked in silence along the length of the building and cliff, Renault easily picking out the remains of a thin maintenance path between the trees and bushes.

"…You know, you never have liked children, Mistress."

Gracia looked up at Renault, blinking.

"The children of others, at least." Renault amended, his usually stoic expression twisting slightly as he gestured down near his knees with his free hand, "The small ones. Not that I could ever blame you… All of the smaller children you interacted with were the children of family and 'friends,' and they tended to be annoying brats. The only time… I ever saw you really brighten towards the idea of children… was when you thought of your own."

Gracia slowly looked ahead, sighing, "However long that lasted…"

"…Yes." Renault nodded, "After so many miscarriages, you did become jaded and guarded. Still… even though you had never cared much for the children of others, you always did want your own."

"What are you getting at, Renault?" Gracia mumbled, slowing a bit as she contemplated separating from him and heading back inside. Her physician always did what he thought was best, but sometimes she really did have to question his methods…

"I'm saying that the 'one-sided' relationship you have formed with Kanda Yu is not anything you should feel fault for." Renault answered easily, keeping his grip on her firm but acquiescing and slowing slightly, "With the age difference between you two, as well as how your relationship has progressed, how you to treat one another and how you let the other treat the one, it was a possible outcome… And, frankly, I do not think that this relationship is as one-sided as you are probably thinking it is."

"…Renault, he told me straight out that I'm not his mother." An obvious fact, but it also carried the subtext that Kanda did not and did not want to think about her in that sense.

"A common reaction in fights between step-mothers and step-sons." Renault countered flatly, calmly, "I said it to my own step-mother on several occasions."

Gracia looked up at Renault again, blinking and stunned at this unexpected and rare look into his life.

"And, I ultimately never meant it." Renault added, glancing back down at Gracia, "I am aware of the fact that Sir Kanda does not owe you the same level of respect and consideration that I did my step-mother, as our situation was legally recognized and more binding, however I do believe that Sir Kanda does think of you in much the same way. He is simply like I was when I was younger… stubborn, disconnected and independent. He does not view human relationships with favor, and it likely confuses and annoys him when he feels any sort of connection with anyone."

"I know that." Gracia sighed, looking ahead again, "I do know Kanda, after all…"

"Then you should also know that he would not be so childish as to let something like this lead to a complete divide between you two."

She paused at that, blinking.

…Actually, that was a valid point… After all, if Kanda could cut someone he was close to out of his life that easily, he wouldn't keep letting Tiedoll address him as 'Yu_-kun_' and 'son' (as much as he 'let' the older man do that, anyway). He also wouldn't still be friends(?) with Lavi…

So… if she hadn't completely ruined things with him… then it would probably just be a while before he forgave her.

…And she could live with that.

Sighing and relaxing, Gracia continued to walk beside Renault, smiling slightly and leaning against him.

"As for Lorelei…" Renault started after a pause.

Gracia started to frown again. Right… Lorelei… The one who _really_ had no business kissing anyone, considering she was supposedly happily engaged. Gracia didn't even know what to do about that…

"…Miss Lorelei has never really been this… flighty and irrational about arguments…" Renault sighed, "I think she and Sir Kanda simply rub one another the wrong way. Had she had the same argument with anyone else, it probably would not have ended like that. She did not intend for it to end as it did; they are both simply hardheaded, hot-blooded, attractive hormonal teenagers. If they were to be left alone for extended periods of time, they could likely devolve into hate sex… I will have to talk to Miss Lorelei."

"…Thank you." Gracia sighed, shaking her head, "I don't know what I would say to her…"

"Of course not." Renault glanced down at Gracia as they reached the end of the path, turning around and starting to lead her back, "You can talk to Miss Lorelei as equals, but you were not there to see her grow up, see her develop, know what kind of person she can turn into in certain situations… You can be her friend, but until you get to know her better, you are ill-suited to be an older sister."

Gracia sighed heavily and nodded. It was true, after all…

"You should likely be more worried about your relationship with Supervisor Lee." Renault blinked slowly, his face void, "It is my understanding that you two had an argument."

Gracia pursed her lips and stared ahead stonily. She didn't want to think about it. She was still mad at him.

"…Would you mind if I asked what happened?"

She twitched, her face starting to flush.

Telling Renault… didn't seem like a good idea…

She was passively aware of the fact that Renault had… threatened Komui on a few occasions about Komui's conduct around Gracia… If she told Renault that Komui had played celebratory music and fired celebratory fireworks after they'd… well…

…The bodyguard/physician would turn him into a pretzel.

…So… instead… Gracia decided to address another issue that was causing her stress…

"…He told me he loves me."

Beside her, Renault twitched slightly before inhaling and exhaling slowly.

Gracia sighed. This talk… would take a while…

* * *

She waited until night, when she was sure Kanda would be alone, before trying to go to his room again…

…And this time, she knocked.

After a moment of silence, loud, angry footsteps sounded from the other side of the closed door, Kanda's low, angry voice snarling, "Son of a bitch, _Baka Usagi_, if this is you again, I—" The door was jerked open and Kanda stood there, shirtless, wearing a loose pair of drawstring trousers. He twitched and fell silent, staring at Gracia with a few emotions she couldn't quite place flitting across his face in a flash (thus her inability to read him) before he deadpanned.

They stood in silence for a moment, Gracia staring at Kanda's tattoo intently. It had gotten so much bigger since the last time she'd studied it…

"…I'm sorry." She mumbled after a bit, "I'm sorry I stole Mugen from you, I'm sorry I walked into your room without knocking, I'm sorry I used your given name so many times in public, and I… I'm sorry I treated you like a child. I know you're not mine, and I know you're an adult. I had no right to… put that kind of pressure on you. I don't… want you to feel like… I'm someone you can't go to anymore, so—"

"Shut the fuck up."

Gracia cringed slightly, taking a slight step back and keeping her eyes on his torso. She was tempted to just walk away when Kanda clenched his hands at his sides tightly, his knuckles turning white and his muscles from his chest down to the waistband of his trousers tightening. Damn it… apologizing had made it wor—

"The Supervisor is a fucking idiot." Kanda seethed, "He drives people to do dumb things. If you hadn't walked in when you did, your bitch sister and I might have done something real fucking moronic. My name… Just… Just don't do it again, alright? ! And that fucking stupid-ass display with that fucking Komlin and all that… You… I… Fucking… stupid… just…"

Gracia slowly looked up at Kanda, stunned, and met his eyes, floored when she saw his eyes quickly dart to the side…

…Her imagination and the lighting were acting up again. His cheeks were dusted with a light rosy color.

"Training!" Kanda finally barked, stepping back into his room and grabbing his door, "Tomorrow! Early! Front door!" He then slammed the door shut, the sound echoing down the hall.

Gracia stared at Kanda's bedroom door, shocked.

Then, she smiled slightly, pressing a hand to her forehead and letting out a few short bursts of laughter.

"Goodnight to you, too, Kanda…"

* * *

Still elated, Gracia didn't mind when Komui crawled into her bed later that evening, simply refusing to face him but letting him wrap a tentative, apologetic arm around her waist.

Her elation faded… when his presence reminded her that she still had an issue with him to deal with…

…Getting an apology from him didn't seem all that important…

…Finding a way, and the courage, to confess to him… would probably take quite a bit of time…


	88. Protocol Stasis Recording: File X

Songs I've listened to while writing this story (in no particular order) Pt. 3:

"Lighters" - Bad Meets Evil

"There Goes My Baby" - Usher

"The Image Theme of Xenosaga II" - Yuki Kaijura

"1000 Words" - Sweetbox

"Not Afraid" - Eminem

"To Zanarkand" - Nobuo Uematsu

"Stolen Child" - Loreena McKennitt

"Suteki da ne" - Rikki

"Inner Universe" - Origa

"Iris" - Goo Goo Dolls

"Love the Way You Lie" - Eminem feat. Rihanna

Alla ya keep checking out **SuperYuuki**'s dA profile, nyan? I think she'll be uploading more MMD fanart…

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia dropped the practice sword in her hands and sat down, staring up at Kanda blankly.

Kanda's eyes narrowed and he spat something in Japanese, stopping Mugen just shy of decapitating Gracia from the temple up.

A few strands of hair slid off of her shoulder, tickling the back of her hand.

Inhaling deeply, Kanda stepped back, running his fingers across Mugen's length and making the blade flash. He then sheathed the blade… before turning on Gracia and starting to bellow at her in enraged Japanese.

Gracia sighed and closed her eyes, flopping onto her back and yawning widely.

"Damn it, support unit, stop doing that in the middle of training!" Kanda kicked Gracia's hip.

Gracia's eyes snapped open and she cried out, her eyes tearing in pain as she glared up at Kanda sourly, "You're the one who woke me up at five in the goddamned morning, Kanda! You should know better than that!"

"I said 'early!'"

"_Ten_ is 'early' for me!"

"I thought you were getting better at controlling your Innocence? ! They're seriously considering making you a General, goddamn it!"

"Yeah, well there are some aspects of my relationship with Sleep I don't care to fix!"

"Goddamned lazy woman!"

"Damn straight, stubborn ass!"

They glared at one another for a moment, then Kanda sighed heavily and sat down across from her, unsheathing Mugen again and starting to clean the blade.

Gracia sighed softly and closed her eyes, relaxing. That was probably about as 'bad' as one of their 'arguments' would ever get… And Kanda hadn't even really been angry. They were both just… feeling lingering amounts of awkwardness…

…And she was tired…

"…You didn't rest well last night." Kanda observed, disinterest clear in his voice as he wiped Mugen down slowly, thoroughly, his eyes trained on the blade almost obsessively.

"…Komui confessed the other night…"

Kanda made a face. He didn't wanna hear about her fluffy love life with the flippy-haired idiot…

"…and I haven't answered."

At that the young man paused, looking up. …Slightly unexpected.

"And it's not like he's mad at me for it or anything…" Gracia sighed, her eyes still closed, "It hasn't even been brought up since we…" She trailed off, twitching slightly, "Not that we've had much opportunity to talk since then, with the imposed double restraining orders… But it's… stuck in my head…"

Kanda didn't say anything, taking a small vial of oil out of his pocket and dripping a bit on Mugen's blade before going back to rubbing it with a cloth. He wasn't about to throw in his two cents, and he knew Gracia knew he wouldn't. He would just sit there and let her talk.

"…I practiced saying it once. Back in Nalbina."

A muscle next to Kanda's mouth twitching slightly was the only acknowledgement she received to let her know he was still listening, not that she was looking.

"…I don't know how to tell him…"

Kanda wiped Mugen with long, even strokes, the thin layer of dark grime that had built up unnoticeably under the older layers of oil getting wiped away a bit more each time, making the blade brighter, sharper-looking…

"…You know, your hair's getting a bit shaggy."

The dark cloth stopped on Mugen's now silvery-white edge.

Gracia sat up and looked at Kanda's face with drowsy seriousness, eyes darting from his bangs to the two long, signature locks that framed his face to what of the ponytailed length she could see over his shoulder before going back to his bangs again.

"…Those edges used to be a lot straighter. When did you have your hair cut last?"

"…I just cut it a week ago."

"…_You_… cut it…?" Well, that explained why the edges were… slanted…

"Is there a problem?" Kanda growled, looking up at her and narrowing his eyes.

Unfazed, Gracia answered bluntly, "You did it wrong."

Kanda twitched and tipped his head down just enough so that his now obviously more than slightly uneven bangs shadowed his eyes. No one, _**no one**_, touched his hair… but, since he had spent so long growing it out and it had taken quite some time, he had really only ever had to cut his hair a handful of times…

…And Gracia wasn't the first to notice how uneven his hair looked after he cut it. Lenalee had commented a few times, as well, and Lavi… he stuck with snickering and running when he got a threatening glare for it.

"…Will you let me even it out?"

Kanda twitched again and tensed, pressing his lips into a thin line as he lifted his head again and glared at Gracia in disbelief.

"What?" Gracia blinked, "It's just a trim. Those are easy…"

Kanda twitched yet again, opening his mouth (probably to tell her off) but getting cut off when his golem suddenly fluttered up, hovering between them.

"_Exorcists Kanda and Solidor, please report to Supervisor Lee's office for a mission assignment._"

Glad for the topic change, Kanda immediately stood and sheathed Mugen, walking over and grabbing the back of Gracia's neck to jerk her to her feet when she 'took too long' stretching and yawning.

They walked back to the building silently, Kanda with Mugen in one hand and his eyes locked ahead stonily and Gracia with her hands in her pockets and her back slouching slightly, a sleepy look on her face.

Inside Komui's office, Marie and Allen were already waiting, both sitting on the couch in front of Komui's desk, chatting amiably while Link stood off to the side.

As soon as Allen and Kanda locked gazes, though, they both soured and scowled, throwing eye daggers at one another as Gracia calmly sat beside Allen, staying between the boys when Kanda opted to stand beside her rather than sit.

"Well, then, now what we're all here," Komui smiled, ignoring the electricity that was sparking between the two teens, "We can discuss the specifications of the next mission."

The four sobered at that, the tension between Kanda and Allen dimming a bit but not dying.

"A few days ago," Komui started, his smile fading as he looked down and picked up a piece of paper on his desk, "Several Finders scattered around France called in, each reporting similar rumors of odd happenings in Paris. Jiji Lujun of the Science Division was sent to help them investigate, but as soon as they all reached Paris… we lost communication with them."

Gracia frowned slightly. Jiji Lujun… She was vaguely familiar with that name. She'd never really met him, her not being an outgoing person and being too swept up in her own issues lately, but she'd heard about him in passing… He seemed, through word of mouth, to be a nice man…

"Paris is a large city…" Marie spoke up, "Have there been any incidents?"

"Nothing of a catastrophic nature, no." Komui shook his head, setting the paper down and clasping his hands, "Our men simply disappeared. Which is unusual. And which is why this is taking precedence; Marie, Allen, Kanda, you three will be heading to Paris immediately. Gracia, you're on standby. Should anything happen, you'll be deployed immediately via an Ark Gate Allen will be setting up as soon as he and the others arrive in Paris."

On either side of her, the males nodded slightly, and Gracia sighed softly, relaxing back into her seat. Standby… They were a bit more tense than usual.

After the three male Exorcists had left, Gracia covered her mouth and yawned widely, standing and making to leave.

"You didn't sleep well last night."

Gracia stopped, getting a flash of déjà vu. Kanda had said almost the exact same thing not an hour before… Only this time, she was automatically guarded about being truthful. Which didn't settle well with her… It wasn't often that she deviated from the truth…

"I still slept." She shrugged slightly.

"You were tossing and turning all night." Komui's voice had a frown in it, but she couldn't be sure; she wouldn't look at him, "You usually sleep like a rock."

Brigitte cleared her throat, "Supervisor, restraining orders…"

"You should go back to bed." Komui suggested softly, ignoring Brigitte, "I could have to send you out sooner rather than later…"

"…Alright." Gracia sighed, nodding before turning and walking out of the room, still not looking at him.

She was afraid to look at him.

If she did… he might be able to see something in her expression, and if he did… he'd question and press…

And this… wasn't a topic she could dodge around him without hurting him…

It wasn't a topic she was ready to address until she got things sorted out a bit more.

…Gracia… was almost completely sure she loved Komui. She'd been so convinced of it when Lorelei had told her she was those three… four months ago, and since then, the feelings that had been present had only strengthened and firmed.

And that had been double the case the other night, in that room in Noah's Ark…

And Komui… he felt the same. He had said it not once, but three times, and though neither of them had addressed what had been said that night since then, there was no way he would have forgotten. Not something like that…

…But… all the same… she had never felt like this before.

And, as they tended to, new situations/emotions confused and annoyed her.

Things had progressed so oddly over the last few months that she hadn't really had time to dwell on labeling her feelings, so that had been a reprieve, but now that Komui had vocalized how he felt… now it needed to be addressed.

It needed to be answered.

And because of that, she felt herself faltering; not in the conviction of her emotions, but the conviction of her mindset about them.

Was what she was feeling really love…? The non-familial, romantic love?

She wasn't sure… As she had said so many times, she had never experienced that kind of love.

And she couldn't return Komui's words when she was so unsure, because what if things went wrong, it turned out to not be love, and she hurt Komui? The thought of hurting him in that way made her feel sick.

…But didn't that mean she really was in love with him?

Gracia pressed a hand to her forehead and leaned back against her bedroom door as it closed behind her, heaving a tight sigh as her chest clenched painfully. She was so confused… and now she wanted to talk to Komui, even though she also wanted to avoid him.

Why… Why did these things have to hurt so much?

She missed being numb… and yet, oddly, at the same time, she found herself liking this, in a… strangely masochistic way. But it wasn't really the pain she liked… it was more along the lines of something about the thoughts that were making the pain. The source of the pain. The question of whether or not what she was feeling for Komui was love.

But how could she like something she was so uncertain about?

Confused (and only getting more so) and reeling, Gracia stumbled over and into her bathroom, leaning against the wall and starting to strip once she was inside. Then, absentminded, she blankly went through the steps of starting a shower, testing the water with her wrist before turning the showerhead on.

As she stepped in and grabbed the soap, starting to wash the grime that coated her body from her early morning spar with Kanda, she continued to blindly stumble through her thoughts and self-doubt, vainly attempting to sort her thoughts and make them a bit… neater… She couldn't draw any conclusions when everything was such a scattered mess.

Her washing slowed the more she thought… She stood there silently, forgetting where she was as she dove deeper into herself…

…She didn't even notice the sounds of someone else walking into the room, undressing, sliding the frosted glass door of the shower open behind her… pressing close…

…Arms wrapping around her waist…

Gracia shuddered and jerked, yelping and struggling weakly before she blearily, absently recognized the texture of and calluses on the hands that were now wandering her stomach, sides and hips.

"R-Restraining… orders…" Gracia whimpered, her hands shaking as she tried to grab his wrists and push him away. Despite her words, she could already feel her body heating, his fingers easily finding all of the places that sent pleasing jolts and made her that much more sensitive.

"Like either of us care about that behind closed doors…" Komui breathed huskily into her ear, one hand sliding up to her chest while the other slid down to her legs and thighs.

"K-K-Kaa-aaah…!" Gracia's eyes widened and she arched back against Komui, the water cascading down from the shower overhead slicking their bodies and making her struggling all the more useless but heated. "K-Komui…! G-Get out… of my shower…!"

"Don't want to." Komui shuddered and groaned into her hair as her weak struggling made her rub back against him, "You don't want me to, either."

Shaking, feet scrambling with less and less fervor against the slick floor, fingernails digging desperately into Komui's hands and wrists, Gracia's thoughts of protest were hazed further and further out of her mind as Komui's hands worked, groping, fondling, stroking…

"I'm sorry…" Komui murmured over her breathless gasps/moans and silent screams, "I do… stupid things sometimes…"

'_Only sometimes?_' Gracia gasped sharply, her hips jerking into his hand.

"I didn't mean to embarrass and upset you…" Komui wrapped his lips around her earlobe, nibbling, "I just… have moments where I…. get ahead of myself…"

Sly bastard… getting her worked up and breathless before/while apologizing…

When Komui suddenly let her go, Gracia groaned and slumped forward, stumbling a bit before bracing her arms against the wall in front of her. She lowered her head and panted, her hair cascading over her shoulder and around her head in a thick, dark red, dripping curtain.

As quickly as he had let her go, though, Komui's hands were on her again, grabbing her hips and helping to keep her upright when her knees were just about to buckle.

"Let me fix what I messed up…" Komui murmured next to her ear again, his body from his chest down to his knees bending and pressing against her back, "And this time it'll stay between us…"

Even if she had wanted to protest, she couldn't stop gasping long enough to speak.

* * *

Gracia stared at Komui's collarbone silently, studying intently; the way his bones curved under the skin, how flawlessly pale it was from so many years spent inside, behind a desk, the fading scar on the right side from where the Level 4 had gotten him just a few months ago…

"_G-Gracia… Ah… I… I love you…"_

She reached up and ran her fingers over the marred and slightly discolored skin gently, pausing when Komui shifted and tightened his hold on her waist, mumbling into her hair. He'd fallen asleep almost immediately after… he must have been exhausted…

"_G-Gracia… Ah… I… I love you…"_

…Brigitte would come looking for him. Soon, probably… She'd let him sleep until then, even though the sheets, which were sopping wet, were uncomfortable in how they were plastered to her skin. Why hadn't he let her grab a damn towel… So impatient and needy…

"_G-Gracia… Ah… I… I love you…"_

…He'd said it again.

"_G-Gracia… Ah… I… I love you…"_

And, again, she hadn't said anything in return… Fortunately, she'd played it off as being too breathless, but…

"_G-Gracia… Ah… I… I love you…"_

The tip of her nose burned, her throat tightened, her vision got blurry. She bit her lip and swallowed thickly to keep back a sob she could already feel building up. Her body, though, still trembled slightly as her diaphragm and stomach shuddered.

"Hmm…" Komui hummed into her hair again, his arm around her waist pulling her a bit closer as he mumbled, "G-Gracia…"

"_I love you…"_

She'd said it before to a mental image of him while she had been in Nalbina; she should be able to say it now, to his sleeping form.

"I-I…" Her voice broke slightly, thick and painfully tight with withheld emotion. She licked her lips, swallowed harshly, and tried again, looking up into his peaceful, sleeping face, "I… I lo… I love…"

Doubt, worry, fear came back and wrapped their hands around her neck, strangling her words and voice. She shouldn't say it. Not even to his sleeping form. Not if she wasn't sure.

But how was she supposed to be sure?

He had already said it several times, on two separate occasions. He was sure.

She couldn't lie. She never really had been able to, never really had liked it, couldn't do it now… Not to him… not on this subject…

And if she wasn't sure, saying it prematurely would be the same as lying to him.

And it killed her enough as it was to listen to him say it and not say anything back. Lying to him would…

Gracia lowered her head again and pressed her face into the pillow, sobbing softly.

It hurt… it hurt so much…

* * *

Komui, his eyes barely open, stared down at Gracia's blurry form silently, listening to her cry. The sound made his chest twist painfully, but if he started comforting her immediately… she would know he had heard her.

She would know… he had heard her fail to confess to him while he 'slept.'

And if how she was reacting to her failure now was any indication, if she knew he knew, she would do so much worse than cry…

…Komui wasn't sure what to do.

The last time he had said it, their… _activities_ had had her struggling to breathe, so he hadn't really been expecting a response. The lacking expectation had carried on when they had spent the first few hours of the morning after in a comfortable silence… And, of course, his mess up when they'd gotten back to the Order had made sure she hadn't wanted to talk to him.

And, when he had her breathless, again, in the shower and in bed during their most recent… escapade… he still hadn't thought much about her not responding.

But watching her now, Komui felt guilt.

Disappointment, definitely, but also guilt. He'd put too much pressure on her, and too fast. He should have taken Brigitte's advice more seriously…

Now… Now Gracia was pushing herself. Again.

When Gracia accidentally let out a particularly loud sob, Komui took the opportunity to shift and exaggerate a whine, peeling his eyes open and looking down at Gracia. He widened his eyes in 'shock' at the look on her face, then slowly, 'sleepily' cupped her jaw with one hand.

"Gracia… what's wrong…?" He forced a sleepily thick tone into his voice, something he had mastered over the years for when he didn't want to talk to angry people on the phone…

She trembled as she stared up at him, making his heart clench. "I… I… nightmare…"

Komui felt his expression soften at her lie. He then pulled her close, cupping the back of her head and kissing her firmly, warmly. Comfortingly.

…He wouldn't act like anything was out of the ordinary while she worked things out. He would continue to dote on her, continue to act a bit nutty every now and then and annoy her, he would continue to walk into her room whenever he pleased, lock the door, pin her to the nearest surface and make her gasp and writhe…

…He wouldn't even think about what he had seen tonight.

He would wait. Gladly. For however long it took.

Because no matter how much she was doubting herself now… Komui knew Gracia. He knew how her mind worked, he knew how to read her through her body, and, now that there was an ongoing storm in her head, he knew what was on her mind…

He loved her. Of course he would know all of that.

And he knew she loved him. Even if she was struggling with working that out.

It would probably take her… just a little longer than him to work it out, as it always did.

And he could wait.


	89. Protocol Stasis Recording: File XI

Songs I've listened to while writing this story (in no particular order) Pt. 4:

"Edge of Glory" - Lady GaGa

"Sweet Sixteen" - Wherewolves

"Right Above It" - Lil Wayne feat. Drake

"Forever" - Drake feat. Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Eminem

"I Need A Doctor" - Dr. Dre feat. Eminem and Skylar Grey

"Jar of Hearts" - Christina Perri

"In for the Kill" (Skream's Let's Get Ravey Remix) - La Roux

"Into The Night" - Santana feat. Chad Kroeger

"Don't Stop Believin'" - Journey

"Europa" - Globus

"Karma" - Bump of Chicken

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia walked beside Reever silently as they stepped through the door and emerged through the Ark Gate on the other side into a small, Parisian church. Her thoughts scattered and her mind elsewhere, she kept her eyes trained on the ground without really seeing it, barely able to make out Reever talking to the priest of the church.

She was still… swimming in incoherent… depressing thoughts…

A gentle, warm hand on her shoulder snapped her out of her daze, and she looked up to meet Reever's eyes.

He smiled down at her sheepishly, worriedly, indicating to the door, "There's a carriage already waiting to take us to the police headquarters…"

"Ah… Right." Gracia sighed, nodding. Staying by Reever's side, she walked out of the church and across the snow-covered ground outside, the driver of a slick, black carriage opening the door for them as they stepped up.

Gracia made to climb in, first, when Reever fell back half a step, belatedly noticing the hand he held out for her. She was about to take it when another hand interjected from her other side, this one bare from the wrist up, unlike Reever and the carriage driver's jacketed arms.

Gracia looked over, blinking at the veiled face of the male CROW Brigitte had sent with her hand Reever, then nodded her thanks and took his hand, using his support to step up and into the carriage.

Reever followed shortly after, sitting next to her once she had settled, and then the female CROW quickly stepped in and sat across from her while the male sat across from Reever.

As the driver of the carriage shut the door behind them, Gracia looked between the two CROW in front her slowly.

Brigitte had sent them along as extra 'protection' for Reever, though she didn't quite understand why considering even CROW spells couldn't hurt Akuma, or even shield against them for very long…

The two CROW, like the ones who had accompanied Lvellie when the Order had first moved to Barheim, wore dark crimson robes. Unlike the other CROW, though, these two wore veiled hats rather than masks, their faces visible from their mouths down but, from their noses up, completely obscured by their veils in the shadows of the carriage.

"…What are your names, again?" Gracia asked tiredly. Actually, she'd never been given their names, and neither had Reever, but Gracia got this… vibe from them… She wanted to know something about them, no matter how small.

The male CROW remained motionless and stoic as the carriage started to move. Beside him, the female shifted subtly, and Gracia could just barely make out the female's eyes darting over to look at the male through her veil.

"…If we're going to be working together," Gracia sighed, "If we get attacked, I'll need to know your names. You may be from Central, but you're protecting a Black Order Science Section Leader, and I'm the highest-ranking Exorcist on this mission. I'd like to be able to coordinate you two, if it comes down to that."

Reever shifted slightly at her side, obviously getting a bit uncomfortable at the CROW's continued silence, but Gracia wasn't about to back down. When it came to Central, she found she had little issue with pulling rank…

"…Madarao." The male finally said after a bit as he inclined his head slightly, politely, his voice deep.

"Tewaku." The female immediately followed her male companion's lead, nodding, as well, her voice a light but steady whisper.

"Thank you." Gracia nodded slightly, propping her elbow up on the ledge of the window of the carriage and resting her cheek in her palm, "Typical CROW spells and talismans, I take it?"

"…Among a few other things." Tewaku murmured.

"…Oh?" Gracia blinked slowly, quirking a slight, questioning brow.

"Classified information, Lady Solidor." Madarao cut in… somehow managing to keep his curt words from being rude.

"…Alright, then." Gracia sighed slightly, closing her eyes, "Well… classified things usually end up being stronger than the norm, so… if we do get into a battle and I ask you to do something, but these 'classified' things you're able to do would be put to better use in that situation, feel free to disregard my orders and substitute your own actions." She then opened her eyes slightly, "But I want one of you with Reever at all times, your 'classified' abilities regardless."

"Yes, General." Both CROW inclined their heads.

Gracia twitched slightly, frowning.

Reever glanced at her, then spoke to broke the silence, "Well, if Central personnel are calling you that now… I guess you have Central's vote." He smiled, "Congratulations."

"…Supervisor Lee hasn't told you?" Tewaku asked after a pause.

"…No." Gracia frowned, looking between Reever and the CROW, "What, is it actually official for the Order and Central?"

Reever was now frowning contemplatively. I was odd for Komui not to have said something to him, at least… "No… Well, he hasn't told _me_ anything…"

Gracia's frown deepened. Komui and Reever were good friends; there were few things Komui didn't tell Reever.

"Oh." Reever's eyes widened and he suddenly sat up a bit, snapping his fingers, "That's what he was going on about yesterday…!"

Gracia blinked, staring at Reever. It had been two days since Allen, Kanda and Marie had left for Paris; two days since she and Komui had… 'made up' in the shower and he had confessed to her again.

…Two days since she had realized she couldn't tell Komui she loved him.

…She and Komui… hadn't really talked much since then. The restraining orders had been dropped and Komui didn't have to sneak into her room at night, but he'd been… pretty busy… she hadn't gone to visit him… and when he snuck into her bed, they just curled up together and fell asleep.

Komui… hadn't mentioned anything about her promotion going through…

"Well, actually, he didn't say much of anything." Reever sighed, crossing his arms and closing his eyes contemplatively as he nodded, "He just said he'd gotten a letter from Central, seemed overly excited about it, and dashed off to work on something…" A pause, then a dark look crossed the Australian man's face. "Probably a Komlin." He then glanced at Gracia, "If he hasn't even mentioned anything to you yet, he's probably planning a surprise."

Gracia made a slight face. She didn't like surprises… Komui's surprises, especially.

Reever nodded slightly at the look on her face, scowling slightly and agreeing with what he knew she was thinking, "Yeah, I know. I'll call Brigitte and have her keep an eye on him."

Gracia sighed and nodded, closing her eyes and tipping her head back. So, she was 'officially' a General, huh…?

…She had thought she would be a bit happier to hear such news. She'd actually been trying to get the promotion; fulfilling the requirements laid out in front of her, training to make sure her synchronization rate stayed up, filling out _paperwork_…

Now that she'd gotten the news she'd been waiting for, though… she was too tired to feel elated.

Of course, the unorthodox way in which she'd gotten the news had been quite anticlimactic, which probably hadn't helped.

Her thoughts tapered off after that as she dozed lightly, relaxing properly for the first time in a few days only to be disturbed a bit later by a nudge on her shoulder.

"Gracia," Reever took her shoulder on his hand and shook her slightly when she cracked her eyes open and looked up at him blearily, "We're at the police headquarters."

Damn it… She still hadn't learned to not get too comfortable while taking naps on missions.

Groaning, Gracia scrambled to her feet, keeping her head lowered as she slid over to the opened door of the carriage.

Outside, Madarao and Tewaku were already waiting, standing side by side, and Reever was standing at the bottom of the small staircase attached to the carriage, his hand held out.

Gracia took his hand with a nod and stepped down onto the wet sidewalk, taking a moment to unbutton her long jacket, fix her tunic and sash, then brush her jacket out straight before buttoning it up again.

They walked into the building and through the lobby easily enough, Reever pointing to the Rose Cross on Gracia's chest with a smile to the receptionist before heading straight down a hallway on the right side of the room.

"_Est-ce que vous êtes de la_ _Black Order?_" A policeman behind a table with a sign-in sheet asked Reever when the Aussie pointed to the badge on Gracia's chest, again, before reaching for the pen.

Reever looked up from preparing to sign his name in, blinking, "Eh?"

"_Oui, nous le sommes._" Gracia nodded sleepily before tipping her head, "_Notre Finders sont tenues ici, non?_"

The officer nodded, glancing down at Reever's hand as the man hesitantly signed his name, "_Oui. Inscrivez-vous et passez la première porte là-bas. Cellules de confinement sont juste au-delà._" The man then pointed to the bars to his right that separated their side of the hallway from the prison cells on the other side.

"_Merci beaucoup, monsieur._" Gracia inclined her head just as another officer ran up behind them, glancing over.

"So sorry for being late." This officer spoke in accented English, bowing his head, "If you'll just…" He paused, blinking when he saw they had already signed in before speaking to the officer behind the table quickly.

The officer answered, gesturing to Gracia, and the English-speaking French officer turned back to Gracia and smiled sheepishly.

"Ah, so you speak French? My apologies; I had heard that _Exorcistes_ possessed a wide variety of skills, but…"

"We do a lot of traveling." Gracia smiled back, "Knowing more than one language helps, but it's not a necessary skill… That's what our Finders are for." Here, she made a pointed shift back towards the barred doorway keeping her and her group from their Finders.

The English-speaking French police officer flushed slightly in embarrassment and hurried past her, fumbling with some keys on his belt before unclipping them, "Yes, well, you must understand that we've had several million dollars worth of valuable artifacts stolen; we couldn't rule anyone out."

"So, despite the claims of the dozens of men, some even from your own forces who are now behind bars, who say they have no idea what is going on, you lock them all up without distinction. Even the ones who work for the Vatican." Gracia followed the man as he unlocked the cell door and led them through, "Clever. I'm sure that hasn't been straining your resources…"

The officer's shoulders hunched slightly as he continued leading them down the hall.

When she got an elbow to the side, Gracia glanced up at Reever, shrugging slightly at the frown he directed at her. She couldn't help it; law enforcement agencies were notoriously strapped for resources as it was, and if what reports on how the chief of police had been handling the situation were any indicator—

When the officer led them through another door, this one wooden, and into the containment hallway, Gracia had to freeze, twitching.

Both sides of the hallway were lined with cells with outward looking walls of thick Plexiglas, and behind the Plexiglas were… dozens of… people… in some sort of… strange getup; some kind of jumpsuit that was skintight from the waist up but baggy and drooping from the waist down, and on their heads were… wide cloth masks with tassels hanging from where the ears would be, with seemingly harder masks right over their faces bearing a crudely painted eye.

As soon as the detained people saw them walk in they began crowing about their innocence (mainly to the policeman and to Gracia [for some reason she couldn't quite pin, though considering Allen, Kanda and Marie had come through before they probably recognized the uniform]).

"We didn't do it! !"

"We're innocent! !"

"The real thief is G! !"

"Really! ! If we stole all of those things, were is it, huh? !"

"I swear I woke up in this! ! I have no idea what is going on! !"

"I was going to a party when I suddenly blacked out! !"

"I was going do dinner with this girl! ! Ask her! !"

"H-Hey, isn't she wearing the same uniform those guys wore? !"

"Those guys believed us!"

"Help us! !"

"These police just won't listen! !"

Gracia found herself wishing she didn't understand French. She sighed and closed her eyes, rubbing her temples with her fingers.

"I take it we're adding French to the list of languages you know?" Reever asked amusedly from her side.

"I guess…" Gracia sighed, twitching.

They kept walking, doing their best to ignore the pleading cries around them.

"—they forget about us?" A new voice, this one in English, grew a bit louder as they kept walking forward. Gracia vaguely recognized this one…

"D-Don't say that!" Another wailed. She recognized that one, too…

"You're awfully fearful for someone so athletic. The Exorcists said they would send someone." Didn't recognize this one so much…

"But that was two days ago!" The first two voices cried.

Gracia stopped when, beside her, Reever paused, glancing up at him and quirking a brow when he smiled amusedly, apparently listening.

"Ah…" A fourth voice, this one high and 'feminine' but with obvious masculine undertones, sighed dramatically, "The question is, will anybody come for _me_…?"

Gracia blinked. Even though she was sure they had only been sent to retrieve four people, she was sure she recognized the last voice…

"Would you like to join us, Miss Bonn?" The third voice asked.

"Yeah… Yeah! You're so strong and all…"

"You'd make a good Finder!" The first two voices and one more concurred.

"And fight monsters? !" 'Miss Bonn's voice scoffed, "No thanks! I live for love!"

"Oh…" Reever chuckled, finally stepping forward, "Sorry to keep you waiting." He pressed his hand to the Plexiglas as he stood in front of the cell the five voices were coming from, "The police here are rather stubborn."

Gracia stepped around and stayed back with Madarao and Tewaku as Reever waved to the five inside of the cell with a bright "Hello!", smiling and shaking her head when three of the males cried out with an elated "S-SECTION CHIEF REEVER! !"

"You look better than I expected!" Reever was just observing when the fourth 'male' threw himself forward, his arms crossed over his chest, and slammed into the Plexiglas wall with enough force to shatter it.

"I LOVE YOU! !" The transgender male Gracia now recognized to be Bonnaire declared, wrapping his arms around Reever in a tight hug the three Finders and Jiji Lujun were quick to mirror.

"FRIEND OF MY HEART!"

"I KNEW YOU'D COME!"

"YOU'RE A GOD!"

"I'LL NEVER CALL YOU SCIENCE GUYS A BUNCH OF DORKS AGAIN!"

"Okay, OKAY, WE HAVE A MISSION TO COMPLETE!" Reever barked, struggling and writhing before grabbing Miss Bonnaire, who had been trying to kiss him, by the jaw, holding him at bay, "Who are you again? !"

"We're not going home? !" The three Finders wailed, crestfallen.

"We're short on manpower right now!" Reever hissed once he'd managed to shake Bonnaire and the Finders off.

Jiji, who had stopped hugging (molesting) Reever first, glanced over at Gracia, Madarao and Tewaku, blinking, "Who are these guys?"

"Uh?" Reever glanced over, quirking a brow, "My escort… Jiji, you know Gracia."

"Kinda." Jiji nodded, smiling briefly and waving at Gracia, who smiled sheepishly back, "I mean the other two, though…"

"Oh, them? Assistant Fey assigned them for me."

"Hmm…" Jiji stood, looking the two CROW over blatantly, "Creepy. They from Central?"

"Hey!" Reever hissed, stepping away from the now recovering Finders to rap Jiji's shoulder with his knuckles, "Yes, they are, so watch it!"

Gracia glanced over slightly at Madarao and Tewaku, checking for reactions.

Neither CROW made any facial movements to suggest that they had been offended… or that they had even heard what Jiji had said, really.

Sighing, Gracia looked back ahead, blinking slowly when Bonnaire rushed over to her after taking notice of her presence.

"G-Gracia? !" The large-lipped transgender male squealed, beaming as he lunged and wrapped his arms around her, "Oh, little Grace, is that really you? !"

"Hello, Miss Bonnaire…" Gracia smiled slightly before twitching and shying back, "Not too close… you stink."

"Hmph!" Bonnaire pulled back and put his hands on his hips, pouting and speaking in his somewhat thick French accent, "You can thank these terrible officers for that! They haven't let me bathe since they detained me… Can you imagine? Not letting a lady freshen up for over three weeks? !"

…Gracia couldn't say much to that, considering she used to go for weeks on end without a proper bath.

"Eh? Gracia?" She looked over at Reever, who blinked as Jiji and the Finders went off to get their clothes back, "You know… him?" He looked Bonnaire over uncertainly.

Gracia smiled slightly, nodding, "Miss Bonnaire used to give me asylum whenever I passed through Paris…"

"Oh?" Reever looked between Bonnaire and Gracia, "Jiji was suggesting we take… him on as a Finder. Is… Miss Bonnaire trustworthy?"

"Hmm." Gracia nodded, then glanced at Bonnaire, "But… she did just say that she didn't care for the ide—"

"Grace, Grace, Grace, Grace, Grace~!" Bonnaire trilled quickly, waving his hand and giggling as he slapped a hand over Gracia's mouth, "Don't be ridiculous! I would _love_ to join the Order!"

"Ah, alright then." Reever nodded, "I'll go talk to Inspector Galmar."

As Reever walked off, Gracia twitched to find herself seized by Bonnaire, who really did smell rank after not having bathed for so many weeks, and stared down at by his intense, probing eyes.

"_Please_ tell me that cutie isn't taken!" Bonnaire swooned, glancing after Reever with heavily lidded eyes.

"…Who, Reever?" Gracia blinked, "He's married…"

Bonnaire's face fell.

"…To his work."

The transgender male blinked, then gapped down at Gracia and slapped her shoulder playfully, "When did you start teasing?"

Gracia blinked, considering the question seriously, then slowly glanced off to the side and mumbled, "Probably about the time Komui started rubbing off on me…" She twitched and blushed when Bonnaire covered his mouth with a hand, eyeing her and giggling coyly.

"_Rubbing off_, hmm?" Behind his hand, Bonnaire's large lips twisted into a smirk, "Oh, now you and I _really_ have some catching up to do, _especially_ concerning this 'Komui' character…"

…Oh, Gracia wasn't going to enjoy this conversation.

* * *

_(So, as I'm sure you all saw, there was some French in this chapter. I don't know French. I won't pretend to know French, and if it seems like I am pretending, it's Gracia's fault for knowing French when I don't. If you are French/know French and you see any incorrect French, please tell me so I can correct said incorrect French._

_If you don't know French and want to know what the French in this chapter says/is supposed to say, it's basically:_

_"Juu from Order?"_

_"Jes. Juu have our Finders?"_

_"Jes. Dis way, pwease."_

_"Tank oo."_

_…Only… it's much more in-character._

_Edit: Thanks go to **SuperYuuki** for French corrections.)_


	90. Protocol Stasis Recording: File XII

Songs I've listened to while writing this story (in no particular order) Pt. 5:

"E.T." - Katy Perry feat. Kanye West

"Better With The Lights Off" - New Boyz feat. Chris Brown

"Firework" - Katy Perry

"Colors" - FLOW

"Telluride" - Tim McGraw

"Waltz for the Moon" - Tokyo Philharmonic

"Rolling Star" - Yui

"fake wings" - Yuki Kaijura

"Then You Look At Me" - Celine Dion

"Welcome Home" - Coheed and Cambria

"Simple and Clean" - Hikaru Utada

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia stood beside Reever silently, watching as Jiji and the Finders (which included the newly recruited Bonnaire) walked up the steps of the Hearst Orphan Asylum and began to try to enter the building.

It would have been a calm and almost normal enough occurrence… if the irate Frenchman on the other side of Reever wasn't pouring off such intense waves of displeasure.

Inspector Galmar's anger was nothing compared to Kanda's, but it still made Gracia shift as she tried to keep Sleep from reacting.

"This is absurd." Inspector Galmar ground out, nearly sawing his cigarette in half when Jiji and one of the Finders cast a displeased glance back at them as they inspected the apparently unyielding door, "I know this orphanage! The Phantom Thief G couldn't possibly be here!"

"Allow me to explain, Inspector." Reever, whose smile and politeness towards the hostile man had never faltered, gave a quick, simple explanation of Innocence and its properties, concluding, "So, really, Innocence could be used by anyone of any age, as long as they are compatible. It's quite possible for the Innocence we're looking for to be here."

"'Innocence,' huh?" Galmar huffed, giving Reever a skeptical glance, "Is there really such a substance?"

"Oh yes." Reever smile remained even as his stare towards the building turned a bit jaded at the man's continued skepticism. "In fact, the bracelet on the wrist of General Solidor, here, one of our most powerful examples of Innocence."

Gracia didn't bother to look at Galmar when she felt his intense glare turned towards her, watching Jiji, instead, as he scraped at the unmoving door with his knife.

Galmar hissed something that sounded like 'Occultists!' under his breath before turning on Reever and hissing with a dangerous grin, "My superiors caved in to pressure from your Central Agency and ordered me to cooperate, but if we don't find this 'Innocence' here, I'll have your comrades taken back into custody immediately!"

"Do as you like." Reever answered the threat simply, calmly, politely, still smiling as he glanced at the shorter man. "But if we do find it, you'll be so kind as to hand the Phantom Thief G over to us!"

"Of course!" Galmar seethed, his teeth grinding audibly as his grin sharpened.

More than slightly fed up at that point with how irate the man was making Sleep, not to mention how hostile he was acting towards Reever, Gracia stepped forward and turned sharply, taking a few steps towards the man.

Galmar balked slightly and glared down at her suspiciously, taking a step back when she raised her hand.

Quickly, deftly, flatly, Gracia's hand flashed out and she pressed her pointer and middle fingers to the man's forehead, her tone flat, "You're making the air uncomfortable, and Sleep doesn't like it. Calm down." Then, ever so slightly, she loosened her restraints on her Innocence.

Sleep pulsed immediately but softly, making Galmar tense before he relaxed, a dazed look crossing his face.

"_Qu'est-ce que…_" The man mumbled, unconsciously slipping into French.

"Innocence." Gracia answered calmly, in English, Sleep making a soft noise against her wrist as the chain slid across the bracelet, "One known as Sleep. Now, please, we're trying to work."

"General Solidor."

Gracia glanced over at Madarao, who had stepped forward and was glancing at her.

"I am going in." He said in a flat tone, "Per your orders, Tewaku will remain here with Section Leader Reever. Will you be coming?"

Gracia blinked, then nodded, turning and starting to follow the CROW to the front door. Snow crunching underfoot, they were just stepping up to the door when Jiji shot at it when a handgun.

"What we have here is a sealing barrier." The Science Division man noted when the door remained unscathed and unaffected, aside from how the surface rippled like water.

The Finders started banging against the door, calling out for Allen, Marie and Kanda as Madarao slipped past Jiji with a calm "Step aside."

"Keep a hand on me, General Solidor." Madarao added before he reached out with his hand, pressing his palm flat against the door.

Gracia reached out and grabbed the fabric of Madarao's crimson uniform over his shoulder blade as the door warped and spiraled under his palm, turning black as he started to slip through, to the shock of the men around them.

When it was her turn to slip through the black, liquid warp, Gracia found the sensation to be… unpleasant, to say the least, the edges of the warp slurping around her hand, then wrist, then up her arm like a thick, viscous liquid, even though it didn't feel wet.

Around her wrist and finger, Sleep pulsed hotly and pinched tightly, as if trying to crush her bones in protest, and when her body started to pass through she felt electricity dancing around in her lungs, only, unlike it had been with Skinn, this electricity was… painfully cold.

Clinging to Madarao's cloak, which she almost couldn't feel anymore, desperately, Gracia closed her eyes, letting him pull her through when her legs started to go numb.

Then, in a flash, the feeling of being submerged in thick, electricity-laced gel vanished with a loud pop, and Gracia opened her eyes blearily to find herself leaning against Madarao, the crimson of his uniform taking up her vision as he kept her close with an arm around her waist.

"Are you conscious, General Solidor?" He asked calmly, his head tipping down as he looked at her through his veil.

"Y-Yes…" Gracia mumbled, nodding and standing up straight as she let him go. She then cringed and slumped against him again when a distinctive, piercing, paralysis-inducing shriek tore through the air. The scream of a Level 4…

Madarao tightened his grip on her waist again, waiting until the final waves of the shriek had passed before easing her back upright. "The fighting seems to be going on in two locations. If you will permit me to follow your earlier suggestion, I will now act on my own and go off to handle one of the fights, as I will be using my classified abilities. Exorcists Walker, Kanda and Marie seem to be handling a Level 4 in that direction, if you wish to assist them."

Gracia nodded, pulling away from him, "If it's a Level 4, I'll be invoking to my fullest extent and summoning the Judge-Sal. Call out the moment you need help!" Without bothering to explain what the Judge-Sal was, Gracia turned and started running in the direction he had pointed, barely making out a "Likewise" he mumbled after her.

Navigating through the… space was the only word she could think of… that they were in was… difficult. Other than a shattered building in the 'middle' of the void, there was seemingly nothing but blackness.

The blackness still had a ground, though, and much of it was crushed and gouged from what must have been a long, long battle.

The gouges and crushed ground blended in so well with the intact ground that there were times Gracia barely had time to jump before she tripped and/or fell.

The moment she saw the Level 4, though, and the bloodied and beaten three Exorcist males in front of it… she stopped watching her footing, gaining a confidence in her footwork as her mind shifted to protecting the three in front of her.

…Because she had absolutely no battle strategy that was based solely on herself as the offensive and defensive unit on her side of the battlefield, Gracia could only really keep running towards the Level 4, with the only skills she had that would be effective against an Akuma of that caliber being Quietus and Judge-Sal/Ultima.

Regardless, Kanda apparently didn't approve, because he glared at her incredulously as she got within tackling distance of the Akuma and barked, "SON OF A BITCH, WOMAN, GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE! !"

Thus, what was supposed to have been a sneak attack was ruined.

Still, it wasn't so ruined that Gracia wasn't able to press her Sleep-laden hand to her forehead and summon the Judge-Sal before everything went bla—

* * *

"Fucking woman! !" Kanda snapped as he surged forward, only to be stopped by Allen, who swung his Sword of Exorcism out in front of Kanda to keep the way in front of them clear.

As Gracia collapsed, the Level 4 turning towards her seemingly in slow motion, the Judge-Sal appeared above the two, scooping Gracia up easily in one hand as it swung its already drawn sword down.

The Akuma screeched and flung itself back, one of its gun arms getting hacked off.

Absently, the Judge-Sal slung Gracia's unconscious body towards Allen and Kanda, but it went right over their heads before it started to descend, Marie, who was being guarded by Allen and Kanda in his weakened state, grunting as he barely responded in time to catch her.

Now that the threat of being crushed by a giant, ethereal suit of armor had passed, Kanda ducked around Allen's sword and the two boys dashed forward, blades swinging to join the Judge-Sal's flame-bladed Zweihander.

Ducking past the large judge's blade, the Akuma turned on Allen hand held out its one remaining gun arm, making to blow his head clean off his shoulders.

Allen's eyes widened and he barely had time to swing his Sword of Exorcism down, the weight of the blade forcing the Akuma's arm to lower as Allen flipped over it with a muttered curse.

While Allen was still airborne, Kanda swung around the Akuma's backside, snarling.

"Forbidden Spell : Triple Illusion!"

His one pupil already split into three from his previous activation of Ascending Flower, the jagged markings that flanked the bottom and temple sides of his eyes elongated, similar to how the lines on his tattoo did when he was healing.

"Exploding Spirit Cut!"

Kanda swung his sword, his movement, his activation of the Triple Illusion, the subtle changes of the markings on his face and the swinging of Mugen, itself, as he attacked all an almost instantaneous occurrence.

The cut hit the Akuma diagonally across its torso even as it swung towards him, Allen now behind it, and fired its gun at Kanda, a few bullets scoring his face and left shoulder.

Kanda hissed something in Japanese even as the cut he had just given the Akuma crackled, exploding almost immediately after and taking out its right leg and what was left of the left arm the Judge-Sal had cut off.

Behind the Akuma, Allen swung his Sword of Exorcism, but the Level 4 turned quickly an caught the blade in its teeth, making an almost amusing shocked look cross Allen's face.

While he was distracted, though, the Akuma kicked Allen. As he went flying, it spat the Sword aside and started firing its remaining gun arm at him.

"Die, die, die, Die, DIE, DIE! !" It screeched, following Allen and continuously shooting as Allen ran to avoid getting hit.

Not even a second later, though, he was hit.

And Allen fell to his knees.

Kanda and the Judge-Sal made to surge forward, but before they could the Sword of Exorcism slowly swung up, seemingly by itself.

"CROWNED CLOWN! !" Allen bellowed.

The Akuma barely had time to look back before the Sword flew at it from behind and ran it through, carrying it clear back to Allen as the Sword sought to reunite with him.

And it did reunite with him… Carrying as much momentum as it was, the Sword of Exorcism ran Allen through, pinning the Akuma against his body and pinning Allen between the Akuma and the wall of the Hearst Asylum behind him.

The area relaxed, the battle seemingly almost won, and as Allen exchanged a few unheard words with the Akuma, the Judge-Sal evaporated, Gracia coming back to consciousness in Marie's arms.

She groaned and sat up slowly, rubbing her forehead. That… definitely hadn't been one of her more graceful battles…

"Gracia…"

She glanced up at Marie, smiling, then started to panic when she saw the blood pouring from his ears, "Marie, wha—"

Then… suddenly… Allen started screaming.

"Allen? !" Marie was calling out as Gracia stumbled to her feet and turned towards Allen, her eyes widening at what she saw.

Allen was bleeding.

Allen was bleeding from where the Sword of Exorcism had run him through.

The Sword of Exorcism, which was only supposed to harm Akuma and Noah… had recognized Allen as a threat… and hurt him.

…

…

…Then… a look that… didn't belong to Allen… crossed Allen's face…

…His white hair curled… the Akuma seemed to stare at him reverently… Allen pressed his hand to the side of the Akuma's face… and—

"YU! !" Gracia found herself screaming.

Kanda was behind the Akuma in a flash, Mugen's tip running the Akuma through from the back of its head and out its mouth. The sword narrowly missed Allen as Kanda's thrust embedded it into the wall next to Allen's face.

Gracia hardly breathed as Allen and Kanda stared at one another silently, Allen's face blank and Kanda panting.

Then, Kanda twitched and snapped, "_BAKA MOYASHI_! !"

In a flash, Allen's hand was on the grip of the Sword of Exorcism, and both boys were screaming with effort as they tore their blades through the Akuma, ripping the Akuma to shreds.

Shaking, Gracia fell to her knees, her eyes watering as relief flooded her body as Allen sullenly muttered to Kanda his usual:

"My name is _Allen_."

* * *

"Allen."

Allen looked over at her from helping move the sick children, all of whom were running high fevers from being affected by Dark Matter, through the Ark Gate and to Headquarters.

Gracia frowned down at him seriously, "Come with me."

The boy blinked, then nodded and stood.

Gracia turned and led him out of the church, snow crunching beneath their feet and falling down on them lightly. She paused at the edge of the road, inhaling, then turned to face Allen.

Instead of looking demure, sheepish, and a bit scared like he usually would, the boy stared up at her stoically, an almost serene air about him.

She already knew how he was going to answer what she would ask him, but she had to ask anyway.

She had to ask, some part of her praying she was wrong.

"…Tell me the truth…" His expression didn't change, "Did you lose control again?"

"Yes." He answered immediately.

"…How badly?"

"I blacked out. Completely. The only reason I know it happened… is because of how you all are acting."

Gracia's fingers twitched at her sides. "…Has it ever felt like it felt this time before?"

"…No." Allen shook his head, "This time felt… different. I was more out of control. He took complete dominance."

Gracia stared at Allen silently. "…I don't know how to help you anymore." Something wet trailed down her face. Snow…?

At that, Allen smiled slightly, looking so… sadly vacant. "I kno—"

"But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop trying."

Finally, Allen's facial expression changed. His eyes widened a bit and his lips parted as his jaw went a bit slack.

"And I'm not doing this for Cross anymore." Gracia mumbled, her hands clenching at her sides, "I'm not going anywhere. Even if I don't know how to help you, I'm going to stay right here until I figure something out. If it comes down to it, I'll Sleep you into a coma until we can fix you."

This wasn't even about what Cross had asked her to do. It had stopped being about that a few weeks ago…

…She had… started to think of Allen… like she did Kanda…

Allen was silent, shocked…

…She wasn't sure which of them moved first, but in a moment she and Allen had their arms wrapped around one another tightly.

And, when Sleep burned, feeling in Allen what the Sword of Exorcism had, Gracia closed her eyes and tightened her hold on Allen further.

She had a feeling… that things were only going to get worse before they got better…


	91. Protocol Stasis Recording: File XIII

Songs I've listened to while writing this (in no particular order): Pt. 6 (final):

"Marvin & Chardonnay" - Big Sean feat. Kanye West and Roscoe Dash

"A Mother's Prayer" - Celine Dion

"Time To Say Goodbye" - Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman

"Broken Wings" - Tomoko Tane

"Obsession" - See-Saw

"Ready Steady Go" - L'Arc~en~Ciel

"The Dance" - Garth Brooks

"Sons of Plunder" - Disturbed

"Street Fighter (War)" - Sick Puppies

"Broken" - Seether feat. Amy Lee

"My Hands" - Leona Lewis

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"So, Sweet," Bonnaire started, using his old nickname for Gracia (the one he'd given her back when she'd first met him and hadn't remembered her name for the first two days she'd stayed with him), "Tell me about your relationship with this Komui fellow…"

Gracia sighed heavily and closed her eyes, trying very hard not to struggle as the transgender male held one of her feet in his hand firmly as he painted her toenails. Much as she liked Bonnaire, sometimes he was so overly girly it made her squirm.

"What makes you think there's a 'relationship?'" Gracia asked, sighing.

"The fact that you'd be too lazy to dodge the question if there wasn't." Bonnaire answered amusedly.

…Damn it.

Gracia scowled.

Bonnaire giggled, "What can I say, I know women, and I know you."

"…We're…" Gracia started before she trailed off.

What were they… They were more than dating at this point… But they weren't completely committed… But they were more emotionally connected than lovers… But her emotions were such a mess…

…Actually… now that she had Bonnaire…

"…Bonny, how do you tell when you love someone?"

…Gracia immediately regretted wording it that way, because as soon as she had finished her question, Bonnaire had squealed loudly and grabbed Gracia's shoulders in his large hands, pulling her up and pressing her tightly against his broad chest as he, seemingly, tried to squeeze the life out of her.

"Aww, Gracie~! You're in loooooooove~!"

"No, that's what I'm having problems with…" Gracia whined, struggling, "He's said it, but I… I…" Gracia slowly relaxed and slumped back as Bonnaire let her go and held her at arm's length. Not wanting to see the look on his face, she stared at her partially painted toenails. She hated the way coral looked against her skin… "…Bonny, everyone's telling me that I am, but I don't get how they can all be so sure… I don't get how _he_ can be so sure. How can everyone around me but me _know_ with so much _confidence_ that it's love when even _I'm_ unsure?"

"…Well, Sweet, it's because you glow when you talk about him."

"…" Gracia looked up at Bonnaire, blinking slowly before quirking a brow, "…I… glow?"

Bonnaire giggled, taking her hand in his and tracing the lines on her palm, "It's what women do, naturally, when they're in a new or extremely affectionate relationship… or when they're pregnant. They walk a bit lighter on their feet, they smile and blush easier, they start doing things, no matter how little, to take care of their appearance…" Here, he quirked an amused brow, smirking slightly, "For example; when did you start wearing lip balm?"

Gracia twitched. …When in the hell _had_ she started wearing lip balm?

…Actually, thinking about it probably wasn't a good idea; she didn't want to prove Bonnaire ri—

About the time she and Komui had started making out on a regular basis.

As her face and neck got hot, Gracia lowered her head and slapped her forehead with the flat of her free palm.

"See?" Bonnaire giggled, "Whether or not they realize what they're doing, women change small things in their mannerisms when they're in love. And why can others tell? Because the signs are age-old. And why can't you tell? Well… you've always been adorably confused about emotions, Sweet."

Gracia twitched, one hand still pressed to her forehead and the other still in Bonnaire's hands, being drawn on, and stared at her lap.

Bonnaire… was really the only person she could ask and be sure about the answer.

After all, everyone around her and Komui were all in the Order and had watched them interact over time, and their friends and family were rooting for them.

Bonnaire? An old friend/acquaintance of hers, maybe, but he was still more neutral than everyone else. After all, Bonnaire still hadn't met Komui; Bonnaire only knew Komui through what Gracia had told him and how Gracia responded to talking about him.

Bonnaire's opinion and responses… were the most honest…

"…So, Bonny…" Gracia mumbled, "Do you think I—"

"Gracia? Are you oka—Yeep! !"

Bonnaire and Gracia looked over at the door, blinking at a wide-eyed, flushed Komui.

"Wh-Who are you? !" Komui squeaked, pointing to Bonnaire dramatically with a shaking hand, "Wh-What are you doing in here? ! …Get your hands off my wife! !"

When Komui lunged, pulling something shiny (a tiny… Komlin?) out of his jacket, Gracia twitched and reached back, grabbing a pillow and swinging it around, catching Komui upside the head.

"Damn it Komui…" She mumbled, gaining energy as she stood quickly. She had to stop, stumbling slightly when the action of standing too quickly made her lightheaded, then regained her senses and went on, raising her voice, "Do not burst into my room, start shouting, and attack my guests! This is Miss Bonnaire, she's a friend of mine and a new Finder we recruited while we were in Paris, and I'm not your damned wife! !"

"B-B-But…!" Komui, his eyes wide and watering, blubbered as he knelt on the floor, cradling his pillow-smacked head as he looked between Bonnaire and Gracia quickly, "He was holding your hand and tracing your palm! And you were blushing! And he…! …Is in a… skirt…?" At that, Komui paused, staring at Bonnaire's fishnet stocking-covered legs.

"…Yes, Komui…" Gracia's eyebrow twitched, "_She_ is wearing a skirt."

"…Oh… _Oh_." Komui's eyes widened slightly with understanding.

Gracia sighed heavily and closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Son of a… Komui… you… are such… a…"

A giggle cut her off.

Gracia and Komui looked over at Bonnaire, who had a hand covering his large lips as he tittered. Bonnaire looked up at Gracia with a wide smile, speaking between giggles, "Sweet… after that, I'm only more convinced than before, both in how adorable you two are together, and about my opinion of your… _feelings_."

That said, Bonnaire stood and flounced out of the room, throwing a wink in Komui's direction before closing the door.

"…Gracia?"

"Hmm?"

"Is that someone you met back when you were a wanderer?"

"Yes…"

"Ah… That explains it."

Gracia turned to Komui as he stood, looking him up and down slowly.

"…What is it?" Komui asked after a moment, flushing slightly and shifting back and forth.

"Hmm?" Gracia blinked, then shook her head, still looking him over, "Nothing… I just… never really noticed before… how nice your new uniform looks on you…"

"…" Komui's flush darkened, "Th… Thank you…"

"…" Realizing what she'd said, Gracia turned away from him and walked back over to her bed, coughing into her hand and sitting as she picked up a cotton ball soaked nail polish remover and started to remove the job Bonnaire hadn't finished, "Did you need something? You should be hip deep in paperwork after that last mission…"

"Maaah, don't remind me!" Komui groaned, slumping and tipping his head back as he keened, "So many forms need to be filled out with those kids from the Hearst Asylum staying here, not to mention the transfer papers for the prioress, the legal papers we have to handle taking on such a young ward of the state, working things out with the Parisian police…"

"…That doesn't answer my question." Gracia sighed, "If you're that busy, you really should be in your office." Gracia squeaked when, in a flash, she was pushed back down onto the bed, Komui hovering over her.

He had a worried look on his face, but his large… warm presence… hovering over her… made her blush slightly.

"I was worried…" Komui murmured, cupping her jaw with one hand and stroking the skin beneath her eye with the rough pad of his thumb, "You didn't come to see me when you came back… Not even as an official errand…"

Gracia squirmed slightly under him, looking away and shuddering. She had to bite the inside of her cheek when she felt her body… already reacting… "…I was… tired…" She mumbled, "I started to nap in Paris, but then we got into that fight with the Akuma and I never had a chance to nap after…"

"Oh…" Komui nodded, apparently accepting her excuse.

…It made her sick, because it wasn't the entire truth.

She also hadn't wanted to face him when she still didn't have things sorted out…

"Yeah…" Gracia nodded slightly, squirming, "…Was that all?"

"…No."

Komui's hand against her cheek turned her head slightly and forced her to look up, and Gracia's blush darkened when Komui leaned down and kissed her softly.

"Oh, come on…" Gracia whined into his mouth, shuddering and squirming when he tipped her head up and gently bit his way down the side of her neck, "I-Aaaah! I-I'm t-taaaaahh-tired… G-Get… on with—" She moaned and arched when he ran a hand up her stomach and chest in a firm stroke, his palm cupping a breast and squeezing.

"Congratulations…" Komui murmured next to her ear, sliding one leg between her thighs and grabbing her hips to make her arch and rub against him, "Your promotion went through, _General_ Solidor…"

Her sleepiness, her previous conversation with Bonnaire, and Komui's words all lost coherence and importance as Gracia groaned loudly and tightened her thighs around Komui's leg, her hands flying up and scrambling at his back as she arched.

Anything else Komui might have been murmuring into her ear tapered off into a groan as Komui pressed his body against hers tightly, fitting their hips together snugly with her riding one of his legs and he one of hers as he rolled down onto her.

Gracia's eyes widened and she arched again, her fingernails digging into Komui's back as he slipped his hands under the hem of the nightshirt she'd changed into and palmed her stomach.

"K-K-Komuuuui…" She managed to rasp after a moment, her voice breaking and close to giving out as Komui's mouth started sucking along her collarbone, "St-Stoppit… Go… work…"

"We're celebrating." Komui mumbled, his voice husky as he slid his hands up and chuckled when he found she wasn't wearing a bra.

"Th-Thought you didn't want me to be a General…" Gracia's body jerked sharply and she cried out as his hands played against her chest.

"You did, though." Komui moved his mouth back up to hers, breathing against her lips as he met her eyes heatedly, his glasses sitting on the tip of his nose, "And I'm happy that you got something you wanted and worked hard for."

Gracia blushed and stuttered a bit, then looked away and started to roll onto her stomach, trying to crawl out from under him, "W-Well, thank you, but it's the middle of the day… We can 'celebrate' la—"

"Nope!" Komui's hands pinned her wrists in place and he laid down on her back heavily, chuckling in her ear as he went on brightly, "We're celebrating. Now. Even if I have you keep you pinned in this position."

"P-Pervert!" Gracia yelped, struggling.

"Now, General, is that really any way to talk to your supervising officer?" Komui's chuckle darkened, his lips curving into a devious smirk against her ear, "I have half a mind to punish you…"

Gracia's eyes widened, her pulse pounding in her throat.

She and Komui had only been intimate twice previously… and both times he'd been… well… (she blushed to admit it) passionate and tender… (and insatiable)…

Now, though… now she was seeing a new side.

Komui was being his nutty, annoying antics into the bedroom.

And, as it turned out, it made him aggressive and sly.

"So, _General_…" Komui purred in her ear, his hips rolling into her backside slowly, "Where shall your punishment begin…?"

* * *

Gracia laid on her back amongst the twist of sheets and stared at the ceiling, her eyebrow twitching slightly.

Off to the side, Komui was humming happily as he dressed.

"…You're such an oversexed deviant."

"And you like it~." Komui chirped brightly, skipping back over to the bedside to lean over and kiss her innocently.

_Innocent_. Him. How laughable.

Still… something about this time stood out to her… (Other than the fact that he'd been far more playful and dominant than before.)

…He hadn't said _it_.

"So, what were you and… 'Miss' Bonnaire talking about before I came in?" Komui was asking as he stood back and fastidiously fiddled with all of the new decorations on his uniform shirt and jacket until they were straight, "_She_ mentioned something about your… 'feelings' before she left…?"

"…You didn't say it this time." When Komui turned to her, Gracia looked away and pulled the sheets up over her chest before laying he arms out over her stomach, her fingers twisting and playing amongst one another. She hadn't been able to keep herself from saying it… It just… stood out in her mind so much.

…He'd said it both times before, and repeatedly, so, even though it was only their third time, not hearing it… didn't seem right.

"…I didn't say what?" Komui sat beside Gracia again, and she didn't look at him, still staring off at the wall on the other side of the room.

"…N-Nothing." Gracia mumbled, shifting. It was selfish to think he would keep saying it when he wasn't getting a response… "Forget it… I'm sleepy. Go back to wor—"

Cut off by Komui grabbing her chin and turning her head back towards him, Gracia could only try to avert her eyes again. She wasn't able to, though, when she met Komui's eyes before trying to look away, and even when she tried she found herself staring back at him.

Komui stared down at her silently, then leaned in and pressed his forehead to hers.

"…I love you."

Gracia felt her pulse picking up again, throbbing on the back of her tongue.

"…Is that what you were talking about?" Komui smiled, tipping his head slightly. "You're right, I didn't say it this time. I'm sorry. I thought hearing it… was making you uncomfortable."

Gracia managed to look away at that, shifting.

It was… or it had been… But not hearing it when she had been expecting to was proving to be just as uncomfortable, but in a different way.

It was a no-damned-win situation…

"…I love you." Komui said again, kissing her and using his mouth to make her look back at him, "So I don't mind waiting."

Gracia's eyes widened slightly as Komui smiled down at her before standing, fixing his beret and his glasses before walking to the door.

He said something about her having a good rest, but she really couldn't hear him over the static in her ears.

He knew.

He knew she was having problems saying it.

…And she didn't feel as sick for knowing that he knew as she thought she would have.

Instead… it made her feel… happy… relieved and happy…

After lying in bed and thinking about it for a bit, Gracia stood and grabbed her nightshirt, slipping it on as she walked into the bathroom.

There, she stopped in front of the sink and leaned in to look at her reflection in the mirror.

…Cheeks red… lips swollen and kiss-bruised… neck covered in crimson, mouth-shaped marks… hair mussed and a bit knotted…

She continued searching, bit-by-bit, for… whatever it was she was expecting to find. But, bit-by-bit, all she saw was herself, ravished.

…At least, until she stepped back to walk out. Then, she saw her reflection as a whole.

And she blushed even darker when, after several moments' pause, she saw it.

What Bonnaire had been talking about.

The… 'glow'…

…Huh, women really did glow when they were in love.

Go figure.


	92. Protocol Stasis Recording: File XIV

XD Would any of you believe my, I wonder, if I told you I've never had a significant relationship? Seriously, I've only 'dated' two guys, and both times I ended it, both times it never got beyond holding hands, and both times it didn't last long.

I suck at fostering meaningful emotional relationships.

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Fretting over how to actually go about confessing to Komui now that she had come to the conclusion that she did, indeed, love him, Gracia walked down the hall slowly, wringing her hands.

After she'd seen herself 'glowing' in her bathroom mirror (she'd always thought that people meant a literal glow, but upon seeing it firsthand, she saw it was a more… metaphorical but still somehow visual thing), she hadn't been able to sleep like she had really, really wanted to.

So, instead, she found herself walking to the infirmary to check on Allen, Marie and Kanda.

The residential hallways were empty, everyone busier at work than they had been over the last few weeks because of the sizable but short mission she had just gotten done with, so her walk was in silence… which gave her plenty of fretting room.

She was just turning the corner to leave her wing of the residential hallway when someone turned the corner at the same time, both of them grunting as they ran into one another.

"Watch where you're—" Kanda started to snap before he stopped, snorting, "Oh, it's you."

"Kanda?" Gracia blinked up at him, "Out of the medical ward already…?" She paused, then sighed, relieved, "Oh, then your tattoo is back to 'normal?'"

Kanda paused, then nodded slightly. Whatever could be considered 'normal' for it.

"Good…" Gracia blinked up at him again, questioningly, "Did you need something? You would have told me off, regardless, for running into you… Were you looking for me?"

"…" Kanda looked away, his brow twitching slightly.

"…?" Gracia blinked yet again, then noticed something…

…Kanda had his hair down.

"…Are you ready for that haircut?"

Kanda's brow twitched again, the tendons in his neck standing out as he ground his teeth.

"Alright." Gracia nodded as if he had answered her, "Let's head back to my room…"

In a scene that would have been shocking to anyone who knew what was going on, but didn't strike Gracia as all that odd, Kanda followed her silently as she turned and started walking back down the hall.

Yawning as she walked back into her bedroom, Gracia crossed the room and walked into her bathroom, opening the shower stall and turning the water on. When she turned back to find Kanda staring at her oddly and frowning, she shrugged, "You're going to want to wet your hair before I do this. It's easier to make straight lines that way."

"…" Kanda stepped past her at that, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his shoulders as he pulled the removable showerhead out of its saddle.

As he did that, Gracia stepped over to her counter and opened a few drawers, shifting through them until she found a pair of scissors and a hairbrush.

She turned back just as Kanda was turning the water off and tossing his now sopping hair back over his shoulders, flinching and getting water sprayed across her face for it.

Sighing, she wiped her face off as Kanda dropped down heavily on the lid of the toilet, the young man glaring up at her darkly when she spun her finger in a gesture for him to turn around.

"You fuck up, support unit, and I'll—"

"Run me through with Mugen, yeah, yeah…" Gracia sighed, flicking her wrist, "I've cut hair before, Kanda. I know what I'm doing."

Pursing his lips, Kanda glared at her a bit longer before grudgingly turning around.

"…And that's _General_ Support Unit to you." Gracia mumbled, slightly teasing, as she set the scissors aside and started to brush his hair.

Kanda's shoulders twitched slightly.

"No, I'm not just saying that. Komui told me just a bit ago…" His hair slid through the teeth of her brush and her fingers easily, tangle-free. Despite how dry and split it had looked the very first time she'd seen it up close (in Reykjavík), he really did take good care of it, otherwise…

"…Hn." Kanda grunted, "…You takin' Cross' old unit?"

"Not sure." Gracia sighed, "I think the units will have to be completely reassigned as it is… What _do_ you wash your hair with?" She frowned when a few strands simply snapped off when she tried to work out a small but tight knot.

"…Soap."

"…As in _body_ soap? _Bar body soap_?"

"What of it? !" Kanda snapped as she kept brushing his hair.

"…You know that dries out the natural oils in your hair. And with how often you wear your hair in ponytails… I'm surprised it hasn't all broken off."

"I didn't come here for your grooming advice." Kanda growled, slowly sitting upright as he tensed, "Just cut my fucking hair."

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry…" Gracia sighed, stepping around to brush his bangs flat against his forehead.

Despite the sour and unsure look on his face, Kanda closed his eyes and stayed still.

Gracia brushed all of his hair, save his bangs, back over his shoulders and smoothed it down his back flatly, looking it over once she had.

"…About here?" She pressed the side of her finger against his back where his uneven hairline was the shortest, "Or a bit shorter?"

When Kanda stayed silent, she was about to continue, thinking he was just ignoring her, only to stop when he said, apparently after several moments of thought, "Half an inch shorter than that."

Gracia nodded, a bit uselessly since he still had his eyes closed, and brushed his hair through one more time before she started sectioning it off and picking up the sections one by one, keeping them even with her fingers as she started cutting.

Kanda squirmed slightly as the sound of snipping echoed in the small room, but stopped moving when Gracia pointedly rapped her knuckles against his back.

Once she'd finished straightening the full length of his hair out, Gracia paused, thinking, before saying, "Pull the strands you'd usually use to frame your face over your shoulders."

Kanda inclined his head slightly before reaching up and selecting two clumps of hair near his temples with several years worth of practiced ease, pulling them over to rest against his chest.

Gracia stepped around to stand in front of him, leaning in and eyeing them. She then reached up and dragged her fingernails through his hair, using the edges to thicken and even the sizes of the clumps out a bit.

She paused, quirking a brow when Kanda shuddered.

…After a moment of thought, Gracia reached back and combed her fingers through the back of Kanda's hair, her nails razing his scalp.

After that, everything happened in a flash; Kanda's breath hitched, his cheeks turned red (unlike the few times before, when it could have been a trick of the light, they _definitely_ turned red), then his eyes flashed open and he grabbed her waist, digging his nails in.

"You fucking tell _anyone_," He hissed dangerously, dark eyes flashing and cheeks still red, "And I'll fucking end you."

"Tell anyone what, Yu-_kun_?" Gracia smiled before using her fingers to close his eyes, combing his bangs again.

Kanda's grip on her waist tightened further, his jaw clenching, but he kept his eyes closed and his cheeks stayed red. When she started clipping his bangs, he slowly released his painful grip on her waist, his hand dropping back onto his lap.

Gracia finished with Kanda's bangs, turning her attention to the clumps of hair that would frame his face, next, and trimming them so they were a few inches shorter than the length of hair that ran down his back. She would have been done at that point… if she hadn't noticed how odd the thickness of the clumps of hair looked compared to his bangs and when they were covering his temples.

She paused, considering, then clipped a bit more, leaving a fringe longer than his bangs but shorter than the framing strands, the ends just skimming his high cheekbones overall, to cover his temples.

Kanda's mouth twisted into a frown at the out-of-place snipping and he opened his eyes, looking up at her with a questioning scowl.

"Just trying something." Gracia raised her hands slightly in surrender, "You've aged and your face has matured. The old hairstyle… didn't look quite right. If you don't like it, comb it into your bangs until it grows out again."

Kanda stared at her, then stood and combed his hair up with his fingers, unwrapping one of his cloth string hairties he'd had under the cuff of his sleeve from around his wrist and trying his hair up. He then walked over to the mirror and looked at himself, blinking.

Gracia tipped her head slightly, waiting for a reaction.

"…Two months from now, then?" Kanda glanced over at her flatly.

Gracia blinked, a bit shocked, and had to work to keep from smiling slightly, "Actually, since your ends are so badly split from being dry, six weeks would be better. And at least start using conditioner."

Kanda snorted, rolling his eyes, then walked out without saying anything else.

Gracia waited until she heard her bedroom door shut before giggling.

Kanda washed his hair with bar soap.

Kanda had a sensitive scalp. A _very_ sensitive scalp.

Kanda liked the haircut she'd given him.

Gracia covered her face with her hand and walked back into her bedroom, parting to her fingers so she could walk but keeping her hand in place as she stifled snickers.

Flopping back onto her bed, she laid spread out and giggled a bit longer, then slowly relaxed and closed her eyes, smiling lazily.

Aaah, now she felt tired… All she needed, it seemed, was a good laugh.

Who knew Kanda could be good for one of those?

* * *

Gracia yawned as she made her slow way to Komui's office, covering her mouth with one hand and running the other through her hair. She'd been a bit shocked to wake up from a nap and, for the first time in a while, not have Komui draped over her, and so, since she didn't really have anything else to do, she decided to go check on him…

…Chances were, since he was still in trouble for being late after they had had to stay the night on the Ark, he was still pulling double shifts, and since he hadn't joined her for a nap, he was either still working… or missing. In which case, she'd help Brigitte and Reever find him.

Fortunately, the tiresome game wouldn't be necessary.

"We have to pay for… the damages the Phantom Thief G caused? !"

Gracia blinked as she slipped into the room, going unnoticed by the two adults and the child on the sofa in front of Komui's desk.

"In all, thirty-seven items were stolen, all of them valuable. The buyers…" Brigitte turned the page of the slim black binder in her hands, "Have all fled with them overseas, so retrieving the property won't be easy. As for compensation to those falsely imprisoned…"

"And there's the money to keep the Hearst Orphanage going!" The boy on the sofa pointed out brightly, a crystal cup of ice-cream sundae in one hand, "Don't forget about that!"

"…We haven't." Brigitte assure him flatly, writing something down, "It all adds up…" She paused, her lips pressing into a thin line and her brows furrowing slightly as she turned to Komui, showing him the page of the binder she was on. "To this."

Komui's eyes practically bugged out of his hand, his jaw dropping and his fingernails digging into his cheeks as he shrieked.

"…I had a similar, if less operatic, response." Brigitte's brow twitched slightly.

"As you can see, I don't come cheap." The boy cackled.

"…" Gracia walked across the paper-strewn floor, taking the binder from Brigitte when the woman glanced at her with a quirked brow and put it in her outstretched hand. "…Send the bill to my mother. She'll take care of this." It had been a while since she'd seen so many zeros…

"Eeeeh? What's this? Adults hiding behind Mommy's skirt? How lame."

Gracia glanced at the boy, Timothy Hearst, flatly, "…You seem to be under the impression that the Order has a blank check and a bottomless wallet. We don't. The Order is a non-profit organization." When the boy blinked at her, tipping his head, Gracia sighed, "The Order looks nice because it survives on generous donations; we don't get financial help from the Vatican unless it's absolutely necessary. Paying a greedy, blackmailing brat? Not necessary. In the least."

Timothy twitched and scowled, sticking his tongue out at her.

Rolling her eyes, Gracia turned back to Brigitte and handed the binder back to her, "Let's just save ourselves a few steps and not send a financial report of this to Central; it'll all just get forwarded to the donation funds, anyway, so sending this directly to Mathilda is easiest. Besides…" Gracia glanced at the binder again, taking a brief look at the list of items that had been stolen, "Mother's invested in the museums and caretakers of some of those national artifacts. She'll want them found more than we do, so she'll probably just take the initiative and have those things tracked down and brought back."

"And what about the orphanage? !"

Gracia sighed. She didn't like kids…

"…It'll get taken care of." She glanced at Timothy again, "My family has a branch in France; I'll have my mother forward a letter to Uncle Gaulle and he'll add the Hearst Orphan Asylum to his list of beneficiaries. He's pretty big on sponsoring…"

At that, Timothy relaxed, his eyes slipping off to the side and a soft, relieved look crossing his face.

Gracia stared at him for a moment before turning back to Komui, blinking when she saw him staring at her with wide, tear-filled eyes, his lip quivering.

"I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! !" Komui wailed, lunging forward.

Gracia twitched and wasn't able to dodge, so she took the full brunt of his weight and was slammed into the ground by him.

All six-plus feet and one hundred and seventy-or-so pounds of him.

Fortunately the ground had a nice cushion of scattered paperwork.

"My Gracia~!" Komui gushed, wrapping his arms around her neck and straddling her hips as he sat up and nuzzled her cheek enthusiastically, "My beautiful, brilliant, generous Gracia~! You just saved me from being skinned alive by Lvellie and the other bloodsuc— I mean, cardinals from Central! !"

Gracia sighed heavily and closed her eyes, pursing her lips and twitching slightly.

Let him stop soon, let him stop soon, let him stop soon…

…He wasn't stopping.

…And now he was showering her with lyrical compliments in Mandarin.

That tore it.

Gracia clenched her hand into a fist, Sleep burning slightly against her wrist and finger, and she punched Komui in the stomach.

"I won't write to Mathilda, myself." Gracia said calmly as she stood, turning to Brigitte and ignoring Komui as he writhed on the floor at her feet, "You can go ahead and… address the letter as being from me, but… I'd like you to do it, if you don't mind."

"Very well, General." Brigitte nodded, ignoring Komui with the same level of coldness, "Thank you for your help with this. It… would not have been an easy situation to explain to the Inspector."

"General?"

Gracia looked back at Timothy, who was looking at her with renewed interest.

"You're a General?" Timothy perked, his face full of child-like inquisitiveness, "As in, an Exorcist General?"

"…Yes, I'm an Exorcist." Gracia nodded, turning to Timothy, "Gracia Solidor, Accommodator of the Innocence known as 'Sleep.' Timothy Hearst, right? We just brought you back from Paris…"

Timothy nodded enthusiastically, "I thought I recognized you! You came in with that weird guy in red!" He paused, then looked her up and down again, "You look funny when you're not in your uniform."

Gracia twitched slightly and glanced down at herself. Worn, fade dress pants, a loose, dark sweater that didn't match, her old boots… She wasn't dressed any differently than how she usually dressed when she wasn't in uniform. What was so "funny" about it?

"…You look like a hobo." Timothy started to grin, "A well-groomed hobo."

Gracia twitched again and looked up to glare at Timothy. …She really, really didn't like kids.

"I wouldn't talk like that, Timothy." Komui chuckled wryly as he stood wincingly, one hand on his stomach, "Gracia's an effect-type, like you. She'll be one of the ones training you to help you raise your synchronization rate."

Gracia twitched yet again, and Timothy blanched.

"Gracia, this is Timothy Hearst, Accommodator of the parasitic Innocence 'Tsukikami.'" Komui walked around the desk again, grinning at his lover as Gracia looked at him while he sat, "He's being assigned to Klaud's unit, but, like I said, he's an effect-type of your caliber, so Klaud will probably be coming to you soon for training help." Ignoring the woman and the boy when they started to sputter (Gracia because, again, she didn't like kids, and Timothy because it was just crossing his mind to be afraid of a General he'd insulted and teased), Komui looked down at his desk and started to shuffle through things, "Oh, Timothy, you can go now. I actually have something I need to talk to Gracia about."

Timothy scowled and grumbled something about "stupid adults" as he stood and rolled out of the room on the inline skates on his feet.

Gracia sighed and stared after him curiously. He was already in uniform… Were the skates part of his uniform? Well… he was a kid… It would probably help him keep up with his longer-legged comrades…

"Unit reassignments have finally been organized," Komui started as Gracia sat, leaning forward in his chair and propping his chin up in his hand, "Now that your promotion has gone through. The other Generals have already been informed, so now it's your turn…"

Gracia blinked, nodding slowly. She'd known all along that she'd be getting a group assigned to her, but now that it was happening…

…Now that it was happening, perceiving it felt different.

"General Socalo's standing unit now includes Miranda Lotto and Arystar Krory." Komui looked down at his papers again, picking one up and skimming it slowly, "Tiedoll's consists of Lavi, Bookman, Noise Marie and Chaozii Han, Klaud has Lenalee, Lorelei and Timothy… And you have Allen and Kanda."

Gracia blinked, her eyes widening slightly, "Kanda's… transferring to me?"

Komui nodded, setting the paper down and drumming his fingers on the top of his desk, "Bookman specifically requested that he and Lavi to be handed over to Tiedoll, but with Kanda and the newly added Chaozii in the unit it was all too unbalanced… Actually, it was Kanda who volunteered to transfer out. That was only after he heard that you were the General who needed more units, though."

"…Allen…" …A thought hit Gracia. "…Central requested that Allen be put under me, didn't they?"

"…Yes." Komui nodded, "They felt that, with your abilities, if anything happened you would have the best chance out of the other Generals to subdue him. Since you're not an offensive unit, though, they needed a high-power unit in your group to help… The best options were Lenalee and Kanda. We couldn't have it be the Bookmen; they're supposed to remain neutral, and while Lavi could be useful, the Order doesn't like to tread on the Bookman Clan's oaths and neutrality. Chaozii, Lorelei and Timothy were too new, Tiedoll needed at least one of his original students to remain optimal so Marie stayed with him, Miranda and Krory… are a bit too weak. Kanda stepped in before Lenalee was even considered."

…Gracia took several moments to sort all of this out.

Chaozii had been assigned to Tiedoll as soon as he'd joined the Order, so back then Tiedoll's unit had consisted of Marie, Kanda and Chaozii and herself.

Klaud and Socalo's units had been wiped out months ago.

During the crisis where the Generals had been hunted, Miranda had joined, then been sent to European Branch for training. Krory had also joined, but, since he had already been battle-ready, he had gone with Lenalee, Lavi, Bookman and Allen and crossed Eurasia. At that point, officially, Cross' unit had consisted of the four (minus Krory).

Once the mission in Edo had been complete, unit assignments had gone up into the air for a bit, with only those who had had solid assignments (Tiedoll's entire unit including the newly added Chaozii, and Allen, who had been assigned to Cross) being in official positions.

Now that she was a General, though, and now that Allen was perceived as a threat, Gracia had been indirectly charged with "watching over" Allen alongside Link.

Lavi and Bookman had been reassigned to Tiedoll, alongside Marie and Chaozii.

Lenalee and Lorelei had been assigned to Klaud, alongside Timothy.

Krory and Miranda had been assigned to Socalo.

Kanda had willingly transferred from Tiedoll to Gracia to help her subdue Allen, if it came to it.

…Gracia sighed, rubbing her face. This was tiresome.

"…Sorry." Komui smiled at her sheepishly, "A lot of information, I know. All you need to know is this: Your official unit consists of Allen, Kanda and Link. There. That's it."

"Thank you." Gracia sighed, wiping the rest of the information from her mind. She then paused, asking in a lower voice, "How is Klaud… as a General?"

Komui blinked, then smiled at her calmly, "Klaud is a very caring leader. Strict, but protective and powerful, and a fine teacher. She and Lorelei will get along fantastically, and Lorelei will do well under her."

Gracia sighed in relief and nodded, leaning back in her seat and absently glad that Lorelei hadn't been assigned to her… Work and personal were two things that didn't cross well in blood relationships, and Gracia had a feeling Lorelei wouldn't really listen to her had they been assigned together.

Especially not if Gracia gave Lorelei an order that put Gracia's life on the line…

Suddenly, a thought hit Gracia and she glanced at Brigitte, "Miss Fey… You assigned two CROW bodyguards to Reever when we went to Paris. Madarao and Tewaku? How… How was Madarao able to beat that Akuma he saved Link from?"

Komui's eyes widened slightly and he glanced at Brigitte. Apparently, he hadn't known about some part of that development.

…Brigitte was completely deadpanned. She stared at Gracia silently for a moment, then said, "That is classified information, General Solidor."

"…What if I asked you the same thing?" Komui asked calmly, his face slowly going blank.

"You would get the same answer. Now, if you don't mind, I have a letter to write to Lady Mathilda." With that, the woman walked out of the office quickly.

Gracia and Komui stared after her.

"…Komui… I think Central's stirring…"

"…Gracia, I want you to be very careful… in how you handle Allen."

"…And you be careful… in how you handle any other changes Central might impose on us."

…It was getting harder and harder… to see the Order she had joined… in the 'Order' they were serving at the moment.


	93. Protocol Stasis Recording: File XV

Meh… I think I'm going to have to change the update schedule again…

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"Hm?" Gracia looked up from her shrimp stir-fry, swallowing the wine in her mouth and setting her wineglass down before turning her full attention to Allen and Kanda, "The guy from the mission at the orphanage?"

"Yeah…" Allen nodded, a glaze clouding his eyes as he stared at her food and his grip on the binder in his hand weakening, "Me'n Kanda… can't finish our reports… unless we know his name…"

"Jiji said that the Fey woman assigned him, and that he's from Central." Kanda filled in as Allen got distracted over food.

Behind the two boys, Link was silent, a far-off look on his face.

"…" Gracia picked up a large, steaming shrimp by its tail and offered it to Allen, answering as he snatched it up eagerly, "There were two of them, actually. A male, Madarao, and a female, Tewaku. On my orders, Tewaku stayed behind with Reever as protection while Madarao escorted me into the building. We parted ways; he went to finish off the Level 3, and I helped you."

Allen blinked and Kanda scowled at Gracia slightly.

"…You let a non-Exorcist combatant handle a Level 3?" The Asian male growled.

"He was a CROW." Gracia shrugged, not really noticing the slightly wide-eyed look Link aimed at her, "And he and Tewaku said they had a few 'classified' abilities they weren't allowed to talk about. I just assumed that these abilities would enable them to fight an Akuma… And I was right." She picked up her wine again, taking another sip, "CROW incantations and spell strips can only delay Akuma, and I doubted that people sent directly from Central would be so stupid as to fight an Akuma if they weren't sure they had a way to win."

"…And they didn't say anything at all that could hint to what these 'abilities' are?" Allen sighed heavily, drooping.

"Nope." Gracia turned back to her plate, propping her cheek up in her hand, "Just that the information was classified." She then glanced at Allen, "That should be enough to finish your reports, though. Can't do anything about it if Central won't tell us."

Allen nodded, glancing at Kanda and sighing again at the look on the other boy's face. Like him, Kanda wasn't satisfied…

"…By the way…" Gracia mumbled, swirling some rice around with her fork, "…Did you three know that you're my new unit?"

Allen's eyes widened.

Kanda, who had already known, glanced off to the side with disinterest, and Link remained stoic (of course he knew).

Allen, though… "Really?" Allen grinned, "You got your promotion? Congratulations!"

"Yep." Gracia glanced at Allen again, smiling, "And Kanda and you, and your tumor," Link's brow twitched, "By extension, are my new unit."

Allen's beaming dimmed as he glanced over at Kanda slowly.

Kanda, who could feel himself getting stared at, looked back at Allen and sneered. And, with that, the two boys were glaring at one another, sparks flying.

Overhead, Timcanpy and Kanda's golem were engaged in their own glaring war.

Gracia narrowed her eyes at them, "I won't put up with that crap, you two. You keep it up and not only will I use Sleep on both of you, I'll also use Alucinari to make you hug." When she got cast two green-faced, wide-eyed looks, she smiled, "And then I'll tie you both together in that hug."

The boys each took a large step away from one another, Allen sighing and reaching up to grab Timcanpy before he ate Kanda's golem and Kanda glaring off to the side sullenly.

"Fine." Allen sighed after a bit, "…I'm going to finish my report, then head to the training rooms." That said, he inclined his head to his new General respectfully before walking off, Link and Timcanpy not far behind.

When Kanda stared to glare after him, Gracia's brow twitched. Hadn't she just gotten done warning…

"…You know, Yu, it's not very often I see you in something that's not your uniform." Gracia smiled, "That ao dai looks very fetching on you."

Kanda's eyes widened and he quickly looked back down at her, a muscle in his jaw twitching as he opened his mouth to yell. Remembering she was his direct superior, now, and faced with the wide smile she was directing at him (not to mention what had happened between the two of them not long ago), Kanda twitched and ground his teeth, taking a step back as his face colored lightly.

Finally, he just snorted and glared at her sourly before turning and storming off.

Gracia sighed as he left, rubbing the bridge of her nose. She remembered how tiresome Allen and Kanda had been on their mission to Golomore… Now that she was their General, she probably had a duty to make them tone down the rivalry a bit.

Turning back to her stir-fry, Gracia resumed eating, only to pause and blink when she saw something.

With her seat facing the entrance/exit of the cafeteria, she could watch people in the hallway outside pass… And she slowly set her fork down as she saw three people in familiar red robes walk by.

And they weren't the same as the robes the first CROW she had encountered (way back when they had first moved the European Branch to Barheim) wore…

No, these three wore robes similar to the ones Madarao and Tewaku wore.

Meaning… Central was moving again.

So soon…?

Starting to panic, Gracia was suddenly seized by a need to see Komui; if there were so many special CROW in the building who weren't heading out on a mission, and Komui hadn't told her about them, then they'd probably come in with someone.

Someone who, undoubtedly, would be talking to Komui.

Standing and leaving her food and drink behind, Gracia walked out of the cafeteria quickly and started to head to Komui's office, her hands clenching into fists.

As her anxiety worsened the closer she got, Sleep started to warm comfortingly against her wrist and middle finger, the soft chiming of the chain moving getting more and more pronounced as Sleep made her more aware of its presence.

And… it was one of the rare occasions where Sleep's actions didn't soothe her.

When she reached Komui's office, the door was shut. She was just reaching for the handle when she heard voices on the other side…

"Half-Akuma, Renny? ! Are you mad? !"

Gracia blinked. That was Bak's voice…

…Wait… what did he just…

…Half-Akuma…?

…Half-Akuma…

…_Half-Akuma_…

Gracia's eyes widened, her body tensing up and her stomach starting to burn painfully.

"Now, Bak, calm down… I'm talking to Chief Officer Lee." A cool, slightly amused female voice Gracia didn't recognize spoke, "Komui… their names are Tokusa, Kiredori, Goushi, Tewaku and Madarao. You're to take these Third Exorcists into your service, by order of the Holy Father."

_Madarao and Tewaku? !_

_Third Exorcists? !_

_**Half-Akuma? !**_

Sleep burned against Gracia's wrist violently and she clenched the handle to the door in front of her tightly, trying to control herself before Sleep… exploded with…

…With anger…?

"…I got word of this from a… former subordinate now at North American Branch." Bak's voice was tight.

Gracia hadn't heard a word from Komui yet, even though she knew he was in there.

"Why, Renny?" Bak hissed from behind the door, "We were the ones who sealed away the Black Order's bitter legacy! So why? Did you forget what happened nine years ago? !"

"…The recent attack… made me realize that was a mistake." The woman's voice was now lower, tinged with regret. "…There's a price to be paid… if human beings want to defeat the Akuma."

…Sleep's sleepy fog… was replaced with an inflamed, red haze…

The Innocence burning harshly against her wrist, so harshly she could feel the skin dry out and tighten, Gracia numbly slammed the door to Komui's office open and walked inside.

Komui, Bak and the woman, Renny, jumped slightly, looking over at her, while Madarao and Tewaku (who now had their veiled hats off) kept their reactions schooled as they turned slowly to look at her.

While Bak, standing behind his desk and beside him, blinked dumbly, Komui's shock slowly slackened to a serious expression (one with veiled concern), "Gracia… This is a Branch Head meeting. You can't—"

"Oh, this is the newly appointed General, Lady Gracia Solidor?" Renny interrupted, smiling and standing, "It's fine, then. I meant to meet her while I was here, anyway."

…Gracia vaguely recognized her, now; she was one of the Branch Head's who'd come to the old Headquarters, right before the attack. North American Branch Head Renny Epstain…

"I don't think we were ever properly introduced." Renny smiled as she walked over to Gracia, "I'm Renny Epstain of Nor—"

Still not feeling like she was completely in charge of her body, Gracia could only watch from the backseat as her hand lashed out and backhanded the woman across the face. Against her now outstretched hand, Sleep glowed white-hot, dangerous…

"Gracia? !" Across the room, chair legs scraped across the floor noisily.

"H-Hey! !"

"A price, huh…? And what would that be… Our humanity?"

Renny took a few stumbling steps back as Sleep sent out a hot pulse through the air, the woman's hand covering a hand-shaped burn on her cheek. She stared at Gracia with wide eyes as she bumped into the sofa behind her, Madarao and Tewaku closing in on her sides protectively.

"And who gave you the right to make a decision that large in the name of humanity…?" Gracia asked, tipping her head slowly as she seemed to walk in slow motion towards Renny, "The Pope? Last I checked, he wasn't an Exorcist…"

"Gracia…" Komui hissed, slipping around from behind his desk, "Calm do—"

"You're going to let them make us so desperate we sacrifice our own humanity?" Gracia mumbled, slowly closing in on Renny, "That is the only thing anymore that separates _us_ from _them_. You're going to shove this in the face of every last Exorcist, those living and dying for you, and those already dead?"

"We're running out of options." Renny muttered, slowly starting to glare between Gracia and the brightly glowing Sleep on her wrist, "And this decision was sanctioned by His Holiness."

"…If you can't tell," Gracia stopped right in front of her, lifting her hand and holding Sleep out in front of the woman's face, "Sleep doesn't like it. And I'm pretty sure… that Innocence knows God's will better than mortals, who only have a book that's been translated, lost, and then translated again _how_ many times over the course of over two thousand years as a reference. But if you're so convinced that what you're doing is right… Here."

Around her, the non-Exorcists tensed as Gracia reached up and grabbed Sleep's bracelet, pulling it off as the Innocence, willingly, let her go.

"Put it on." She held Sleep, which was still glowing, out, "Even if you're not its Accommodator, it shouldn't do anything if you haven't offended God, right? So go ahead… Let's see what the Innocence has to say about what you've done."

On either side of Renny, Madarao and Tewaku were forced to back off, their Akuma sides (_dear God, __**Half-Akuma**_) apparently not liking the dangerous waves Sleep was sending out.

Komui, who had been reaching out for Gracia, froze at the sight of Sleep not only being off of her wrist, but also still glowing even though she wasn't wearing and/or invoking.

Renny was staring at Sleep with wide eyes, her face pale.

"…Put it on." Gracia leaned in further, finishing in a low voice, "I dare you."

Sleep… This all… had to be Sleep talking… It was her words, because she felt the same, but… only Sleep's ferocity… could…

"What happened at the old European Branch… was tragic." Gracia muttered, "It's something that will hang over our heads for the rest of our lives… But emotional hardship… is no reason to sink to _their_ level. The fact that the Order has survived this long… only shows we're doing _something_ right. Don't underestimate us Exorcists and sacrifice all of mankind's humanity in a moment of panic… or the world we'll be left with when we win this war will just be an insult to those who gave their lives back when the Order's intentions were still pure."

Apparently having spilled out all Sleep wanted to say, Gracia stumbled back as Sleep's glowing ceased, a heavy, heated aura she hadn't even noticed it exuding suddenly vanishing and leaving the air feeling uncomfortably light.

And, with Sleep's rage gone, Gracia found herself feeling exhausted and empty… and collapsing.

Red cloth flashed in front of her face and a vaguely familiar, well-muscled arm wrapped around her waist.

"Supervisor, Branch Heads." The person now supporting her bowed briefly, then turned and started leading her out of the room with heavy footsteps, a softer pair of footsteps right behind them. As soon as the door was closed behind them, the person spoke again, Gracia vaguely recognizing Madarao's voice, "Tewaku, the Innocence."

His sister stepped in front of them as Madarao stopped, the girl (Third Exorcist, _Half-Akuma_) covering her hands with her cloak before reaching out and grabbing Sleep through the cloth.

Gracia numbly let her slide Sleep back onto her wrist, staring at the girl now that she had her veiled hat off.

She had long, fair hair and pupil-less eyes, and under the lower lids of her eyes were… strange, light markings…

…She… she looked younger than Lorelei… Younger than Lenalee…

_Third Exorcist._

_**Half-Akuma.**_

Once Sleep was back in place, the bracelet shrinking to fit Gracia's wrist, Tewaku nodded to her brother and inclined her head to Gracia slightly, Madarao tightening his hold on Gracia's waist again to help keep her upright as he started to lead her down the hall.

Gracia glanced up at Madarao, next.

Fair hair, like his sister, only it was a bit short and spiked, save a long section of bangs that hung over his right eye and was dyed darkly at the end. Like his sister, his eyes had no pupils and strange, lightly colored markings under the lower lids.

He couldn't have been much older or younger than Kanda.

_Third Exorcist._

_**Half-Akuma.**_

"Tewaku and I will take you back to your quarters." Madarao glanced down at her stoically, "Which direction?"

"…They actually used teenagers for it…" Gracia heard the words spill from her numb lips.

After staring at her a moment longer, Madarao slowly looked forward again, still supporting Gracia as they walked down the hall.

"…Your emotions are tied very closely to the will of your Innocence."

"…'s somethin' tha's gotten me in trouble before." Gracia looked ahead. "Though I think… slapping a Branch Head takes the cake…" Ah… she was starting to recognize the area they were walking in… The training facilities were near this hall…

Madarao and Tewaku suddenly stopped walking and Gracia blinked when she saw fuzzy figures walking towards them.

Fuzzy…? Why was her vision fuzzy…?

"Ah, Tewaku, Madarao… How did it go?" A smooth and lightly teasing voice Gracia didn't recognize called out as it approached.

Gracia blinked slowly, feeling her fading anger start to spark again when she saw them.

Renny had said three names other than Madarao's and Tewaku's but…

…There they were.

_Three more_ in the same CROW uniform spin-off as the two on either side of her.

_Third Exorcists._

_**Half-Akuma.**_

"Oh?" The male leading the other two stopped in front of them, his eyes mostly closed and a hand raised to stroke his chin, "Who is this, Madarao?"

"General Solidor." Madarao answered evenly.

"Gracia…? !"

The Third Exorcists glanced over as Lavi ran around from behind the large male Third Exorcist standing behind the one rubbing his chin, Allen not far behind the Bookman's apprentice. Allen had blood running down the left side of his face…

"Gracia, what happened? !" Allen stopped in front of Madarao and reached out, hesitating before his fingers brushed her temple.

Gracia jerked slightly against Madarao's arm. Why was Allen's skin so _hot_?

"Shit…" Lavi frowned as Allen jerked back, "Your face is gray…"

"And your skin is freezing…" Allen mumbled.

"…Eh…?" Gracia blinked slowly, her head spinning a little.

"…Madarao." When had Link gotten behind Allen…? The blond glared at Madarao, his lips pressed into a thin line, "What are you doing with the General?"

"Escorting her back to her room." Madarao's tone seemed to be perpetually even, "She overexerted herself expressing her displeasure to Branch Head Epstain regarding the Third Exorcist Program."

At that, the Third Exorcists behind Lavi, Allen and Link (the closed-eyed male who was still stroking his chin, the large male, and a female who Gracia hadn't really noticed much of) shifted, the large male's lips twisting into a frown, the female blinking and the closed-eyed male tipping his head slightly.

"…Stupid woman."

Gracia stumbled slightly as a swath of long, dark hair stormed past Allen and Lavi, jerking her away from Madarao forcefully and pulling her down another hall and away from the group now behind them with a vice-like grip on her upper arm.

Guiding her with fierce precision, Kanda kept Gracia moving so well she didn't have time for her legs to be weak.

When they stopped in front of a door, Gracia passively realized it wasn't hers just before Kanda pulled her inside and slammed the door shut, locking it.

Her mind still moving too slowly for her to completely follow Kanda's precise movements, even though she was the one he was pulling around, Gracia blinked and found herself being roughly pushed down into a chair.

She let it happen, looking up and blinking as Kanda, who had apparently been training before he'd found her if the worn trousers, short-sleeved Mandarin-style shirt and bracers on both arms were any indication, started pacing with a scowl.

After watching him for a bit, she looked around, taking in the room.

The coffee table, extra chairs and other furniture that adorned most of the guest rooms had all been removed… Kanda had only kept the bed, a coat rack next to it with his uniform jacket hanging from it, the chair she was sitting in and a large rug in the middle of the room.

After pacing for a bit, Kanda sat on the middle of this rug and folded his legs, clasping his hands over his lap and closing his eyes.

…When she realized she was actually in the presence of a meditating Kanda, Gracia did her best to stay silent, going so far as to slow her own breathing.

The room fell into a complete silence, but something still hung in the air; a mutually shared but intrinsically different feeling of some kind of… negative emotion taking up the space above their heads.

They were both… uncomfortable and angry about something… But, somehow, in different ways…

…Gracia watched Kanda silently, blinking when, after a bit of angry tranquility, his arm twitched and the hairs stood up on it, as if something had brushed it.

Kanda's eyes snapped open and he looked down, his body slowly tensing and his eyes darting back and forth as he… looked at things… that weren't there.

…Again.

The arm that had been 'brushed' now shaking, Kanda raised his hand and pressed it to his chest, where the marking rested under his shirt, his breathing starting to get a bit harsh.

"…Kanda."

The muscles in his bared arms snapped into a tense, drawn position and he looked over at her sharply before blinking, as if he'd forgotten she was there. Marginally, he relaxed.

"…What is it you see… when you start to hallucinate?"

…Oddly, he relaxed further after she asked that question. As if he'd needed someone to confirm that he was, indeed, hallucinating.

Then, he slowly looked away from her again and faced forward, closing his eyes and going back to meditating.

After watching him a bit longer, when she felt like she had recovered marginally, Gracia stood and walked over to the door.

"Stay away from them."

Gracia glanced back, countering with a challenging, "Come to me when it gets to be too much."

Kanda's one opened eye narrowed, his lips twisting into a brief scowl before he closed his eye again and went back to meditating.

Gracia sighed and walked out.


	94. Protocol Stasis Recording: File XVI

Ya know what, yeah, just to be safe, I'm going to change the update schedule again. In the unedited version of this, I've caught up with chapter 207, and while I'm gonna milk the three month time skip for all it's worth (but hopefully not to the point where even I get sick of it ^ . ^'), I'll be more comfortable deciding on where to go with the story when Hoshino gives us another chapter… or two.

Now, the frequency of the updates is not up for debate; just the day on which you get them. Yes, day. In the singular.

As in once a week.

Just for a bit, though.

I'll go ahead and update today (Monday) and in three days (Thursday) so we can start fresh with the weekly updating schedule next week.

The poll will be on my page; pick the day of the week that's most convenient for you. And please… don't submit your vote in the form of a PM or in the review. I am a lazy, forgetful person, and I just might forget to manually tally your vote.

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"Brigitte, would you excuse us?"

Gracia didn't look up as Brigitte passed her, keeping her eyes trained on the paper-strewn floor as she walked over and sat on the sofa in front of Komui's desk that Renny Epstain had occupied several hours before.

After the door clicked softly behind her, Gracia kept her eyes on her lap, Komui's office silent.

And it stayed silent… for a while.

"…I don't know what to do with you." Komui sighed, "Renny specifically said I didn't need to take any disciplinary action against you, but you struck a Branch Head and threatened her life with your Innocence."

"Actually," Gracia mumbled, "I asked her to put it on. If she had done it and Sleep had lashed out at her, it would have been divine retribution. Not my fault in the least."

"Gracia…" Komui's voice was low, with a distinctive warning tone to it.

"What I don't get," Gracia went on, slowly looking up at him and scowling, "Is why you sat there, listened to what she said and didn't say anything against it. Central _cut your legs out from under you_, Komui, and then that woman came in here and acted like she had the authority to boss you around."

"I took it because of the very fact that her orders came from Central." Komui narrowed his eyes back at Gracia. "And, from a strategic point of view, the Third Exorcists will be a great military asset."

"…Are you kidding me?" Gracia seethed, tensing as she started to get angry again, "Komui, they _spliced_ a bunch of _kids_ with Akuma. They're fucking with the natural order and _crossbreeding humans with Akuma_. And Akuma are _bound to follow the orders of the Earl and the Noah_. It's fucking common knowledge. Those kids could have their wills bent in the middle of a mission and end up turning on us, no matter how unwillingly. An _Akuma_ is an _Akuma_, no matter who makes it!"

"Which is why their group is getting split up and mixed into the units." Komui frowned at Gracia deeply, "They can be a great asset, and at the same time they're weak to Innocence and surrounded by Exorcists."

"It's cannibalism, right?" Gracia clenched her hands against her lap, "That's how they fight Akuma. Cannibalism _kills the human souls trapped in Akuma_."

"I know that."

"THEY'RE KIDS! !" Gracia snapped, standing up and glaring at Komui harshly as her nails dig unto her palms.

"I know that." Komui continued glaring at her evenly, "Madarao, Tewaku and Tokusa have requested that they be assigned to you."

Gracia turned and started walking to the door.

"General Solidor, come back here this instant!" Komui's voice cut through the air sharply, "You are in the middle of a possible disciplinary hearing!"

Gracia stopped walking and turned back towards Komui, shooting him a withering look and sneering, "Any chance you still had at using rank against me died when you used it in your one-sided role-play in bed the other day."

Komui balked, his hands dropping to the top of his desk and his cheeks getting dusted with red.

Gracia exhaled and turned, making to leave the room.

"…I know, alright?"

Her hand froze on the door at Komui's tone. She glanced back at him slowly, her anger fading a bit when she saw his eyes cast down to stare at the top of his paper-covered desk, a pained expression flickering behind his glasses and his hands clenching.

"…This is easily… the worst thing the Order has done… since the last time we tried these kinds of experiments…"

"…You mean the Second Exorcists?"

Komui's eyes snapped up, widening as his face paled, "You know about that…?"

"No." Gracia blinked, "I just assumed that if these new units are _Third_ Exorcists, there must have been a type of Exorcist before them, probably called 'Second,' because going from anything else to 'Third' makes about as much sense as going from one to 'b.'"

Komui blinked, then slapped his forehead at her logic, laughing hollowly.

"…There really were Second Exorcists?" Gracia frowned deeply, turning to Komui.

Komui's hollow laughter cut short at that and he sighed, giving her a tired, jaded look, "Yes… And, since you'll ask sooner or later, yes. The project ended disastrously."

"…If it couldn't get done right the first time, what the fuck makes you all think it'll get done right this time?"

"…It did get done right the first time." Komui mumbled, his eyes lowering and sliding off to the side, "It just… had backlashes no one foresaw." When Gracia glared at him, Komui apparently felt it, because he whined softly and rubbed his forehead, taking his glasses off, "Don't look at me like that… It was before I became Chief Officer. But no," Komui sighed and lowered his hand, setting his glasses on his desk and staring down at them, "That's no excuse. When I became Chief Officer and Branch Head… I swore to myself I would take the names of all of those who died in the name of the Rose Cross of the Black Order to my grave. I bear… all of the sins committed in the Order's name… This newest one included." He looked back up at Gracia, dark circles under his eyes and crows feet in the corners, expression drawn with stress, "You were right. Everything you said… you were right. We're spitting in God's face and dishonoring everyone who died back at the old Headquarters and in the Second Exorcist Program, and if we win because of the Thirds… it'll be an unclean win none of us will be proud of. But no one will bear that cross but me. As Chief Officer… that is my burden."

…Gracia crossed the room quickly and walked around Komui's desk to stand by him, taking Komui's face in her hands when he looked up at her and leaning in to kiss him harshly.

Beneath her, Komui's hands twitched slightly before he spun his chair to face her, palms rubbing her hips before his fingers dug in and gripped firmly.

"Are you alright?" Komui asked huskily when they broke to breathe a moment later, pulling her close until her knees brushed the cushion of the seat of the chair on either side of his knees, "Earlier… with Sleep…"

"I'm fine." Gracia rasped back, her hands knocking his beret off as they slid through his hair to cup the back of his head, "Sleep was just really pissed off. It's calmed down since then."

"You got so upset you let your emotions affect Sleep's invocation again." Komui pulled her closer as her mouth moved down to meet his again, their shared frustration and, oddly enough, exhaustion making them a bit frantic.

"Maybe you and the Order should stop making me mad." Gracia gasped when Komui's hands jerked her so close her feet left the floor, knees sliding across the leather of his chair until she was straddling his legs and sitting on his lap. She shuddered and tipped her head back when Komui's mouth moved down, his teeth grazing her pulse before he wet his lips and started sucking at her neck.

Remembering where they were when the leather of his chair squeaked, Gracia shuddered and struggled.

"Not… office… indecent…"

"Brigitte flipped the lock on the door on her way out." Komui growled before he turned the chair and stood, pressing Gracia back-down onto the top of the desk.

Any further protests she might have been able to summon slid through her fingers as Komui reached up and took her hands out of his hair, lacing their fingers together long enough to push her hands down on top of the desk, above her head. He then let her hands go and slid his down the front of her body, fingers slipping up under the hem of her sweater the moment he felt it.

Gracia hazily stared at the ceiling overhead as Komui continued sucking on her neck, then her collarbone, her ears ringing with the sounds of her loud gasping and the rain outside as it beat on the window behind Komui. She let him do whatever he wanted to, regretting having been so harsh with him and not noticing his exhaustion and regret through her anger…

She squirmed as he ran his hands up and down her sides, shuddering at the sound of the stacks of papers and books around them getting ruffled and muttering, "Such a… pervert…"

Komui chuckled against her neck, "You remember what happened the last time you called me that, right?"

"…Yes." Gracia looked down at him with a sullen glare, "You pinned me to the bed and took me face down. And before that you ambushed me in the shower and took me from behind. What, are we experimenting with a few kinky ideas you've been incubating?"

Her answer was a devious grin that had her eyes widening and her body writhing again as Komui started to lift her sweater.

And, as he did most of the work for her, distracting her with his mouth and hands to keep her from trying to escape, Gracia… thought… about what Komui had said…

…And suddenly, it seemed like the perfect time t—

"I love you."

They both froze against one another for a moment, Gracia in nothing but a brassiere, a pair of worn pants and her underwear and Komui hovering over her with his face buried in her neck, his hands gripping her wrists again to keep her from trying to push him away, which she'd passively started to do once he'd gotten her sweater off.

Gracia stared down at him, licking her lips slowly as Komui looked up from her neck. She barely suppressed a shudder at the feel of his body shifting against her bare torso and between her legs… and at the wide-eyed look on his face.

"…I…" She paused, then went on in a lower voice, "I love you… okay? So… So you don't… have to bear that cross alone… Please… Don't try… to do it alone… and leave me behind… where I can't reach you…"

Komui's eyes widened further, then his expression softened and he slowly relaxed against her body, letting one of her wrists go and reaching down to cup her jaw and angle her head as he pressed his lips to hers gently.

Shaking slightly at the sudden softness in his actions, Gracia tugged at her other hand until he let it go, as well, and reached up, wrapping her arms around Komui's neck tightly as she kissed back.

As it slowly… slowly sank in for both of them that she had finally… finally answered his confession… their movements started to get frantic again, Komui palming her body generously and Gracia digging her fingers into the cloth on his back to try to get his coat off.

Heat built between them in the large, cool room, and as they moved together, easily and gladly getting caught up in one another's passion in favor of forgetting the stress around them and outside the door, Komui said it again…

…And this time, Gracia answered.

* * *

Dressed again, minus his uniform jacket, Komui reclined lazily on the sofa in front of his desk, his back propped up against one of the armrests and his body laid out on it longways. With the arm closest to the back of the sofa curled up on the top of it, his head resting on said arm, Komui stared down at Gracia.

Gracia was sleeping heavily against him, her body draped across his, one hand hugging her stomach and the other clutching at the material of his sweater above the right side of his chest, her head resting on the left side.

As always, she hardly moved as she slept… Her breathing shallow and even, and her pulse almost worryingly slow from what he could feel of it where their chests were pressed together.

When they'd first started sharing a bed, Komui used to spend hours after he'd occasionally woken up in the middle of the night just… staring at her… part of him always terrified that she'd have a nightmare-induced bradycardia attack while she slept and just… pass away.

Now, though, the almost absolute stillness with which she slept was comforting… even soothing.

He could have some messed up dreams sometimes, or go through some stressful things that would keep him from sleeping soundly, and lately, when he woke up and turned to her to see her sleeping heavily, soundly, deeply… it had a calming, therapeutic effect.

Her vaguely dangerous sleeping habits were a source of stability for him.

And now… now he had more than just stability from her.

Now he had…

A warm happiness quickly welling up in his chest, Komui beamed down at Gracia brightly and used every ounce of self-control he had to keep from wrapping the woman in a tight hug, pinning her to the sofa and cuddling with her intensely.

Because, even though she'd verbally returned his feelings, he had no doubt in his mind that she'd use Sleep on him if he woke her up from the nap she was currently taking. After all, he had exhausted her pretty thoroughly…

…He'd just wanted to hear her say "I love you" a few more times, but he'd gotten a bit… overzealous.

Upside: She'd ended up saying it seven times.

Downside: …His… fervor had assured that she'd had problems breathing by the time he was spent (she'd been spent for a while), and she'd passed out underneath him, leaving Komui to sheepishly clean up and dress her.

And it wasn't like he could walk out of his office with an unconscious, disheveled and hickey-covered Gracia in his arms… so he'd stuck with keeping the door locked and lying with her on the sofa.

Unfortunately… the warm, peaceful tranquility couldn't last; Komui lifted his head and glanced over at the door as the lock turned, drooping and pouting when Brigitte walked into the room with folders and envelopes in her arms.

Brigitte stopped and stared at them with pursed lips, then sighed and shook her head, walking across the room quickly and slipping around to the other side of Komui's desk. "Supervisor, I don't mind if you and General Solidor engage in a relationship, and I don't care what you do behind closed doors, but learn a little discretion. If I hadn't been the one to walk in, you would be—" She froze when she went to set the mail down on Komui's desk, twitching slightly and narrowing her eyes down at the vaguely human-shaped void in the paperwork scattered across the surface, as if the papers had been moved when someone had laid down, "Oh, now come on! Show some goddamned shame!"

Komui just chuckled amusedly, flushing a bit, and watched (with only the slightest twinge of embarrassment) as Brigitte quickly 'fixed' his desk (more like covered the gap with papers) before setting the mail down.

The Central-imposed babysitter huffed a moment later, then looked up at Komui with a glare that was slowly turning poisonous, "I don't care if she stays, but get over here and get back to work. Now."

Komui pouted, then reluctantly slid out from under Gracia, gently making sure she was settled down on the sofa before pulling back slowly. When she only whined softly and squirmed a bit before curling up on her side, still asleep, he turned and walked back over to his desk, pulling his chair and plopping down in it.

He then propped his face up in his hand as Brigitte stood in his way for a moment, the woman flipping through the mail quickly.

When Brigitte paused at an envelope, faltering, Komui frowned, "…Brigitte?"

"…" Brigitte turned towards Komui, her face blank as she held out the envelope, "It's addressed to you, personally."

Komui blinked and took the letter, rolling his chair forward as Brigitte moved out of the way and reaching out to grab a letter opener, looking over the return address as he did.

He faltered when he read the name on the reverse side of the envelope.

_Lady Mathilda Solidor, Marchioness of xxxx_

…Why would _Mathilda_ be sending _him_ a letter?

It'd be one thing if it were in response to the bill Gracia had had them send to her; it either would have been addressed to Gracia or the Order, itself. Komui knew Mathilda didn't like him very much, so if she had an issue with the situation he doubted she would bring it up with him directly…

…But the letter was to him. And it wasn't him in the Black Order sense; it didn't refer to him as "Branch Head" or "Chief Officer" or even "Supervisor". "_Komui Lee_" was what was scrawled in the area for the sending address. Nothing more, nothing less.

…And that made him anxious.

After hesitating for a bit longer… Komui finally grabbed the metal letter opener sitting near his pens, slicing the envelope open at the top and taking out the letter inside.

It was several pages long… and…

Sighing slowly and bracing himself, Komui opened the letter and started to read.

…

…

…Oh…

_Oh_…

Komui jumped slightly when the door to his office was slammed open, looking up with wide eyes as Kanda stalked in. Words were frozen in his throat as Gracia groaned and sat up, looking back.

"…Kanda…?" Gracia mumbled thickly.

"…" Komui watched numbly as Kanda looked over at him briefly before the dark-haired teen turned his attention to Gracia, jerking his head towards the door slightly.

Komui couldn't form words as Gracia sighed and stood, waving to him with a slight blush and mumbling something before she walked towards Kanda. "We going somewhere…?" Her voice was still thick with sleep as she rubbed her eyes.

Kanda grunted and muttered something to her as they walked out of the room, both of them oblivious to the fact that they had just left Komui sitting on something big…

…Something upsetting.

…He hadn't been able to say anything to her…

…He didn't know how to say it…

"…Komui…?" Brigitte's voice seemed distant, the usually stern woman's face flickering with slight concern out of the corner of his eye as she studied him.

"…It's an urgent message from Nalbina." Komui muttered. "Lady Mathilda… is dying."

* * *

_(Don't forget to go to my page and vote on the poll. I really, _**really**_ need you guys to do that.)_


	95. Protocol Stasis Recording: File XVII

With as many people as I apparently have following this story, you'd think I'd get more than four votes on the poll…

Yes, that's right: just four.

And do you know how many people I have following this story according to my stats? 38.

It's because of things like this that people shouldn't whine when the person they don't want to be president ends up winning (not that that stops most of them. hypocrites. I might not vote, but at least I don't go around slapping "Down with Obama/whoever" or "Honk of you hate our Republican/Democratic government" bumper stickers on my car as if it'll help).

Yeah, ya might notice I'm a bit more annoyed than you've seen me before, but I take this to be an important matter, and apparently only 10% of you agree with me.

As of right now, the votes are tied; two for one day and two for another. I'm not gonna say which days they are; if you guys don't care enough to pick (or a few more of you do vote and it's still tied), I'll just call up my sister and ask her what her favorite day of the week is, regardless of those people who _actually_ voted. Sorry for those of you who did vote; I tried to do this so it was convenient for you all, but your fellow readers aren't making it easy.

So yeah… I'm sorry for being snippy, but a little more support when I actually ask for it would be appreciated.

Again, poll closes Saturday night; please vote.

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"Asian Branch?" Gracia blinked at the sign taped to the door they were walking towards.

"I have business there." Kanda muttered, nodding to the Swiss Guardsman at the door before walking through.

Gracia blinked again, then followed him. Kanda hadn't explained why he'd needed her to come at all… He'd just told her to shut up and follow him… Though he'd grudgingly given her time to stop at her room and change into her uniform when he'd given the impression that they were leaving the European Headquarters.

Once they'd emerged from the other side of the Ark Gate, the second Swiss Guardsman standing at the Gate on the Asian Branch side immediately saluted them upon seeing their Exorcist uniforms, "Secret code, please!"

"Uh-huh…" Kanda muttered, nodding slightly before reaching out and starting to trace his code against the guard's palm as he offered it.

"—et me go!" A familiar voice wailed off to the side.

Gracia glanced over, blinking slowly when she saw Bak being carried off by two young men in Science Division jackets and For, a female in yet another Science Division jacket and Sammo Han Won overseeing the procedure.

Bak blinked when he saw them, jerking slightly, "Yu? Yu Kanda?"

Kanda twitched as he finished tracing his code, glancing over at the use of his name. His passively angry stare flattened when he saw the Asian Branch Head being held against his will by his subordinates.

Gracia sighed, tracing her code on the guard's palm, next, before following Kanda as he approached Bak.

"The Old Man called for me." Kanda growled out, glaring down at Bak.

Bak blinked up at Kanda in shock, briefly looking serious before he started to look somewhat comical again, flailing against the hands holding him, "Lemme go! I got official business to take care of now!"

For snorted and rolled her eyes, immediately dropping Bak's legs.

The two males holding his arms yelped and tightened their hold on him, ending with Bak's backside smacking the ground loudly, the blonde yelping and wailing.

"Master Baaaaaaak! !" Sammo Han cried out, tears of concern pouring down his face in a flash.

Standing side-by-side, Gracia and Kanda watched with flat expressions, Gracia… understanding, not necessarily for the first time, why Kanda could find people annoying.

For sneered as the older man fell to his knees beside Bak and fretted over him, the female turning to the three young Science Division members and barking, "Alright, let's go get Old Man Zu!" That said, she started to walk off quickly, the two young males and the young female trotting after her dutifully.

"W-Well, then…" Bak started with a rather pathetic wince, standing and keeping his hands pressed against his butt, "L-Let's get you set up in one of the smaller conference rooms, shall we? Oh, and we'll get you some tea!"

Gracia blinked, watching as Sammo Han chirped "Tea!" before dashing off, Bak shuffling quickly to lead them through the building with Kanda not far behind him.

She'd never seen people cater to Kanda's 'needs' so quickly…

Shaking her head slightly, she trotted after them, slowing down once she reached Kanda's side.

"O-Oh, and General Solidor… Hello!" Bak glanced back at her, an odd, guarded look on his face, "It's… good to see that you recovered so quickly after…" He trailed off, twitching slightly.

Gracia blinked, then sighed and lowered her head, feeling a twinge of shame, "I'm sorry that happened. I didn't mean… to be so unprofessional…"

Kanda glanced at her silently, one of his brows twitching upwards slightly.

"…Actually, I kind of envy you." Bak admitted with a small, devious grin before he looked ahead again, "Renny's a bodybuilder, you know, but your hit actually left a nice bruise on her face."

Ignoring Kanda's brow as it actually, openly slid up into his bangs, Gracia sighed, mumbling, "That's because I used the hand that has Sleep on it. Under normal circumstances… that wouldn't have happened." At all. Had she not had Sleep, she wouldn't have gotten so angry and numb to her own actions.

"Still…" Bak didn't continue as he led them into a nice, oriental-style patio-like room, with a cement floor, a small table with a long table cloth and a few chairs, a large pot decorated with dragons and occupied by a Japanese white pine, and a low, finely carved wooden wall framing the area in, the ceiling overhead angling down until it hung over the wall and gave the appearance of windows between the support pillars but no actual glass or even screen separating the sitting area from the view outside. Light curtains hanging in the corners of the room fluttered in the breeze that swooped up from the cliff the room they were in was situated on.

Kanda immediately crossed the room and removed Mugen from his belt, having taken to wearing it at his side again, then sat on the edge of the low wall, leaning back against one of the pillars. He propped one foot up on the edge, leaving the other foot on the floor to balance himself, and set the butt of Mugen on the edge of the wall between his legs, crossing his arms and keeping Mugen clutched to his chest with one hand.

Gracia frowned at him slightly, worried, then followed Bak and sat at the table with him.

Bak shifted nervously, looking between her and Kanda, then perked when Sammo Han came in, apparently relieved he wasn't alone with them anymore.

Gracia had to blink at that; why was the man acting so twitchy? …Not that he wasn't naturally twitchy, but he was acting nervous twitchy instead of his usual… full-of-himself geek twitchy.

He hadn't referred to himself as "The Great Me" once since she and Kanda had gotten there.

"…So, Old Man Zu called you?" Bak started as Sammo Han set down a tray and started to serve him and Gracia tea.

"He did." Kanda confirmed flatly, "I'm not like a certain Branch Head who shows up for no reason at all."

Bak twitched and Sammo Han laughed nervously.

"Upright tea stalks!" The old man beamed down at Gracia with forced enthusiasm, "That's good luck!" He handed her the cup.

Gracia took it, again finding herself… somehow seeing beads of sweat dripping down the back of his head… Seriously, though, things like that weren't physically possible. She sighed and shook her head to clear it, taking a sip of the tea.

"…Well," Bak started, forcing his own enthusiasm as he picked up his teacup, "Of all the weapons the Old Man's made, Mugen is his favorite. You're its wielder… so he must be rather worried about you."

Kanda didn't acknowledge the statement, his bangs shielding his eyes as he looked outside.

Bak twitched and sipped his tea, starting to look uncomfortable.

Gracia, though, glanced at Kanda, blinking, "Eh? The man you're here to see is the one who forged Mugen?"

Kanda paused, then glanced at her, nodding slightly, "Zu Mei Chang… He's… weaponized a lot of Anti-Akuma Weapons."

"Oh." Gracia blinked, a bit shocked. She knew that, at the European Branch, the Science Division and Komui usually handled Anti-Akuma Weapon repairs, but she didn't know there was anyone outside of the Division who actually _forged_ Innocence into weapon form…

Kanda nodded a bit again, then turned back out to look over the scenery.

Gracia turned back to her tea, glancing at Bak and Sammo Han. They'd relaxed slightly and stared at her in awe when she'd gotten Kanda to talk, but as the silence started to stretch… they started to look uncomfortable again.

"…_This is awkward_." Bak breathed to Sammo Han in Mandarin.

"_Just keep him talking, Master Bak!_" Sammo Han whispered back.

"_But he won't say anything!_"

After a beat, the two men looked at Gracia expectantly, pleading.

Gracia blinked. What in the… Did they want her to get Kanda talking again? …What was so wrong with sitting in silence? Kanda liked silence.

…Something was going on. They were on edge around Kanda for a reason.

"…It's… started again."

Gracia tensed, then looked over slowly, starting to feel a touch nervous, herself. She'd… never heard Kanda speak in such a low voice, so close to a murmur…

…What was going on… Why had Kanda… brought her here…

"…They're going to have Akuma eat each other?" Kanda muttered, his bangs hiding his eyes again, "What a great idea."

Gracia twitched. The Third Exorcists… That was bugging him… But wh—

"I knew it."

Gracia looked back at Bak, blinking slowly at how grave his tone had gotten as he stood, dark shadows crossing Bak's face and his hands clenching the tablecloth between his fingers.

"We hurt you," Bak went on, shaking slightly, "Didn't we, Kanda?"

…What?

Kanda looked at Bak, his stoicism breaking as a confused/mortified look crossed his face and his brow twitched, "Huh?"

"We hurt you." Bak repeated, stumbling towards Kanda slowly, "I'm sorry."

"…Hey, wait…" Kanda started to shy back from Bak as the man got even closer.

"We didn't keep our promise!" Bak wailed before grabbing Kanda's shoulders and shaking him slightly, "Hit me! Hit me, Kanda! As hard as you can!"

"I'm not hurt!" Kanda's fist met Bak's cheek powerfully, Bak's lip immediately splitting and blood flying as he flew back and collapsed, twitching on the ground.

"Master BAAAK!" Sammo Han wailed, starting to cry as he fell to his knees by Bak's side.

Gracia twitched. Why… were things in this branch… always so stupid…

"Stop making assumptions." Kanda glowered down at Bak before his fist relaxed, a bitter smile crossing his face, "No need to apologize. The Order can do whatever it wants."

"…You may… think so…" Bak muttered, his voice small, "…but we don't see you as expendable."

Gracia frowned, listening carefully as Bak sat up and rubbed the blood off of his jaw.

"Nine years ago… it was my clan that came up with and made you part of Central's Artificial Apostle plan… We were captivated by the illusion of it all. Those of us in the Chang family and Renny Epstain's clan made a big mistake."

…A pained look crossed Kanda's face. A genuinely… pained look.

…She didn't like it.

"…What are you talking about?"

Bak and Sammo Han tensed, looking back at her slowly.

Gracia was staring at Kanda evenly, starting to become increasingly concerned.

"…G-General Solidor!" Bak jumped to his feet, "I-I forgot you were…! S-Sorry, this is a private matter for Kanda." He started to walk towards her, "I was negligent. If you'll come with me—"

"Don't bother." When Bak looked back at him, Kanda was already meeting Gracia's eyes evenly, faint flickerings of the pained expression still on his face, "I brought her on purpose."

Bak and Sammo Han looked between Kanda and Gracia quickly, both sputtering things Gracia could no longer hear as she continued to meet Kanda's even gaze. He was waiting for her to do… say something…

…Slowly… the gears in her head turned…

…Kanda… involved in some… 'Artificial Apostle' thing nine years ago?

Bak… assuming that Kanda would be upset over the Third Exorcists…?

…Bak's anger… at Renny Epstain… for creating the Third Exorcists…

Bak and Sammo Han… being so edgy around Kanda…

…Then… what she'd said to Komui… came back to her…

"_I just assumed that if these new units are _Third_ Exorcists, there must have been a type of Exorcist before them, probably called 'Second'…"_

"…You're a Second Exorcist. An artificially made Accommodator."

Kanda's eyes flashed, his grip on Mugen tightening.

"…That's what the tattoo on your chest is from… That's why you have accelerated healing abilities…" Gracia mumbled, starting to feel a bit disconnected from her body as it all started to fall into place, "…And that's why you hallucinate…"

Sammo Han looked between them frantically, but Bak's wide, shocked eyes were locked on her.

"…That make you change your mind?" Kanda's eyes flashed again, "About wanting to stay close to me?"

"…What kind of stupid question is that? You know if I leave you alone, you and Allen will just get into another fight."

Kanda twitched, then lowered his head slightly so his hair fell across his eyes, his jaw clenching slightly as his lips twisted into a grim sm—

"Ah, Kanda, so you are here…"

The four looked back at the door as an elderly man with a receding hairline and an odd, diamond-shaped marking tattooed onto his crown.

"Thank you for coming." The man, Zu Mei Chang, Gracia assumed, smiled, "Bak, Sammo, if you would excuse us." As the two stuttered before inclining their heads and rushing out, Zu Mei turned to Gracia with a smile, "Kanda, will your friend be staying?"

"…Tch." Kanda took his seat on the low wall overlooking the cliff again, "Whatever. What do you want, Old Man?"

"Now, now, no need to rush." Zu Mei chuckled, shuffling over to the table and taking Bak's seat, picking up the cup Bak had been using and cleaning it with the apron around his waist, "Although there are two other Exorcists, a young man with white hair and Lenalee Lee, here to pick you up, they can wait a moment while we take care of our usual business…" When Gracia sat at the table again, Zu Mei looked up at her, his smile still in place, "More tea?"

"…Sure." Gracia held out her cup as the elderly man refilled it for her, sipping and watching him pour his own before asking, "You didn't call Kanda here just to talk about Mugen, did you?"

"What makes you think that?" Zu Mei sipped at his own tea.

"…Bak and Sammo Han, who were quite nervous being around Kanda because of all of this Third Exorcist business, handed him off to you pretty quickly."

"…You managed to find yourself a good confidant, Kanda." Zu Mei's smile widened slightly before he answered Gracia's question, "Kanda comes here on occasion so I can check on his mental condition. It's nothing serious."

"…Mental condition…" Gracia glanced at Kanda, who was still staring outside, "…You mean whatever it is he sees every now and then?"

"…So, Kanda…" Zu Mei glanced at the young man, "You do still see the lotus…"

"…Lotus_es_." Gracia mumbled her correction, making Zu Mei's eyes swing back over to her. She kept her eyes on Kanda.

"…Plural?"

"…Whenever the tattoo bothers him, his eyes dart around a lot, like there are things all around him."

Kanda twitched, his eyes snapping over to her and narrowing sardonically, "Didn't I tell you to _stop_ staring at me when things like that happen?"

"No." Gracia tipped her head slightly, giving him a tired smile, "You told me to stop staring at your chest when we're on missions because you didn't like me noticing how your tattoo changed when you healed."

Kanda twitched again, his jaw clenching at his lips pursing.

Zu Mei watched them amusedly. He then drank a bit more of his tea before turning to Kanda, "Moving on. I know you already know what questions I'm going to ask you, Kanda, but please be patient and humor this old man…"

Kanda sighed and nodded slightly, setting Mugen down so it was propped up against the low wall before turning to Zu Mei and slumping forward, his elbows on his knees.

Gracia sat back, listening silently.

* * *

"…Thank you for taking me."

Kanda paused in his trek away from her at the Ark Gate back in the European Branch, Allen, Lenalee and Link (along with Tokusa and Goushi) still walking off to prepare for a mission to Istanbul.

Gracia watched him calmly as he turned back to face her.

"…Other than the higher ups… you're the only one who knows about this."

"I don't think anyone would think any less of you." Gracia tipped her head slightly, "But I won't tell them."

Kanda sighed, closing his eyes slightly.

"…This is really bugging you, isn't it?" Gracia mumbled, frowning. He wasn't acting… like himself…

"…Tch, it's nothing." Kanda started to turn away.

Afraid to leave things as they were (and, admittedly, feeling a bit gutsy with Kanda acting so open), Gracia stepped towards him quickly and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

Kanda twitched and tensed.

"…This doesn't change a thing. You were Kanda when I didn't know, and you're Kanda even now that I do."

"Don't be stupid." Kanda sneered, pulling away from her, "I don't need you to tell me that; I knew it already!"

…Which was why he'd let her in on the truth.

Gracia smiled and grabbed Kanda's face before he could try to run off, pulling him close again and kissing his forehead, "You really are adorable, you know."

Kanda jerked and snapped away from her, stumbling slightly as he backed away a few steps. He then froze and stared at Gracia with wide, twitching eyes, his face turning red.

Yes, definitely turning red this time.

Kanda then spat something at her in Japanese before he turned and stormed off, a dark cloud around him.

Gracia smiled after him, her worry fading.

She… didn't know how to take the news of this Second Exorcist thing just yet… but as long as Kanda was doing better, she could wait to get a better understanding of it all.

Sighing, Gracia turned and started to walk back to her roo—

"Gracia!"

Gracia paused, looking over and blinking as Lorelei ran up.

Stopping in front of her older sister, Lorelei panted for a moment before looking up with wide, panicked eyes, "Komui got a letter from Christopher in Nalbina! Something's wrong with Mother!"

* * *

_(Please vote on the poll on my page if you haven't already.)_


	96. Protocol Stasis Recording: File XVIII

*droops* I'm sorry I was so bitchy in my last AN… I could probably try to rationalize it and give you excuses, but I won't. That'd just be me trying to cover it up (not to mention it actually got me the results I needed).

Instead, I'll give you KomuixGracia fluff, and more psychotic Solidors to hate~! ^ . ^ Can you guess which one will be making recurring appearances to make Gracia's life hell? (Heheh, and you all thought _Mathilda_ was bad…)

Seriously, though, I love all of you, and I promise I'll do my best to make sure this once-a-week thing doesn't last long.

A thanks to **Ryo Hoshi** for help with medical terminology in this chapter. ^ . ^

Also, a big thanks to **Serendipital** for being the 500th reviewer~! ^ . ^ Here's to many more~!

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia stared at Komui in numb shock, unable to feel her legs and arms.

Beside her, Lorelei was ashen, her hands shaking violently on her lap and her breathing shallow and uneven.

In front of them, Komui sat behind his desk with a pained expression, several pieces of paper spread out in front of him and his elbows propped up, his hands clasped in front of his face.

The letter he had received had been separated into two piles: One that Mathilda had started to write, and another Christopher had written when Mathilda had suddenly collapsed.

"It was a massive heart attack."

He had probably tried to say it gently.

There was no way to be gentle about this.

"She's alive." Komui went on, "But unconscious. Christopher is doing what he can, but the heads of the other branches of the Solidor Family are already gathering at the house. She knew she was starting to have health problems… which was why she wrote a letter to you two, outlining a basic living will. The heart attack came before she could finish it, though, so Christopher did his best to pick up where she left off with his understanding of the situation. He can't maintain the situation in Nalbina for long. Since she felt Lorelei is still too young to handle things, she handed power of attorney and rights as health care proxy over to you, Gracia."

Beside Gracia, Lorelei was silent and still shaking.

Gracia felt like she had cotton in her head… She could hear her own breathing, a bit too loudly, she could feel her too-slow pulse on the back of her tongue, she could feel a sharp pain crawling around in the back of her skull…

She couldn't, though, tell where in her jumbled thoughts she managed to form enough of a train of thought to speak, "Did Christopher mention… which branch heads are already at the house?"

Komui picked up Christopher's half of the letter and skimmed through it, nodding and starting to read off when he found it.

"Benjamin Solidor."

Not good.

"Alexander Solidor."

Not good.

"Katherine Solidor."

_Not good._

"Gaulle Soli—"

_**That one.**_

"I need your phone." Gracia croaked, lunging to her feet and grabbing the handset of the phone on Komui's desk. She dialed frantically, her hands shaking, and clutched at the edge of Komui's desk desperately when the phone started to trill as the call was made.

Komui stood and quickly walked around the desk to grab her waist, keeping her steady.

"_Nalbina Estate, Solidor Household._" A slightly stuffy and prim voice answered what seemed hours later, "_Please ho—_"

"This is Gracia Solidor, daughter of Lady Mathilda." Gracia interrupted before the servant could put her on hold, "Put Christopher Kohler on the phone. _Now._"

"_Y-Yes, M'Lady!_" The servant's primness was quickly replaced with mixed anxiety and relief, the other end of the line clattering loudly as the phone met a hard surface.

Gracia shook as she waited, her chest starting to hurt as breathing got harder and harder.

"_H-Hello…?_" Christopher's timid voice, colored with terror, came over the line several moments later.

"Christopher…"

"…_L-Lady Gracia? !_" Christopher yelped, relief flooding his voice like it had the servant's. His voice then got tearful, "_I-I would have called, but I didn't know the Black Order's phone number! A-And then heads of different branches of the family started showing up and trying to get in to see Mother, and they yelled at me when I told them I had been given charge, but they don't know who I am because Mother still hasn't told them about Lorelei…_" The boy trailed off, breaking down into sobs.

"Christopher…" Gracia's voice shook as she got weaker, Sleep burning against her wrist as she tried to fight off an oncoming bradycardia attack, "Chris, listen, find Uncle Gaulle and get him into a room with a phone. Alone. Don't worry; he's safe. Then, lock the door and dial the pound key, along with the numbers 2-5-4-6. That will secure the line and keep anyone else from being able to make a call or pick up another handset to listen in."

"_A-Alright. Hang on a minute._" Christopher croaked before the line went silent again.

Gasping when breathing got to be too hard, Gracia let Komui guide her around the desk and into his chair, grasping his hand tightly when he took hers and laced their fingers together as he knelt beside her.

A few moments later, she heard a series of beeps over the phone that was followed by a short, light chime.

Then, Christopher came onto the line again, "_O-Okay, I-I have him here…_"

"Give the phone to him, but stay close." Gracia rasped, "I'm going to speak loud enough for both of you to hear me."

"_...Gracia, my darling niece._" The thick, French accent of Gaulle Solidor, head of the family branch located in Paris, came onto the phone almost immediately, "_What is it you need me to do?_"

Gracia shuddered, closing her eyes and taking a moment to let herself feel relief.

There were few members of her extended family she could trust, and Gaulle was one of them.

"Gaulle, I want you to help walk Christopher through everything I'm about to say. Mother passed control over to him before she lost coherence, so it's important that it stays that way until I have a better handle on the situation. Even if Mother regains consciousness, the living will is still in effect and you are both under my command now. Are both of you listening?"

"_Yes, my dear._"

"I want every branch of the family to cease any and all of their actions." Gracia managed to firm her voice, squeezing Komui's hand again, "That includes purchases, sales, investments, marriages, divorces, diplomatic expansion ventures, the whole nine yards. Call every last bank we have money in and lock the accounts. Call all of our associated lawyers and tell them that the head branch is not allowing any of the subsidiary branches to seek advice. Call any traveling family members and tell them to stop and stay where they are. Do not let those who have arrived at Nalbina already leave. Do not let _any_ of them attempt to make any new moves. I want House Solidor shut down until further notice, effective immediately."

"_Understood, Gracia. You will be coming shortly, then?_" She couldn't shut down the entire Solidor Family and _not_ be planning on coming.

"…Consider me already there."

* * *

Gracia shook slightly as she and Renault moved around her room frantically, packing.

She didn't have much time; with the family lawyers unavailable and Christopher, in the eyes of her relatives who didn't know about Lorelei, having no legal right to run the family in the absence of Mathilda or her daughter, it would only be a matter of time before one of her uncles/aunts/cousins/whoever hired their own lawyer to contest familial leadership rights.

This was the moment lesser family members were trained to wait for; the moment when the headship of the family was up in the air.

She had to get there quickly, before Gaulle and Christopher lost control of the situation.

"There's an Ark Gate," Komui rushed to say as he jogged alongside Gracia as she hurried out of her room and down the hall, "In the harbor. I'll show you which door."

Gracia nodded quickly, her head reeling, "Don't let Lorelei follow me. There are still family members who don't know she's Mother's real successor; I'm the eldest, and as long as they don't know about her, as far as they know I have full legal rights. I can stay in that position however long it takes for Mother to wake up… or Lorelei to come of age."

Komui shuddered, nodding and mumbling, "I hope Central doesn't—"

"The Solidor Family is still the Black Order's most powerful benefactor." Gracia mumbled back, "Central will understand if I have to turn my attention to an internal problem as large as this. If they don't, tell Malcolm I need a favor."

Gracia closed her eyes at the bright flash of light as she walked through the Ark Gate and into the Mediterranean city within Noah's Ark.

"Renault, are you completely sure you need to be with me? I need someone to keep an eye on Lorelei…"

"I am not just your physician, Mistress; I am also your bodyguard. And, at times like this, it is more important than ever that I be the latter."

"I'll take care of Lorelei." Komui assured Gracia firmly, "You just focus on getting things settled there."

When they arrived at the door that would take them to the Ark Gate in the harbor not far from Nalbina Estate, Renault went ahead to secure transportation while Gracia turned to Komui.

"…I'll be back as soon as I can." She mumbled, a painful, twisting pinch stabbing her in the chest when Komui smiled at her and shook his head.

"Do whatever you have to, no matter how long it takes." He grabbed her shoulders, kissing her forehead, "Stay with your mother until she wakes up. We have the Thirds now, and you have a strong unit. They can survive without you for a bit."

"…I was talking about coming back to you…"

Komui blinked, then smiled down at Gracia warmly and cupped her face in his hands, pressing a searing kiss to her mouth.

Gracia dropped her suitcase and grabbed Komui's shoulders, an unbidden, soft noise rising in the back of her throat as she kissed back desperately.

"Keep someone you trust close at all times." Komui murmured into her mouth, his fingers stroking her face and neck, "I know how dangerous these succession games can get… And you Solidors are a very venomous bunch."

"I'll be fine. Unlike them, I'm an Exorcist." Gracia smiled up at him, blushing slightly.

Komui smiled back, then slowly let her go, "I'll visit… when I can, alright?"

"…Bring a bodyguard if you do." Gracia frowned at him, "An Exorcist or a Third; it doesn't matter which."

"…Okay." Komui nodded, "…Good luck."

Gracia stared up at him for a moment, then leaned in and kissed him again, lightly. "I love you."

Komui shuddered, briefly pressing a hand to her jaw as he kissed back, "And I love you…"

Blushing darkly and, absently, hardly able to believe that she had found someone to say those words to… Gracia pulled away from Komui and walked through the door, letting her thoughts on Komui distract her from the task that loomed ahead.

* * *

"Are you ready, Mistress?" Renault glanced at Gracia as their carriage came to a stop in front of Nalbina Estate's grand front doors.

Gracia nodded, tipping her head forward and reaching back to pull her hair back and tie it into a tight ponytail (using one of Kanda's hair cords that she'd bought from Bookman after the old man had stolen it during a sparring session he'd had with the irritable Asian teen).

Once she had her hair tied up, Renault, who had already opened the carriage door and stepped out, held his hand out, helping her out of the carriage.

Gracia brushed the long jacket of her Exorcist uniform straight, then faced forward seriously, walking towards the front doors as they opened. She barely suppressed a cringe when she saw who was walking out.

Katherine Solidor, a tall brunette with sharp, heterochromatic eyes, the left being a dark green and the right being a lighter green with bands of brown, walked towards Gracia smoothly in her heels, painted dark red lips curling into a mockery of a warm smile.

Mathilda had never let Gracia talk to Katherine for more than ten minutes at a time, and never let them be alone together. The woman was walking arsenic.

"Gracia…" Katherine slid her arms out of the slits of the modern, black cotton poncho she was wearing, pulling her cousin into a hug and petting her back 'sympathetically,' "Dear, I am so sorry… I can't imagine how hard it's been, taking full charge of the family so suddenly. I—"

"Thank you, Kate." Gracia cut in, though right as Katherine finished her sentence so she couldn't be accused of 'being rude' and interrupting as she pulled away from the older woman, "But Mother isn't dead yet, so I haven't felt much pressure at all. In fact, I'm _looking forward_ to seeing everyone again so we all can make sure things will be simple and less stressful for Mother to handle when she wakes up and resumes her duties."

The two women were now at arm's-length, Katherine's pupils narrowing slightly and her smile losing all pretenses of forced warmth.

"Yes… We're all praying for Mathilda's… swift recovery."

"Prayer won't get us anywhere when there's work to be done." Gracia walked past Katherine and up the stairs quickly, Renault deftly reaching forward and opening the door for her without leaving her side.

Katherine's heels echoed loudly behind them as they crossed the room quickly and ascended the main staircase, Nalbina's oppressive and heavily, darkly-decorated hallways passing by quickly.

A full ten minutes of silence later, the hallway they were walking down emerged into a circular sitting room with to large double doors on the other side.

One side of the sitting room had three sofas, two curved ones that formed a half circle and a shorter one that sat in-between the two ends, while the other side of the room had a large wooden table with a perfectly edged slab of glass laying on top, a large, hand-drawn and colored, excessively detailed world map in-between the table and the glass.

Two men, one with slicked back gray-streaked black hair and glasses and the other with dark blond, both with dark eyes and both in dark charcoal-colored suits, were standing over by the table. Alexander and Benjamin Solidor…

On the other side, sitting in the middle of one of the curved couches, was a somewhat pudgy but tall man with fluffy, graying brown hair in a brown suit, sitting next to and comforting—

"M-Miss Gracia! !" Christopher flew across the room, making Gracia's relatives turn their attention to her.

She ignored them, though, and wrapped her arms around the boy comfortingly, petting his back when he hugged her tightly and started crying into her chest.

"I-I-I h-hadn't h-heard from her, s-so I w-w-went to ch-check…" The boy sobbed, trembling violently, "H-Her ch-chair had b-been knocked over and sh-she was on the fl-floor! And sh-she wasn't b-breathing! ! I t-t-tried to c-call y-you, b-but I d-d-didn't know th-the Order's n-n-number! ! S-So I c-called my m-mom, and she c-called U-Uncle B-Benjamin…"

Benjamin… His branch of the House Solidor was closest to Nalbina; and, while the man was ambitious like most other members of the family, he also had a somewhat stronger sense of duty… He must have informed the others before coming…

Slowly, Gracia looked over at the two men standing by the table, nodding slowly at the one with the dark blond hair, "Thank you, Benjamin, for responding so quickly…"

Benjamin nodded slowly, "Of course… I had to. The mother of a child I had no knowledge of calling concerning the health of my cousin? And with you nowhere in sight, even though just a few months ago you'd appeared at your thirtieth birthday celebration? Someone _in the family_ had to be here…"

Gracia unwittingly lowered her eyes slightly when she could feel the gazes of all of the different Solidor family branch heads boring into her at that, tightening her hold on Christopher when he tensed against her.

It was during times like this… that her mother would step in…

"…Gracia," Gracia's uncle, Silas' brother, Alexander started slowly, his eyes narrowing at her piercingly from behind his glasses, "Who is this young man, and why haven't you been in Nalbina to fulfill your familial duties?"

…It was during times like this… that her mother would step in…

…But her mother wasn't there. Her mother was on the other side of the door in front of her.

…And she was going to see her mother before she answered any of the questions her family would throw at her.

Because even though they were older than her… she was acting family head.

When she had been younger, doing what she was about to do would have been impossible. But her time with Vincent, her time on her own, her time with the Black Order and her time with Komui had strengthened her.

Setting her hands on his shoulders, Gracia pushed Christopher away slowly before reaching up and unzipping her ankle-length black uniform coat. She then handed it to Renault, stepping forward and proudly displaying the red-trimmed black of her uniform, the red sash around her waist, the golden aiguillettes that started on her right shoulder and draped across her chest, held in place over her left breast by a pin with a capital "E" for Exorcist, the rectangular strip of cloth right next to it with five crosses sewn onto it in black to display her rank as an Exorcist General…

…And, right below it, the cloth badge decorated with a detailed, silver threaded rendering of the Rose Cross.

No Solidor Family branch head didn't know what the Rose Cross stood for.

Alexander's eyes widened, though the rest of his facial features stayed schooled. Beside him, Benjamin inhaled sharply.

Katherine, who was still behind her slightly, stepped forward to see what they were looking at, and was unable to hold back a small gasp.

Gaulle, still over on the sofa, smiled slightly.

"I think that explains enough." Gracia spoke with a sigh, starting to walk across the room quickly, "Now, if you don't mind, I need to check on my—"

"I was under the impression that you had assumed her role." Alexander suddenly spoke, making Gracia pause, "However, if you have been off acting as an Exorcist, then you surely must have surrendered your rights as a Solidor heir. In that case, with Mathilda unable to produce a successive child heir, I should—"

"You should stop there," Gracia glanced over at Alexander, Sleep pulsing softly around her wrist and making her feel very, very calm. And, once she was calm, she thought '_What would Mother say in this situation?_', "Before you make a fool of yourself. If I have been in the Order all of this time, how do you think I knew to come? Allow me to explain," Gracia reached into one of the pockets beneath her sash, pulling out Mathilda and Christopher's joint letter, "After she found out I was alive, Mother revised her wills, both testament and living. The moment Mother's health failed, Christopher sent me a copy of her living will, which grants me both power of attorney and full rights as her health care proxy. In effect, I am acting Solidor matriarch until further notice; I am here to execute my mother's demands as she would want them to be. If you attempt to take control, know you are, essentially, attempting to dethrone Mathilda Solidor."

She bent the truth. If they knew Mathilda had started revising her wills when she knew her health was failing, they would be able to say Mathilda hadn't been in her right mind: After all, as if a strong woman like _Mathilda Solidor_ would, in moment of panic, name her medically challenged daughter of 'questionable mental integrity' her successor at the last second.

If she made it seem like Mathilda had revised her living will months ago, back when she had been perfectly healthy…

…Well…

…Then, if they did try to oppose her while under that impression, they would be in quite a bit of trouble if (_when_) Mathilda recovered.

When Alexander shut his mouth, his pupils widening before narrowing, Gracia had to work hard to keep her knees from shaking. She wasn't the person she used to be… She _could_ stand up to this kind of pressure and not buckle.

She _could_ talk back to them.

She _would_ make them worry about crossing her.

"…Unless anyone else has anything to say," Gracia turned back, looking her cousin and uncles over, "I need to go to my Mother's side. Immediately." When none of the subsidiary Solidor branch heads spoke up, Alexander closing his eyes and Benjamin outright looking away, Gracia nodded and turned back to her mother's bedroom double doors, opening them and walking inside.

It was only when she had shut the thick double doors that she shuddered.

She could still feel Katherine's mismatched eyes boring into her back.


	97. PSR HPPD Flashback: Record Distorted

Props to a very smart person for their help with this chapter: **Ryo Hoshi**. I know I've briefly explained how Silas had run the Solidor Family before Mathilda stepped in and seized control, but since I'd never thought I'd bring the family into the story this much, I'd never done much in-depth research on it… Thus, when it _did_ come back into play and I realized I needed to define it better, I nearly killed myself flicking through the different forms of governmental structure on Wikipedia, looking for the exact term that describes this system Silas used.

And, to make matters more stressful and headache-inducing, no one I knew could/spoke up to help me. - . - *

^ . ^' Boy did I feel a bit dumb when **Ryo** gave me the term and I realized how simple the answer was when compared to those convoluted definitions…

So, alla yas, give some props to **Ryo**! (Chances are, **Ryo**'ll be helping me again with some medical terminology that'll be coming up in an upcoming arc. ^ . ^')

And, for those of you who haven't checked yet, DGM Chapter 209 is out on MangaStream. XD Ya know, a few people saw this coming, but Johnny and Kanda are _still_ an unlikely pair… Go, you two, go~! (And remember, Kanda, Johnny _is not_ durable, so you can't take your frustration out on him like you tend to do to Allen! !)

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

…She'd forgotten to brace herself before walking into her mother's bedroom.

And because of that… she wasn't prepared to see… what had happened… to Mathilda.

Mathilda Solidor… had never looked smaller than she did unconscious, in her large bed, the pillows and blankets and the mattress, itself, threatening to swallow her. Her eyes were closed, her brow furrowed, but not in an angry way… in an upset way. In a distressed way. Her eyes were sunken in, her lips thin and cracked, her coloring was… ashen…

…What made Gracia's stomach drop… and had a feeling of total… helplessness wash over her… was the fact that Mathilda was in a plain, white cloth hospital gown.

…Before that… Gracia… would have never been able to imagine her mother dressed for a stay in a hospital… And now that the image was in her head… it was easily one of the most traumatizing of her life.

In a chair at her mother's side, a young blonde in a black dress and white apron and cap was monitoring an oxygen machine Mathilda was hooked up to, a clipboard laid across the nurse's lap occupied by a paper displaying vital signs the woman was apparently taking at regular intervals.

As soon as she heard the door close, the nurse looked over at Gracia and frowned, standing, "Excuse me, you can't be—"

"I'm her daughter…"

The nurse's eyes widened, and she quickly turned to Gracia and bowed, "M-My apologies…"

"…It's fine…" Gracia took several shaky steps forward, "How… how is…"

"…Resting…" The nurse glanced at Mathilda, "She… She won't require surgery; the others outside insisted on getting the opinions of several doctors, but her heart is functioning as normally as it can be at the moment… She is just very… very weak. She hasn't woken, and we haven't attempted to encourage her to. She needs rest…"

"…" Gracia stopped at the foot of Mathilda's bed, feeling an almost… irrational sense of fear at the idea of getting any closer, "…How… how did this…"

"…The doctors, most notably Lady Mathilda's personal doctor, all believe a combination of hypertension and genetics." The nurse paused, then glanced at Mathilda with a sad expression, "I… have served as her nurse for a few years now… And considering how angry and stressed she is all the time, I can't say I'm surprised that it came to this, though… I am surprised by the severity."

Gracia sighed and closed her eyes, leaning against the post at the foot of Mathilda's bed. Considering Gracia had her own cardiac arrhythmia problems, she wasn't all that surprised that Mathilda had genetic heart problems, as well.

Actually, part of Gracia was relieved to know that her heart problems were likely genetic. Though it wasn't a fun diagnosis… it was still nice to have a traceable source…

"…As her daughter, do you know who her health care proxy is?"

"I am." Gracia answered immediately, opening her eyes, "And though what I'm seeing… scares me… I know my mother, and combining what I know of my mother with what you've told me… I want you to do anything it takes. My mother isn't a vegetable yet, and even unconscious she would not let her health decline to such an undignified state."

A smile flickered across the nurse's lips and she nodded.

Gracia nodded back, her eyes now… locked on Mathilda's form with morbid fixation.

She couldn't… look away…

"…I'll leave you alone for a moment." The nurse murmured before walking across the room and slipping into Mathilda's bathroom, closing the door behind herself.

After staying in place for a moment… Gracia slowly walked over and sat in the nurse's chair, swallowing harshly as she looked Mathilda's form up and down slowly.

…She looked even smaller up close…

…After a period of silence… Gracia realized that she… wasn't sure what she was supposed to be feeling.

Yes, she'd come to the rescue of the woman in front of her, but… she wasn't entirely sure she would have responded the same way if Christopher hadn't sent her a written plea, as well.

She didn't feel sorrow or pity for the woman in front of her… She just felt scared at seeing her so vulnerable.

In a small sense… it was almost impossible for Gracia to truly see the woman before her as Mathilda.

…She knew the image she was expected to be projecting at seeing this; Lorelei had given her a hauntingly clear example of shock, terror, sorrow and devastation earlier, and, outwardly, Lorelei had a much worse relationship with Mathilda than Gracia did.

…Then again… even though Lorelei almost went out of her way to oppose Mathilda at times… Gracia had never once seen Mathilda hit her.

Mathilda seemed to treat Lorelei better than she had Gracia when she hadn't been even half Lorelei's age…

Gracia sighed, frowning.

In all honesty, she didn't get mother/daughter relationship dynamics.

She hardly understood father/daughter relationship dynamics; Silas hadn't exactly been exemplar in the subject.

But the differences in Gracia's relationship with Mathilda and Lorelei's relationship with her…

…She just didn't get it.

Her entire life, Gracia had only ever really feared her mother. Depended on her a great deal, yes, but feared her most of all.

The woman in front of her now, though… wasn't someone to be feared. And if she couldn't fear, or even depend on, her mother… Gracia didn't know what she was expected to do, what she expected _herself_ to do.

…Why was she in her mother's room now, sitting at her bedside? She'd fulfilled her duties as health care proxy… She should go back out with her relatives, hold a family meeting and set things straight.

Instead… Gracia found herself reaching out and grabbing her mother's hand, which was lying prone at her side.

…It was cold. And dry. And the wrinkles in the skin felt too pronounced.

…It was eerie.

Gracia shuddered and let Mathilda's hand go, standing quickly and backing away from the bed. No… No, this was too uncomfortable. She'd rather be out with her bloodthirsty relatives. And that was where she headed to. Gracia turned on her heel and walked to the door quickly, her arms shaking and her chest hurting a little as her breathing became irregular.

As the bathroom door behind her opened, the nurse slipping back into the room, Gracia opened her mother's bedroom door and walked out, closing it behind herself quickly and lowering her head.

After taking a moment to recover, Gracia lifted her head to face her relatives, blinking when she saw one person missing.

"…Where's Alexander?"

"He had a call he needed to make." Katherine answered simply, crossing her arms as she looked up from the map on the large table in the sitting area, turning to Gracia and tipping her head, "How is she?"

"…Resting." Gracia answered, "Just resting."

"…I see… Well, what now?"

"…" Gracia looked between her relatives slowly, then answered, "Family meeting."

* * *

After her relatives had filtered out of the sitting room, Gracia followed them, murmuring to Renault as she passed him, "Guard her as you would me."

Renault nodded.

* * *

Gracia felt a bit… uncomfortable at taking her mother's chair at the head of the table in the family meeting room, but she did it anyway. Mathilda would be angry later if she didn't.

"Is it fair to have this meeting without Gil and Landon?" Katherine asked as she sat.

"We don't have time to wait for the others to gather." Gracia sighed, "Besides… if word gets out that Mother is sick, other families might get… antsy. It's not safe to have the ones who are further away traveling for extended distances. Especially Gil…"

Gil, who was in Australia. No, it would definitely be safer for him to stay there.

"We can call them later, and even mail them a transcript, if they want it."

"Very well." Katherine nodded, Benjamin sitting across and two seats down from her. She narrowed her eyes slightly as Gaulle and Christopher sat closer to Gracia, Christopher taking the seat directly at Gracia's right-hand side, before she smiled, "Where shall we—"

Suddenly, the door slammed open and Alexander stormed in, glaring at Gracia accusatorially. "You locked all of our bank accounts."

A moment of silence.

"…Yes, I did." Gracia confirmed in a deliberately slow, tired voice, shrugging, "You know how much of a stiff Mother is about spending… Locking the accounts would definitely be up on the list of priorities she would want me to fulfill. If you need money for something, tell me how much and I'll withdraw it for you. Oh," Gracia blinked, smiling slightly, "And what you'll need it for… I'll need to keep thorough records for when Mother wakes up."

Alexander stood tensely, his glasses flashing as he glared at Gracia harshly.

Briefly, Gracia was reminded of Komui and how… sexy he looked when his glasses caught the light… And, in a situation where she would have normally been intimidated, she remained calm.

Stiffly, Alexander made his way over to a chair and sat, silent.

"…No, then?" Gracia shrugged, leaning back in her seat, "Alright… Well, to start off, who all doesn't know what's wrong with her?" Already knowing that Christopher, and most likely Gaulle, knew, Gracia directed the question more at her other three relatives.

When she didn't get an answer, Benjamin rubbing his neck, Alexander sighing slightly and Katherine expressionless, Gracia decided to assume none of them knew.

"It was a massive heart attack." She sighed, "Brought about by hypertension."

"…A common problem in our family." Alexander noted after a moment, adjusting his glasses with his middle finger, "Your side of the family, especially. I believe both of Mathilda's parents died of heart problems."

"As did Silas' grandfather and great-grandmother." Benjamin nodded.

"Stress-related health complications aren't unusual for Solidors." Katherine added, sighing.

Gracia sighed heavily, "So, it doesn't surprise any of us. And, even though it was massive, the fact that she survived it—"

"Not to mention the fact that she's _Mathilda_." Benjamin threw in with a wry scoff.

"—is basically an assurance that she'll recover." Gracia propped her elbow up on the armrest of her chair, leaning her cheek into her hand, "The question is, how long will it take."

"Again, she's Mathilda." Benjamin glanced at Gracia, "The moment she wakes up, she'll be trying to stand again. Or, at the very least, micromanage from her bed."

"Which we can't let her do for a while." Gracia nodded, "And… since we're all already thinking it, I'll just go ahead and confirm it; I can't lead House Solidor like Mother could."

"…Your obligations would make running the family single-handedly… rather impossible." Alexander's eyes flashed down to the Rose Cross on Gracia's breast.

"…Which is why I'm temporarily reviving my father's management plan."

The four branch heads and Christopher blinked at her, several of them visibly shocked.

"…The branching hierarchy?" Benjamin filled in a moment later.

"Yeah." Gracia nodded, "Each branch head will run their branch of the family on their own with a strict set of limitations, with certain decisions being ones only I can make. Each of you will regularly check in with me, filling me in with what you have been or what you are planning to be involved in, and I'll tell you how to handle it, whether it be to proceed in a specific way or drop it. Then, when Mother comes back, things can go back to the way they were."

"…That is… acceptable on my end." Alexander nodded.

"Same." Benjamin glanced at Gaulle. "You?"

"Of course." Gaulle inclined his head slightly, "Whatever the matriarch decides."

"A wise decision." Katherine smiled, "And who knows… If this goes on for an extended period of time, you might even get comfortable enough to slowly assume more and more responsibility."

"…Maybe." Gracia gave Katherine a guarded look, "But I doubt that…"

Katherine just gave her a closed-eyed, head-tipped smile.

"…Now," Gracia turned to look at the others again, moving on, "As Alexander has already pointed out, I have already locked all of the family bank accounts. If you were in the middle of any business and/or political transactions, I have made sure that those have been put on hold, as well. One by one… I want to go through the most important ones with you; I'll judge whether or not continuing with the action is acceptable, given the current situation."

"I'll start, if you don't mind." Gaulle glanced at Gracia, "I have several charity organizations who will need an answer from me immediately."

Gracia nodded, "Go ahead and start…"

* * *

"She's been sleeping pretty well…" Veronica, Mathilda's personal nurse, said to her replacement, handing the clipboard over to her, "And her vitals have remained steady. Don't give her anything unless she needs it, keep her on oxygen, and if anything changes, dial zero on the phone next to her bed."

The young redhead, a new staff member Veronica didn't know the name of yet, nodded, taking the clipboard from the senior nurse and looking the data over slowly.

Veronica sighed and rolled her neck as she walked to the door, cracking it and yawning loudly as she walked out, unaware of the piercing stare locked on her retreating form.

Once she was alone, the nameless replacement nurse turned and started to walk towards Mathilda slowly, reaching into the pocket of her white pinafore and pulling out a scalpel.

She turned her attention to the oxygen machine, starting to loosen the hose when—

The young woman wasn't able to scream when a thick hand wrapped around her neck and pinched her throat shut, pressure immediately building up in her face from her strangled blood vessels as she was lifted off of her feet and slammed into a wall.

Helpless, she opened her mouth in a silent scream as the edge of a picture frame cut into her back and spine, making her go numb from the waist down.

"Tell me who sent you," Renault ordered calmly, fierce eyes broking no argument as he squeezed slightly, "And it will be painless."

Once he had gotten his answer, he snapped her neck.

And it was painless.


	98. PSR HPPD Flashback: Record Buffering

**Warning**: Katherine being offensive because Katherine can be an offensive person. Purposefully incorrect accent/racial stereotyping, sexual abuse and rude language, and Gracia briefly going a bit batshit.

Also, I have someone else I need to thank: **Inuyoshie**. **Inu** and I do a lotta talking, and when I get excited about a new element I plan on throwing into an upcoming arc, she's always there for me to bounce ideas off of, even though it kinda ruins the story for her. ^ . ^' Though I _do_ try to keep a few things for myself so she stays entertained…

So, everyone, give some props to **Inu**, nyan!

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia sighed and fell forward onto her bed, tipping her head to one side slightly to let her golem wriggle its way out of her collar before relaxing as the machine got airborne, flitting around her room.

Sorting out what projects it was okay to continue without Mathilda around had… taken hours.

A fourth of the way in, Gracia had started falling asleep on and off.

Her relatives had been quite affronted… until she had explained Sleep to them. Then they had suggested she to take it off. After she had explained that the Innocence didn't appreciate needless attempts to remove it (leaving out that this was due to her own reluctance to part from it), Alexander had been a bit exasperated before suggesting that they move on.

Benjamin and Katherine had a brief moment when they seemed harmlessly, genuinely curious, almost like children, over seeing a genuine Anti-Akuma Weapon up close. Then, as Alexander had droned on about political ventures he wanted to continue, they had become bored. Alexander wasn't a good public speaker… He tended to get monotone.

While Gaulle, being the 'bleeding heart' of the family, had the longest list of projects he needed funded by far (most of them being charity organizations and public, low-cost clinics), Alexander's had been the most… complicated, all of his projects being political ventures that he needed large budgets to finance.

Katherine, who was more into real estate and landmarks, had several locations she wanted to purchase and renovate before reselling them and/or turning them into publicly accessible locations to turn a larger profit. Most of her projects, though, were on foreign soil, and several of them were on historical/sacred locations and thus would require a lot of government-dispensed forms, though celebratory galas held the night of the reopenings of sights would return quite a bit in donations.

Benjamin had the least complicated needs; just a few parties and balls for some nieces he wanted to marry off into rich families.

His request, though, was a matter Gracia would be looking into personally.

Thoroughly.

It wasn't the fact that the marriages were arranged that bothered her; she was going to do some deep background checks on the men he wanted to marry the girls to.

She wouldn't have any of them go through what she had.

For now, though, she wasn't going to think about any of it. It would be the first night in some time she would sleep somewhere other her own/Komui's room in Barheim for non-Order related reasons, the first night in some time she would sleep without someone from the Order just a few rooms over…

Gracia could already tell she wouldn't be sleeping soundly that night.

Sighing, she didn't bother taking her uniform off as she crawled further into the bed. She would need all the help she could get if she wanted any hopes of resting, and her uniform was the only comfort she had at the moment.

When Sleep burned, almost indignantly, on her wrist as she thought that, Gracia flinched slightly before smiling down at the slave bracelet, stroking the silver band slowly.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry… I have you, too." As Sleep's burning diminished, Gracia sighed and closed her eyes, hugging her jacket close. Was it too late to call Komui…?

A soft but steady knocking echoed through the room, originating from her door.

Gracia rolled over and stared at the door, blinking, then sighed and sat up, standing when the knocking came again. Who was…

"Oh, good." Katherine smiled, "You're still awake…"

Gracia blinked at her cousin slowly, confused, then slowly became stoic, her expression flattening.

Katherine was in her nightclothes; a rather sheer gown with a low neckline of ribbon and lace and airy sleeves that went down to the mid-arm of her pale limbs, the hem coming to a stop a few inches above her ankles.

…It had been a while since her slightly older cousin had purposely exposed herself so much in front of her. And she had managed to forget it for so long…

"You had your 'matriarch switch' turned on earlier…" Katherine clasped her hands behind her back, smiling, "I wasn't able to talk to you properly, like we used to."

"…'Matriarch switch' or not, we're both going to be quite busy for a while, Kate." Gracia sighed, doing her best to keep herself distant, "We should get our rest while we can."

"I can't get comfortable without de-stressing a bit, first. You know that." Katherine reached out and took Gracia's left hand, smartly avoiding the one with Sleep, as she tipped her head forward slightly, her fringe sliding across her eyes a bit, "And you and I both know you're the same way…"

…Gracia felt the desire to draw away from this woman. Even without the sense of wariness she had developed because of Mathilda being so adverse to any one-on-one interaction between the two, Gracia… knew from experience that her cousin was… dangerous.

At the same time though, Katherine was unavoidable in so many ways, the most obvious one being her… inexplicable ability to psychologically ensnare someone without actually exerting any effort.

She was beautiful. She was exotic and familiar at the same time. Though you would never see her do anything outright, you knew she was dangerous and was capable of doing… seemingly inhuman things, and though it made you uneasy, it also made you want to get closer. Like walking up to a wildfire, just to watch it burn…

She was the walking essence of a fatal attraction.

Without using a single forceful word or gesture, she coerced Gracia out of her room and started to walk down the hall with her, Katherine clasping their hands and lacing their fingers as she started to detail her last restoration project.

Gracia wasn't listening.

She was remembering all of the cruel things she had seen Katherine do so she would remember to stay on her guard.

…Even though Mathilda had always done her best to make sure the cousins had never really interacted… that didn't mean she'd never slipped up.

* * *

"_Pregnant by little Ricky, are you? How indecent…"_

_The woman mucking the horse stalls jerked up and turned to face Katherine and Gracia with wide eyes, plump lips parting in shock. Then, she quickly recovered, laughing uneasily and speaking through her somewhat thick accent, "I-I beg your pardon, Little Miss Katherine?"_

"_Ricky's only sixteen – well, going on seventeen…" Katherine smiled childishly, giggling and skipping into the stall to dance around the woman slowly with an invisible partner, "And you're what… twenty? What a dirty woman you've been…" Katherine stopped dancing, facing the woman with a wide smile, "Slut."_

_The normally timid but stoic little Gracia's eyes widened slightly at the word._

"…_I don't know what you're talking about." The maid whispered, her voice hoarse._

"_Don't play dumb!" Katherine laughed, rocking back and forth on her heels, "I heard you and Ricky the other day!" She paused, then cleared her throat, using an exaggeratedly low voice even though Ricky's voice still cracked, "'What do you mean pregnant? ! I pulled out! It must be someone else!'" Then, her voice got high and pitchy, not like the maid's voice at all, an offensive inflection to mock the woman's accent thick on her English tongue, "'Rickee, I haf only been vith you since ve started sheeing vone anoder! Eet is yours!'" The maid wasn't even of Eastern European descent… She was from Spain._

_At that point, the maid was ashen._

"'_Oh, so that's your game, is it? ! Get pregnant by a boy from a wealthy noble family and see if they won't accept your bastard child? !'"_

_Gracia was feeling a bit lightheaded and out of place, and so, so small… Did Cousin Ricky really use those kinds of words…?_

"'_Rickee, it vasn't like dat! You shaid you lofed me!'"_

"…_Shut up." The maid murmured, her skin gray through her paled tan and her eyes wet._

"' _You fucking stupid bitch; you're a maid! You're help! You're not even a commoner; you're _beneath_ them! Your kind should know by now that you're only good for cleaning and a lay!'"_

"_Shut up." The maid's voice was firmer, but also starting to border on hysterical._

"'_So you vill leaf me? ! Wh-What am I to do? ! Dey will not kheep me when they know I am vith child!'"_

"_Shut up!" A distinctive screech entered the woman's voice._

_Gracia started to tremble, her chest hurting, "K-Kate, l-let's go in… Mommy doesn't want me outside."_

"'_Not my problem. You should have thought of that before you were four months along.'"_

"ARPÍA_! !" The maid switched to her native tongue, lunging at Katherine with a crazed look on her eye._

_Gracia suddenly found she couldn't breathe._

_Katherine was smiling sharply at that point, all pretenses of childish play gone. "Touch me and you'll get deported."_

_The maid froze, shaking._

"_Then, you'll be sent back to where no one wants you, where you can't get a job that pays worth anything." Katherine's sharp smile widened, "Oh, what will happen to you and your unwanted, bastard child then…"_

_Trembling, the weak Gracia slowly sank to her knees, finding it harder and harder to breath as her panic increased._

_What… What was going on…_

_Why… were Kate's occasional visits… always like this…_

"…_What is it you want…?" The maid whispered, going from crazed to desperate and defeated in a matter of seconds._

"…_Nothing much." Katherine reached up, cupping the woman's jaw and caressing the side of her face with mock tenderness, "I just want to see… what it is about your mouth Ricky loves so much."_

_The woman was trembling, confusion and shock clear on her face, but Katherine's natural… allure seemed to be working now… because the maid was on her knees before her, bringing her down to a level where the much shorter, younger girl could control her._

_Gracia's mind went blank, her breathing stopping when Katherine suddenly grabbed the woman's face in her hands and kissed her plump lips, her tongue delving into the older woman's mouth when said woman gasped in shock. Then, Gracia fell, passing out._

The woman was fired and sent back to Spain that day for whatever it was she had done to upset Lady Mathilda's daughter so deeply that the child refused to speak.

* * *

Of course, that was back then… Katherine had been a very, _very_ twisted child in her earlier years. As she'd gotten older, she'd leveled out.

That twisted side of her, though, had… smoothed into a calm, sharp, deadly blade. Gracia could just… _feel_ it.

"So Gracia…" Katherine murmured next to her ear, "Who's the new man between your legs?"

Gracia twitched and snapped back into focus, cursing herself when she realized she'd let Katherine lead her out of the house and over to the gazebo. They were both sitting on a bench, looking out over the gardens, and Katherine had Gracia's hand in hers still, fingers still laced. Katherine also had her head on Gracia's shoulder…

When she realized what her cousin had asked her, though…

"Kate, don't be rude." Gracia sighed slightly.

"Rude?" Katherine tipped her head, smiling, "What's rude about it? You know I don't like those more lyrical phrases, and it's much more polite than asking which man has his co—"

"Stop." Gracia's wrist twitched as she barely kept herself from using Sleep.

"Surely he can't be a noble…" Katherine sighed, picking up the hand of Gracia's she was holding and starting to play with her fingers, "Few _respectable_ northern and western European noble families would let their sons join the Order… In fact, I've been flipping through the Order's records, and I think the only noble other than you is that Baron Krory. And… well, he doesn't really seem like your type. So…" Gracia did her best to keep still as Katherine turned towards her, the woman pressing her breasts to Gracia's arm as she murmured in her ear, "Who is he?"

"…I really don't know what you're talking about." She would not tell Katherine about Komui. Hell, she would hardly consider telling any of her other relatives about him, but Katherine _especially_ would not be finding out about him anytime soon. Not when she was in such a delicate position, and not when her own mother didn't know…

"…You don't really expect that to work on me, do you, Grace?" Katherine sighed softly, her lips brushing Gracia's ear, "You know I know you so much better than that…"

"Kate, I'm getting sleepy." Gracia sighed, tipping her head back and closing her eyes, "If you're going towards some point with this, get there faster; I need to get to bed before Sleep freaks out and puts us both to sleep out here…"

"Point? What, you want my question to be blunter? Alright. Who is the man you're currently fucking?"

Sleep twitched on its own this time. "I'm not with anyone. And, even if I were, I don't see how it would be any of your business… You and I have never been the best of friends, and we haven't talked to one another in years."

"…You know, Grace," Katherine's voice now had a sharp edge of amusement in it, "People only use the other side of the argument when they have something they want to hide. It's such a very _typical_ psychological maneuver… What…" When Gracia felt something over her and opened her eyes slightly, she twitched again to see Katherine now hovering over her, the woman's hands on the railing on either side of Gracia's head as she smirked and leaned in.

"Are you afraid I'll _touch him_?" Her lips brushed Gracia's softly as she spoke.

…For the first time in her life, Gracia felt the notorious Solidor poison flash through her veins.

In an instant, she had flipped Katherine over and pinned her to the bench they were sitting on, Sleep burning intensely around her wrist and finger as she clamped her right hand around Katherine's neck and squeezed, the silver chain brushing the brunette's jaw.

Katherine's eyes widened, the hem of her nightgown sliding down her legs to pool around her waist and bare her panties as she pressed her feet against the bench and struggled, choking softly and going to grab Gracia's wrist but unable to hold on when Sleep burned her, like it already was her neck.

"You do touch him…" Gracia murmured, leaning in so her hair, which was still tied up with Kanda's hair band, fell around their faces in a curtain, "And I'll kill you and make it look like an accident."

Katherine's heterochromatic eyes flashed, a wide grin spreading across her lips as she laughed hoarsely.

"With your own two hands…?" She croaked, reaching down and clutching at the edges of the bench until her knuckles turned white, "With your _Innocence_?"

"…No." Gracia answered simply, her tone dull, "You're not worth me killing personally."

Katherine's grin widened, her face turning a bit blue and her eyes starting to lose their focus, "You grew up beautifully, Grace."

"Mistress."

Calmly, both women pulled away from one another, Gracia turning to Renault and Katherine sitting up smoothly and fixing her appearance.

"Let's go, Renau—"

"No." Renault reached out and grabbed Gracia's upper arm when she tried to walk past him and back to the house, "This is something both of you need to hear."

Gracia frowned at him slightly and Katherine glanced at the bodyguard/physician with obvious disinterest, her face blank and her eyes heavily lidded.

Both of their eyes widened, though, in a similar kind of panic at Renault's next words.

"Someone in the family is trying to assassinate Lady Mathilda."

* * *

At the breakfast table the next morning, Gracia was torn between falling asleep in her hot cereal and looking between the relatives she could no longer trust…

…Not that she could have trusted them before.

…Well, that wasn't entirely true; it _obviously_ wasn't Christopher, nor was it Gaulle, and, after he'd escorted her back to her room, Renault had made it clear that it wasn't Katherine (oddly enough). He'd only told her because, despite being dangerous, Katherine could also be a powerful ally.

Gracia was a bit shocked when Renault explained that Katherine probably didn't actually want to lead the Solidor family; according to him, Katherine actually had some… mental condition that made her hate staying stationary, though that was just a side effect. The main problem this condition caused was, actually, her dangerous bitchiness, something her traveling from place to place to work on her real estate ventures soothed.

…She wasn't entirely sure what to make of this, but she knew that if Renault was convinced that it wasn't Katherine making attempts on her mother's life, then it probably really wasn't her.

Renault, after all… really wasn't ever wrong.

So if it wasn't Christopher, Gaulle or Katherine… it was either Benjamin or Alexander.

…Gracia was leaning more towards Alexander.

While she mulled on this, eating slowly, distractedly, she was absently aware of her relatives' mouths moving around her, but not just as they chewed… They were talking.

About what, she didn't know; she couldn't mull and listen at the same time.

Her mulling was only broken short when the doors of the dining room opened, the butler walking across the room quickly and inclining his head slightly when he reached Benjamin's side.

"Sir, Lord Kamelot is here to see you."

Gracia perked at that, frowning, "Benjamin, I thought I made it clear that no outside business was to be conducted while we were settling into the new routine."

"It's not outside." Benjamin said as he nodded to the butler before turning to Gracia, blinking and shrugging, "It's family. A somewhat distant relative of mine, even more distant to you, Tricia, married into the Kamelot family to Sheril Kamelot. Sheril was already on his way, on Tricia's behalf, to check on things here." When Gracia's frown deepened, Benjamin raised his hands in a defensive move, "He was already almost here by the time you told us no one was to be traveling! I couldn't very well call him and tell him to stop out on the water, could I?"

Gracia sighed and closed her eyes. Not like she could do anything now… The man was already there.

"Oooo, are we having breakfast? Mind if I join in?"

Gracia opened her eyes again and rose from her seat with her family members as a somewhat handsome, middle-aged man with long, slicked back wavy dark hair waltzed into the room.

The man gave a wide, somewhat impish smile as he sauntered across the room, taking his monocle off of his eye and tucking it into an inner coat pocket.

"I even have Solidor women rising for me?" He might have given a brief wink at Gracia and Katherine, "My, you Solidors are as empowered as the rumors say."

"Sheril!" Benjamin greeted with boisterous joviality, moving across the room to share a hearty handshake with the man, "My good man, thank you for coming on such short notice."

"Family was in trouble." Sheril said in a grim tone as he shook back, though his smile stayed in place, "And Tricia was worried. Of course I came." He then pulled back, the cheeriness coming back to his voice, "So, may I ask who the acting head honcho is for the time being?"

"Of course, of course." Benjamin set a hand on Sheril's shoulder and led him across the room, gesturing to Gracia as they walked over to her, "This is my niece, Mathilda's daughter, Gracia Amberley Solidor, acting matriarch of the House Solidor."

"Gracia." Sheril beamed, a… look Gracia wasn't entirely sure she saw in the first place flashing across his face before he took her hand as she held it out, acting as if to kiss her knuckles, "A beautiful name."

Had she let the man kiss her hand while she was acting as the Solidor head, Mathilda would be furious.

Gracia gripped the man's hand firmly, absently glad she had changed out of her Order uniform and into a dress (it wouldn't do to have anyone outside of the immediate family see it), and shook it, making him blink and stand a bit straighter before he shook back half a beat later.

"Lord Kamelot." Gracia nodded to him slightly, "Thank you for coming to lend your support."

"…It is a pleasure, Lady Solidor." Sheril assured her, now shaking her hand properly.

* * *

He hands _itched_, practically _begging_ for him to wrap them around her neck so he could twist her throat shut.

She was _there_.

Right _in front_ of him.

Her _hand_ in _his_.

She was so _close_.

But he had to be careful… After all, this trip hadn't been sanctioned by the Earl. If he acted too rashly, he could get in big trouble for derailing the Earl's 'plans.'

He had to be careful… This revenge had to be executed perfectly.

Gracia Solidor would not get away with hurting the precious daughter of Sheril Kamelot, the beautiful and perfect, the light of his eye, the irreplaceable and adorable Road Kamelot.


	99. Protocol Stasis Recording: File XIX

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia's eyes widened and the color drained from her face when Komui, accompanied by Kanda, was led into her mother's (temporarily her own) office by a maid.

The maid bowed and was about to shuffle off when Gracia stood, hissing, "Rebecca, come here."

Rebecca, conditioned to be terrified when women who sat in that large, imposing chair behind that desk hissed, swallowed harshly and shuffled over to the desk, walking around it and bowing to get her ear closer to Gracia.

"Do not," Gracia murmured into the young woman's ear, "Introduce either of these men by the titles they gave you. Komui Lee and Yu Kanda will do just fine. No. Titles. At all."

Rebecca blinked, then pulled back and bowed, "Yes, M'Lady."

Komui and Kanda blinked, watching in confusion as the maid shuffled out of the room. They both looked back at Gracia, Komui opening his mouth to question only to pause when Gracia stood and started drawing the curtains shut.

"Shiiit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit…!" Gracia hissed, rushing about the room and locking a few doors. As soon as she locked the one Komui and Kanda had entered through, she turned to them, keeping her voice low, "Did anyone see you come in…?"

Komui blinked again while Kanda frowned, the former shaking his head, "No… Well, other than a few of the servants."

"Oh, good." Gracia sighed and ran a hand through her hair, slumping back towards her mother's desk (she would never feel right thinking about it as hers, even temporarily).

"…Are things here _that_ bad?" Komui frowned after her worriedly as she slumped down behind the desk, crossing the room quickly and standing by her side to cup her jaw and make her look up at him.

"…No." Gracia sighed, shaking her hand and nuzzling his palm, passively ignoring the face Kanda made, "There are just a few non-immediate family members here who I don't want knowing about my ties to the Order."

"Spies?" Kanda immediately growled, scowling slightly as his hand subconsciously twitched towards Mugen.

"No… I don't think so." Gracia shook her head slightly, "Something in my Mother's training, though, makes me twitchy about the idea." She sighed, tipping her head back and slipping down in the seat, "And with every hour that goes by, I'm slowly realizing more and more that my Mother's twitchiness wasn't all just in her head."

"Ah…" Komui sighed, pulling back and crossing his arms as he leaned his backside against the edge of the desk, "So, no making it known to anyone that Kanda and I are from the Order, then?"

"Right." Gracia nodded, lifting her head again and opening her eyes, "Meaning you two will need to change clothes… And, Kanda, you'll have to take Mugen off."

Kanda twitched, narrowing his eyes at her, "You still have Sleep on."

"Sleep is jewelry, not a sword." Gracia countered flatly, standing and holding out her hands, "Mugen." When Kanda glared at her harshly, Gracia sighed and gave him a haggard look, "Please. I'm stressed enough as it is with someone actually trying to actively _kill_ my mother while she's already on her deathbed, alright? I don't want to have to worry about you, too."

Beside Gracia, Komui's eyes widened.

Kanda's glare immediately disappeared, his expression deadpanning. He then sighed and reached down, untying Mugen from his side with a scowl and handing it over sullenly.

Gracia nodded gratefully and took the sword, walking over to a large portrait and pulling at it to reveal that it was on a swinging joint, and that there was a wall safe behind it. After she safely tucked Mugen away inside of the safe, spinning the combination lock, she turned back and blinked to find Komui regarding her with wide, sympathetic eyes, and Kanda with a quizzical scowl.

"…What?"

"Someone has actually had the audacity to make an attempt on Mathilda's life?" Komui asked in a low voice, "While _you_ and several other _family heads_ are here?"

"Oh, it gets better." Gracia sighed, walking back over to the desk and slumping down in the chair, "Renault is almost completely convinced it is one of said family heads."

"…You're kidding." Komui muttered, his eyes widening further, "I mean, I know that _some_ part of them must be rooting for her to die, but to _actually try to kill her_?"

"Eh, just a hundred or so years ago such things were commonplace." Gracia shrugged slightly, sighing and propping her cheek up in her palm, "Only it wasn't poison like it used to be. Someone sent an 'assassin' in under the guise of a new nurse to loosen her oxygen tube."

"…Where is this woman?" Komui's expression darkened, "We'll send Kanda to 'talk' to her."

Kanda's mouth twisted into a more than slightly unpleasant smirk at the idea of him being able to 'talk' to someone. Ooo, it had been a while since he had had to 'talk' to a human…

"Oh, she's dead." Gracia shrugged, "Renault snapped her neck, weighed her body down with boulders and tossed her over the cliff into the ocean next to the harbor."

Her answer was met with stunned silence.

"Though he made sure to interrogate her beforehand." Gracia turned her attention back to a few documents on her desk that needed it, "And he assured me he got all he could out of her. How else do you think I know it was either Alexander or Benjamin?"

"…Ah…" Komui shifted, sounding a bit uncomfortable.

"What?" Gracia looked up at Komui, blinking, "Renault is a bodyguard on top of being a physician, you know."

"…It's not really that…" Komui shifted slightly, rubbing his neck, "It's… how nonchalant you are… about another human being being killed on your behalf."

"…She threatened my mother's life, Komui." Gracia's tone and expression flattened, and she could feel the Solidor poison in her blood flaring again, "And as much as I don't like my mother, _no one_ touches her when she can't have their throats slit, herself." When Komui regarded her with a stunned expression, Gracia thought over it and sighed, rubbing her forehead, "I'm… sorry… This happened last night, too… My inner Solidor… is actually coming out now that I'm around these… people… Not to mention I don't have Mother around to take care of matters for me… I… I keep thinking to myself… 'How would Mother want me to handle this?' …I think… it's affecting my mentality…"

"…Hey…"

Gracia blinked and looked up when Komui cupped her jaw and made her face him, his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose slightly as he regarded her with a gentle expression.

"It's okay." Komui assured her, his voice a comforting murmur, "I shouldn't have said it like that; like you, I know that there are certain situations in which… underhanded violence is the only answer… and I know what it's like to have to face those decisions later."

"…" Gracia sighed and relaxed, the stress she hadn't even really realized had been building up starting to trickle out of her body. Only he could do this for her… "I missed you."

"I missed you, too." Komui murmured, his voice closer than it had been before. Then, she felt a familiar sensation of something soft and warm against her mouth, something slick and wet coming in right after to tease her into kissing back.

"Hey!" Kanda barked, snapping them both out of their pleasant moment, "If we aren't supposed to be seen as Black Order, what are we going to wear? !"

A bit miffed that her moment with Komui had been interrupted, Gracia turned on the young man with a sullen glare and a blush and was about to give him a snide answer when she realized… that it wasn't worth the effort… and that he was right.

After thinking for a moment, Gracia stood and walked to one side of the room, opening one of the few doors she hadn't locked earlier and revealing a closet inside. The closet had a few suits inside of varying quality for different occasions. She grabbed two informal suits, one charcoal colored and the other black, and turned to the two men, holding them out.

"…Your mother keeps suits in her office?" Komui asked as he walked over, grabbing the charcoal suit.

"Remember, this was my father's 'office' when mother wanted people to believe he was the family head." Gracia reminded Komui as she walked over to Kanda, holding the black suit out. When he just glared at it, twitching, she sighed, "Just wear the dress pants and the dress shirt; you can leave out the vest and jacket."

Kanda paused, then pursed his lips and jerked the suit out of her hand, storming across the room.

Gracia sighed and turned to Komui, blinking when she saw he was already dressing. She'd been planning to suggest it, since they couldn't risk Komui and Kanda, Kanda especially, walking out of the room in uniform, but Komui had already picked up on that…

Smiling, Gracia crossed her arms and watched him change unabashedly, the thought of looking away not even crossing her mind… At least, not until Komui looked over from taking his pants off and quirked a brow when he saw her staring. Then, she twitched and looked away quickly, tempted to bite the inside of her mouth when she could feel pressure and heat building up under the collar of her dress and working its way up her face.

When Komui chuckled, the heat and pressure only worsened.

"If you want to watch me undress…" Komui murmured in her ear a moment later, making Gracia twitch when she realized she hadn't heard or felt him walk over, "I could always do it again for you later…"

Gracia tensed and tried to shy away from him when she could feel her body start to respond to his closeness and warmt—

A loud, annoyed cough from the other side of the room made Gracia turn and walk to Kanda quickly, her hands on autopilot as they took the thin, navy necktie from his hands and looped it around his neck, deftly tying it into a smart Windsor knot. She then blinked.

"…I'd forgotten that I knew how to tie a Windsor."

Kanda scowled and stepped back, looking uncomfortable as he reached up to fiddle with the necktie. The knot was a bit too firm, though, for him to do anything without jerking and ruining the work…

…Gracia blinked at him, watching him as he shifted in his neatly pressed dress pants and shirt, the shiny leather dress shoes, the tie…

"…I'm tempted to put a pair of black rimmed glasses on you."

Kanda bristled and glared at her harshly, looking about as offended as a cat that had just gotten water thrown on it.

"Just saying." Gracia held up her hands in surrender before turning back to Komui. Frankly, she wasn't nearly as impressed at the sight of him in a suit (minus the suit jacket); he'd worn a similar outfit when he'd come to ask her out on the date.

…Which wasn't to say she didn't enjoy the sight; for some reason, she found she really liked the image of Komui in a suit.

She just wasn't going to stop and ogle him like she used to.

…Well… that was what she had tried to tell herself.

…Then Komui took his glasses off.

…She'd seen Komui without his glasses before (they fell of regularly when he fell asleep at his desk or when he forgot to take them off before going to bed), but the image of Komui… in dress shirt/pants and vest… without a beret… his bangs framing his face… and no glasses…

…When Komui caught her staring again, this time Gracia couldn't do anything about it; she couldn't look away. She just kept… staring…

"…Kanda, would you mind excusing us for a moment?" Komui asked after a pause, meeting Gracia's eyes calmly.

"Tch, fine." Kanda growled, walking across the room to one of the doors to the side of Mathilda's desk; not the closet, but one of the ones Gracia had locked earlier. He'd wait in the room on the other side… If he walked out the main office door and into the hall, he'd risk someone running into him.

As soon as the door clicked shut softly behind Kanda, Komui crossed the room, coming to a stop directly in front of Gracia so the fronts of their bodies touched, though he made no moves to touch her with his hands.

"I see you weren't exaggerating when you said you missed me…" He murmured, finally raising both of his hands to cup either side of her face and make her look up at him.

Gracia opened her mouth to answer, but the words died in her throat when Komui's mouth clashed against hers softly, heatedly, his tongue taking advantage of the opening and running itself along the length of hers slowly.

She let out a groan she wasn't able to hold back and arched, lifting her hands and clenching and unclenching them before she settled on grabbing his hips, pulling him close as he pressed forward and pressing their bodies flush against one another.

When Komui started to walk her backwards, she complied, blearily letting him pin her to the wall and arching when he just kept walking forward until she was pinned so firmly between the wall and his body that she could hardly move, feeling every inch of him even through the several layers of her dress.

Feeling the full length of his body cemented the fact that he was there, and Gracia suddenly found herself feeling a bit desperate, neglected and worried. Frowning into his mouth and letting out a soft whine, she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly and pressed her mouth against his harder.

Komui faltered against her at that, pulling back and blinking down at her.

Unfazed, Gracia pressed her forehead to his shoulder and hugged him tighter.

She'd missed him.

Greatly.

He was a source of stability, comfort, affection… She didn't have to be on her guard around him, because she didn't have to worry about him trying to talk her into a trap in order to get her in trouble.

In fact, Gracia couldn't see Komui actually ever _trying_ to get her in trouble at all.

He was… genuine… and so unlike the other members of her family…

And she loved him for it.

For a time, they were silent, Gracia clinging to Komui and Komui hugging her close, his hand moving against her back slowly.

"…I'm due to visit my mother soon. I have to review the security measures set up to protect her…"

"Is it alright if I come with you?" Komui continued stroking her back.

"…Yeah." Gracia mumbled after a moment of thought, nodding.

"Alright… If Kanda and I aren't from the Order, how are we connected to you?"

Gracia twitched at that, thinking. That was… a very… very good question…

"…Don't worry about it. I'll handle the issue if it comes up."

"Oh, really?" Komui pulled back and looked down at her, smiling wryly, teasingly, when she frowned at him, "You and I both know you're terrible at improvising."

Gracia twitched and pursed her lips, "Terrible at improvising or not, they'll know not to ask if they know I feel like I have to lie to them. I am the acting matriarch, after all; none of them will openly insult me."

"…True." Komui chuckled, nodding. He then cupped her jaw and kissed her again.

Gracia sighed and closed her eyes, letting him.

…He didn't seem to get what he had gotten into by actually coming.

* * *

"Ah, Gracia." Alexander sighed when Gracia finally walked into the circular sitting room directly outside of Mathilda's room, "We were wondering how much longer you would keep us waiting."

"Sorry, Alexander." Gracia shrugged slightly, walking slowly, "I had guests arrive unexpectedly."

Alexander raised a brow, then narrowed his eyes slightly when Komui and Kanda walked into the room after Gracia, both looking around.

"And who would your guests be, Gracia?" Benjamin blinked, tipping his head slightly, "I don't recognize them as family… People you met while traveling?"

"Yes and no." Gracia sighed, glancing back at Komui, "I worked for this one, Komui Lee, up until I was found." She then gestured to Kanda, "Kanda is his bodyguard."

The truth without being the full truth. Just enough of the truth that her relatives would understand and not question, and just vague enough that Sheril, who was standing beside Benjamin, wouldn't understand what her relatives would.

Alexander and Benjamin's eyebrows rose at that, while Sheril tipped his head, looking acceptably confused.

"Ooooh, so _this_ is him…"

Gracia tensed and looked over at Katherine sharply as the woman stood from her seat on one of the curved sofas, walking over with a 'cordial' smile on her face.

"You must be the man who took care of my precious cousin!" Katherine beamed, holding out her hand for Komui, "It's a pleasure, Mr. Lee. Thank you so very much for all you've done for our precious Grace."

"O-Oh…" Komui blinked, apparently not expecting such a 'warm' reaction.

When he smiled, Gracia tensed and realized he didn't see Katherine's poison… He was being pulled in by her charm.

"It was no pro—" When Komui started to reach for Katherine's hand, preparing to take it and kiss her knuckles, if how he was starting to lower his head was any indication, Gracia couldn't let it happen.

She wouldn't let Katherine touch Komui.

"Kate," Gracia cut in sharply, feeling a very… Mathilda-like smile part of her hated herself for curling on her lips coldly as she stepped between her cousin and Komui, meeting the woman's eyes angrily, "I believe we talked about this last night."

"Did we?" Katherine tipped her head, moving her hand to press her fingers to her cheek as her own smile sharpened slightly, "My, my, I must have forgotten… I did get a bit _lightheaded_ for some reason or another during our talk…"

Gracia twitched, openly glaring at her cousin while keeping her smile on.

Katherine did the same.

"…Well, it's good to see you two getting along as swimmingly as ever." Alexander sighed.

"Yes…" Gracia sighed, then turned and started walking towards her mother's bedroom door, "Well, if you'll excuse me, I need to go talk to Renault." She glanced back at Komui and Kanda, nodding slightly when they hesitated to follow.

"Now, hold on," Benjamin stepped forward with a frown when the two men of Asian descent started to follow her, "You haven't even allowed us to se—"

"Actually Ben, Xander, I'll need your help out here." Katherine spoke up from behind Gracia, "I'm having my bodyguards circle the perimeter; I'd like your opinions on the external security of th—"

Her voice was cut off as Gracia walked into the room, Kanda shutting the door behind them.

"…You… don't much care for your cousin Katherine, do you?" Komui asked after a moment of silence.

"Not really." Gracia glanced back at him, "But, at the very least, I can trust her to take the task of keeping Alexander and Benjamin busy seriously. Now… Renault…" Gracia turned back to her bodyguard, who was standing dutifully at her mother's bedside, "Let's get to work on finding out whether it was Alexander or Benjamin."


	100. Protocol Stasis Recording: File XX

It's taking a bit longer than I thought to determine whether or not I can start updating more often… Sorry. Might have a better idea by next manga update, might not. *sighs* In the meantime, I've had to force myself to write even just a few paragraphs a day because I'm under less pressure to stay ahead. This is why I hate having to lengthen the time between my updates…

Anyway, my first fic to reach the big 100… I think I'll go drink some sparkling cider to celebrate. ^ . ^ Thank you all for sticking with me for so long~!

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"…Gracia… Gracia, wake up…"

Letting out a small, involuntary whine, she tried to bury the upper half of her body deeper into the softness it was resting on to get away from the hand that was shaking her, cringing when the movement caused a pinching pain in her already sore back.

Sore… Why was she sore?

…And why did she feel like she was sitting up and lying down at the same time? With her lower half doing the former and her upper doing the latter, no less…

The gears in her head turning too slowly for her to want to bother waiting for the conclusion they would draw, she settled on just going back to sleep. Pained or not, when she was sleeping it didn't matter… Besides, she was exhausted.

"…Should we just take her to bed?"

Stop… talking…

"It would be unacceptable for the matriarch to be carried out of the room in such a weakened state; she must walk out, even if it is just to go to bed."

'…_Walk __out? __Surely, __you __jest__…_'

A sigh. "Right, right… Gracia…" The hand was back, stroking rather than shaking this time.

The stroking, though, was more soothing than it was stirring; she could happily feel herself sinking down lower and low—

"Support unit."

The sneered growl was accompanied by a sharp slap to the side of the head.

Like she always did when Kanda smacked her, Gracia whined but woke up, looking over at him and whining sullenly, "Kandaaaaaa…"

Kanda snorted, glaring at her silently.

"Kanda, really…" Komui's slightly irritated voice came from behind Gracia, and she shuddered and relaxed when one of his large hands pressed against her back and started rubbing again, "Gracia… You fell asleep."

"I know…" Suddenly, it hit her just _where_ she had fallen asleep and Gracia sat up abruptly, jerking away from her mother's unconscious body and shuddering when she saw an indent on the bed next to Mathilda's arm, where she had been sleeping.

Her skin prickled…

It was nothing shy of creepy, in her opinion, to have slept next to someone who looked like they could have been dead.

She felt sick to her stomach…

"Gracia…?" Someone (Komui, part of her was sure) muttered as she jumped to her feet and dizzily stumbled over to the wall, pressing a stabilizing hand to it as her head spun from her standing too fast.

Somewhere in her head, she knew she should be ashamed for being so disgusted by the thought of being that close to her sick mother.

More than that, though (and this part shocked her a bit), she found she didn't care.

And Gracia was both relieved to admit it, and confused by the fact that it was true.

As bad a mother Mathilda had been to her, she… was still her mother… right…?

"…I'm going to take a nap. Renault… keep an eye on Mother, and tell the others to leave me alone." Gracia mumbled before she turned and started walking to the door, "Komui…?" Without waiting to see if he would follow, Gracia walked out of her mother's room and started to head back to hers.

She left the door to her bedroom open and walked over to stand in front of the window, relaxing slightly when she heard the door click shut and a pair of footsteps cross the carpeted room softly.

"…Is it anything talking to me might help?"

…She wasn't sure.

But she tried anyway.

Keeping her eyes trained out the window, even as Komui moved to sit on the window seat while listening, Gracia explained her… conflicting emotions… confused when she paused out of some sense of shame at certain parts and expressing that, as well.

When she was done, Komui was silent for a bit before sighing and running a hand through his hair.

"You and your mother share… a very, very complex relationship, one that I don't think I will ever be able to fully understand and talk through with you, as much as I'd like to."

"…What's so complex about me being disgusted by the sight of her unconscious body?" Gracia mumbled, leaning against the edge of the wall next to the window. Part of her felt guilty about wording it like that, while another part of her only affirmed that it was true and, thus, wasn't anything to be ashamed about.

Komui pursed his lips, thinking, then replied, "_Das __Unheimliche_."

…She knew that.

"German." Gracia glanced at him, "'Un-homely."

"The Uncanny." Komui nodded, "It's a Freudian concept exemplified by one feeling 'creeped out' by something that is familiar but foreign at the same time. You know your mother's body, her form, you know her visage hasn't changed, but seeing her in such a weak state is something that you've never experienced, or even imagined before, so it almost feels like you're not looking at her, when you really are. Knowing you are but feeling like you're not is creating a cognitive dissonance. Because you can't make up your mind about what you want to do when you're near her, you reject her, because in such circumstances the brain would rather reject than attempt to rationalize." Komui glanced up at her, his expression going from the thoughtful, analytical one he got when he was talking science to a softer, more reassuring one, "It's nothing to be ashamed of. A lot of people experience it; typically at the open casket funeral of a relative or someone they knew well."

Gracia nodded slightly, looking out the window again, "After seeing a person alive and well for so long, it's hard to see what made them… them gone from their bodies. You almost don't want to know it's them…"

"So you wait until you're not presented with the cold hard facts anymore, when you're no longer in shock, to make yourself think through it. It's easier to cry for a loved one when their corpse is no longer in front of you and in the ground."

"But Mom isn't dead…"

"But she's unconscious and weak. To you, Mathilda is incapable of being weak. It would be easier for you to see her if she were dead rather than weak."

After thinking about it for a moment… Gracia realized Komui was right. If she had walked into Mathilda's room that first day and been presented with a dead corpse rather than a live, unconscious, frail body, she wouldn't have been as freaked as she had been, and continued to be.

If she had been presented with Mathilda's corpse, she wouldn't feel the pressure she did now.

"…I thought you said you wouldn't be able to talk me through this." Gracia glanced at Komui, smiling wryly.

Komui smiled back, but weakly, before he looked back out the window, "I can talk you through The Uncanny. I can't talk you through the rest of what I can tell is going on in your head. Despite having emancipated yourself from your dependency on your mother, despite being able to forget about her completely and live a normal life when you're not around her, when you have to be a Solidor not just in name, but in action, you feel a need for her to acknowledge what you are and what you've done, something she's probably never done before. Though you can say and act like what she thinks of you doesn't matter anymore, it does. You don't want it to be that way, but it is that way. And that isn't something I can help you with. I can show you that there is a problem, but I can't talk you through how to fix it, if it's something you even want fixed."

Gracia stared at Komui silently, not sure what to say, or even think.

Finally… she settled on— "I'm tired… Take a nap with me?"

Komui looked back up at her, smiling and nodding, then stood and walked over to the bed with her.

Gracia kicked off her heeled dress shoes, then frowned and reached around to the back, struggling to locate the laces of her dress. Then, when she felt Komui's hands nudge hers down, she shuddered and lowered her arms, blushing as he unlaced the dress for her, his palms running across her shoulder blades slowly as they were bared.

Not bothering to hang it up properly, Gracia draped the dress over her nightstand before sitting on the edge of her bed in nothing but a shift. When she felt the bed dip behind her, she laid down and rolled over, pressing close to Komui's chest.

Komui wrapped his arms around her and held her close, his hand moving slowly against her back.

"…Earlier… when you and Katherine were… arguing… What did you mean when you said you'd 'talked about this last night?'"

"…Nothing." Gracia mumbled, closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around Komui's waist tightly, "Just… stay away from Katherine. Don't go anywhere in this house by yourself, and don't let her pull you off to 'talk'… or even let her touch you."

Komui paused, shifting, then grabbed Gracia's jaw and made her look up at him, a frown twisting on his face, "Why?"

"Because she's poisonous." Gracia looked away, "The why… doesn't matter, alright? Just… don't let her get you alone."

"…Oh, alright, alright." Komui sighed in a light tone before he smirked slightly and rolled on top of Gracia, pinning her to the bed.

Gracia shuddered but didn't protest, closing her eyes and tipping her head back as his mouth brushed her neck, Komui covering her skin with open-mouthed kisses before he started nibbling and biting lightly.

She didn't feel like protesting.

She wanted him to keep going.

When his hands slid up under her shift to palm her skin, she arched into them, groaning softly and digging her nails into his back.

"What, no protesting this time?" Komui asked amusedly against her neck, chuckling, "But that's half the fun…"

"I don't want to think right now…"

"…" Komui lifted his head, blinking down at Gracia with a soft, worried expression.

Shuddering at how the wet patches on her neck were left to the open air, Gracia tipped her head forward and stared at Komui heatedly, leaning up and pressing her mouth to his, mumbling, "Make me forget…?"

"…Alright." His hand cupped the back of her head, keeping her in place as he kissed her firmly, almost being harsh about it.

Eyes closing and brow furrowing with a soft whimper, Gracia wrapped her arms around his neck tightly and kissed back needfully, her legs sliding up so her knees framed his hips.

Komui was finally there with her… With him there, she could act like the person she preferred to be.

With him there, she could, if only for a bit, forget about what was going on outside of her room.

* * *

"Oh, Sir Renault!" Veronica, Mathilda's personal nurse, jumped slightly, pressing a hand to her chest and gasping when Renault practically congealed out of the shadows next to the door as she shut the door behind her, "I didn't see you!" As she relaxed, she frowned and let out a miffed noise, "Haven't I asked you not to do that? !"

For once (and only for the woman in front of him), Renault smirked slightly, his usual stoicism giving way to amusement, "You should have known I would be in here, Veronica. It fails to be my fault if you are not a bit more observant after all of these years."

Veronica pursed her lips, rolling her eyes and snorting. She wasn't able to keep her lips from twisting into a small smile as she turned and walked over to Mathilda's side.

As soon as she was standing by her mistress, though, she sobered, checking her vitals.

"…I'm sorry."

"Hmm?" Renault's voice rumbled as he walked over, a hint of confusion evident.

"This is… the third time in five years you've had to kill someone who was posing as a nurse to get closer to Lady Mathilda and try to kill her. You… you would think by now that I would be able to… sense something is wrong with them…"

"…How did you know?" Renault hadn't told anyone other than Gracia and Katherine that he had had to kill an assassin, and he certainly hadn't told anyone other than Mathilda about the others.

Veronica glanced over at Renault, smiling weakly, "You… wouldn't let me back into the room for my next shift. You said you would take my shift. You only do that… after you've taken care of a would-be assassin and need time to dispose of the body."

"…It seems my skills are waning." Renault sighed.

"No." Veronica's smile lightened a bit and she shrugged, closing her eyes, "I know you."

Renault stared at Veronica silently.

Veronica blinked, realizing what she'd said, then flushed and turned back to tending to Mathilda, easing the woman up into her arms and rubbing her back slowly to make sure her blood continued circulating properly.

After watching the woman work a moment longer, Renault smiled slightly, turning and walking out of the room.

Veronica glanced after him once the door had shut, her blush darkening a bit. She sighed, then laid Mathilda back down and smiled at her, "Undignified as I know it is, you need a sponge bath, My Lady."

As the nurse walked into the bathroom to get some supplies, a shadowed figure stepped into the room, long, dark hair pulled up into a high ponytail.

Slowly, they unsheathed a katana from their side, blade glinting sharply in the low lighting of the room.

When she walked back into the room, Veronica jumped, startled once again, "Oh!" She exhaled, shaking her head and frowning when she saw she'd sloshed some water from the tub in her hands on herself. "Pardon me, Sir," She bowed to the figure carefully, "But you can't be here. I'm about to—"

The figure lunged at her, blade slashing through the air, and Veronica screamed.


	101. Protocol Stasis Recording: File XXI

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"Lady Gracia Solidor, come out this instant!"

Gracia jumped, her eyes snapping open as someone pounded on her door.

Quickly, silently, she and Komui rolled out of bed and dressed, Gracia pulling on the Exorcist uniform she had folded and tucked under her bed since it was easier to pull on when she had to dress herself.

She was just gesturing for Komui to go hide in the bathroom when her door was kicked open, several men in black suits and neckties rushing in.

Gracia could only watched, stunned, as she and Komui were seized, their arms jerked behind their backs.

"H-Hey, what are you—? !" Komui started to cry out before a strip of cloth was jerked between his teeth, silencing him as it was tied behind his head.

"Shut up, you." The man restraining him growled, twisting Komui's arms behind his back a bit and making him cringe.

"Hey!" Gracia snapped out of her shock the moment Komui was hurt, snarling and struggling against the men holding her, "Just what is the meaning of this? ! Let him go, immediately! Whose bodyguards are you? ! What are you—"

"Lady Gracia Solidor," One of the guards stood in front of her, glaring down at her stonily as he clasped his hands behind his back, "On our client's authority, you are being detained for multiple counts of the attempted murder of Lady Mathilda Solidor."

Gracia stared at the man, shocked, then had to force herself to remain calm, twitching and seething.

Becoming angry and struggling wouldn't do anything… And they had Komui…

And the only one who had the authority to have her detained would be one of the Solidor branch heads.

"Take me to your 'client.'" Gracia hissed, glaring at the man addressing her, "Now."

* * *

When they walked into the Solidor family meeting room, they were met with chaos.

Alexander and Katherine were openly screaming at one another, their respective bodyguards, who had until that point been laying low due to the Solidor house supposedly being a safe place, practically lining the walls of the room.

At the table, Gaulle was sitting silently, his hands gripping the armrests of his chair and his face ashen. Next to him, Christopher had his head lowered and his hands clamped over his ears, silent tears running down his face.

Benjamin was trying to calm Alexander and Katherine down, unsuccessfully, and behind him, in another chair at the table, Sheril was watching them silently, his cheek resting in his palm and a blank look on his face.

Off to the side, held between four men and struggling violently was—

"Kanda! !" Gracia's eyes widened, then narrowed when the guards holding him glanced over, "Release him! Now! !"

Kanda's livid, dark eyes snapped over to her, his teeth bared and sawing at the cloth clamped between them and tied behind his head, much like Komui's.

Katherine and Alexander's loud arguing ceased as soon as Gracia spoke, Alexander's eyes narrowing as he marched over and hissed, "So this is what you've been doing, sneaking all of these strangers in to— Gracia, I am having you placed under house arrest and stripping you of your rights and powers unt—"

"You will do no such thing, Alexander! !" Katherine snapped, so incensed there was no smile on her face whatsoever, "Li, you and your men get Alex's _thugs_ off of the Solidor matriarch and her associates _right __now_! !"

As several of the suited men behind Katherine started to walk towards Gracia and Komui, a few breaking away to head over to Kanda, Alexander and Katherine devolved into loud arguing once more.

As the Asian man in Katherine's ensemble of bodyguards, who Gracia could only assume was Li, stepped closer, the guard holding Gracia tensed, removing one of his hands from her wrists and, from what she could feel reaching into his suit jacket.

When she heard something click, she knew it was a gun.

So, apparently, did Li, who narrowed his eyes and slowly reached into the pockets of his suited pants, pulling them out and showing a slicker, curved version of knuckled trench knives, one on each hand. As he slid one leg back into an offensive stance, most of the other men behind them started reaching for their coats.

Gracia twitched and closed her eyes tightly as the chaos around her started to escalate.

She tried to _think_…

_Alexander having his men detain her, Komui and Kanda…_

_Alexander's men hinting to another assassination attempt on Mathilda's life…_

_Alexander accusing Gracia of trying to have Mathilda killed…_

_Kanda being the first to be restrained…_

_And did Alexander just mention Mugen…?_

Gracia's eyes snapped open.

Alexander had _just __used __Mugen__'__s __name_! ! And _called __it __a __sword_! !

"HOLD IT!"

Silence fell in the room as everyone stared at Gracia in shock.

Gracia was panting harshly, having been forced to raise her voice to be heard over the clamor. She had never been that loud before in her life, save a few times when she'd screamed out during Akuma attacks…

"How did you know Kanda's sword is named Mugen?"

"W-What?" Alexander blinked, caught off-guard.

"I didn't introduce Kanda to you as an Exorcist." Gracia growled, narrowing her eyes at him, "I introduced him to you as Komui's bodyguard. I _deliberately_ made sure not to openly admit that Komui and Kanda were from the Order, even though I was sure you knew. I had _taken_ Mugen from Kanda _before_ you had met him. _How __did __you __know __Mugen __was __a __sword, __and __how __did __you __know __its __name? !_"

"Li!" Katherine barked, "Alexander is the traitor to House Solidor! Get his thugs off of the matriarch and _detain __him_! !"

Katherine's bodyguards surged forward, and Alexander's faltered. Even though Alexander's men protected Alexander, specifically, they were paid by the Solidor family… And if Alexander was a traitor, then—

The man holding Gracia let her go as soon as Li grabbed for her, the Asian bodyguard swinging her around and turning her over to the safe arms of the other bodyguards behind him.

Mere seconds later, Gracia was wrapping her arms around Komui and stumbling with him as he was similarly shoved in her general direction.

She looked over and cringed as Alexander was slung onto the table and pinned there with an arm twisted behind his back, the loud noise making Christopher cry out and lean against Gaulle as the older man pulled him close.

The moment Kanda was free, he grabbed a tall, three-pronged, nearby candelabra and ran towards the table, sliding across it on his back and rolling back to his feet to land in front of Gracia and Komui protectively, glaring and snarling at anyone who got too close as he held the pole of the candelabra between his hands defensively.

As a stalemate was reached, the room fell silent, broken only by Alexander's occasional struggling and several people breathing heavily.

…And then _that_ was broken by a familiar, slightly pompous, indignant voice.

"What in the _seven __hells_ is going on here? !"

All attention snapped over to the main double doors of the room, Gracia's eyes widening and her stomach dropping when she saw Lorelei, in her Exorcist uniform, standing in the doorway, flanked by Renault and Mathilda's nurse, Veronica.

Lorelei rolled her eyes heavily, "You have _got_ to be kidding me."

* * *

Had anyone bothered to look at him, they would have seen a disturbingly wide, amused grin on Sheril Kamelot's face.

These Solidors were just _too __easy_ to manipulate! He didn't even need his strings!

Ooh? And who was the blonde girl?

Oh, this was _so_ much better than sitting around the other Noah all day…

* * *

"Alright, all you bodyguards, out." Lorelei sighed, clapping her hands, "Come on, come on, let Alex go and march yourselves outside. Now."

"I beg your pardon." Katherine frowned at Lorelei, "But just who are—"

"I said _now_."

Lorelei's voice was just _too __much_ like Mathilda's when she was being serious, Gracia realized in that moment.

Every last bodyguard snapped to attention, saluted her, and walked out.

Did they know who she was? Not necessarily.

But Lorelei bore a striking resemblance to Mathilda not just in some aspects of her appearance, but also in voice and the commanding air that radiated about her.

No one who bore Solidor traits would command the bodyguards of Solidor branch heads and not have the standing to back it up.

Once the bodyguards were out of the room, Lorelei glanced at Sheril, next, and quirked a brow, jerking her thumb over her shoulder, "You, too, pal. Out."

Sheril balked, affronted, then whined slightly, "But—"

"No buts." Lorelei growled, glaring at him in such a _Mathilda_ way, "This is a family meeting, and you're not close enough to be considered related. Scoot. Go have the kitchens make you lunch."

Sheril stared at the girl, then chuckled and stood, bowing to her slightly, "Very well, My Lady. By your leave, then." He then walked out, shutting the door behind him.

"Well, alright then." Lorelei grinned slightly, looking around with a pleased look on her face as she nodded, "That easily cut the population of the room down by two thirds! Now we can get down to business!" She then sobered, snapping the fingers of her right hand before jerking her thumb downward, "Alright, all of you, sit. Now."

"Excuse me…" Alexander, red-faced from the pain of having his arm twisted but still trying to fix his flustered appearance, turned on Lorelei with a scowl, "But who—"

"I said _sit_, Alex." Lorelei growled, narrowing her eyes at him, "I'll only explain once you all are in your seats and ready to listen."

Alexander stiffened, insulted, then turned to Gracia, "Just who—"

Gracia could see the shock evident on her uncle's face when she sat, and not at the seat at the head of the table, but in the chair to the right of the head of the table's point of view. After a beat, she glanced at Komui and Kanda, nodding, and they both hesitantly sat, Komui beside her and Kanda beside him (Kanda setting the candelabra down as he went).

Feeling herself getting stared at, and not just by Alexander, Gracia glanced at Katherine and nodded.

Katherine blinked at her slowly, then walked around to the other side of the table and sat. Benjamin, looking around with wide, confused eyes, followed her lead.

In the end, aside from Renault and Veronica behind her, the only one other than Lorelei who wasn't sitting was Alexander, who was looking between Lorelei and the ones sitting at the table in shock.

"Well, Al?" When Alexander looked back at her, Lorelei set a hand on her hip and tipped her head, long, wavy blonde hair spilling over her shoulder as she smirked and narrowed her dark eyes at him challengingly, "Are you gonna sit? Or are you gonna make us wait all damned day?"

Alexander stared at her, his usually cool mask of a face reading utter shock.

Then, as if he needed it, he set a heavy, unsteady hand on the table, slumping down into the nearest chair, expression going from shock to defeat.

Gracia smiled slightly.

Yeah… Lorelei was so the better successor.

"…Oh, yeah." Lorelei grinned, setting her hands on her hips and nodding her head as she looked at the people sitting at the table, satisfied, "I am so cut out for this."

Gracia chuckled.

* * *

"…You're… Mathilda's second daughter."

"Yep." Lorelei nodded from her position at the head of the table, her hands clasped on top of the table and her back erect.

"Gracia… is only a red herring."

"Yep." Lorelei nodded again.

"_You_… will be the one succeeding Mathilda when she dies."

"You got it." Lorelei nodded again.

"And… the boy… who handled things up until Gracia got here… is your fiancé."

"Uh-huh… Which reminds me," Lorelei narrowed her eyes, glaring at her cousin and uncles accusingly, "Who made Christopher cry?"

Katherine, Benjamin and Alexander all blinked vapidly.

Beside Christopher, Gaulle chuckled.

"L-Lorelei, r-really…" Christopher stuttered, his voice small and his head lowered, "It's ok—"

"Nah-ah, Chris." Lorelei continued to glare between the main three 'troublemakers,' "_No __one_ makes you cry and gets away with it."

"N-No, Lorelei, I'm serious…" Christopher raised his head, speaking up, "I-It was stressful, and I was scared. I was crying even before they started getting angry at me…"

"…Alright, I believe that." Lorelei nodded, giving Christopher an assuring glance. She then immediately went back to glaring at Katherine, Alexander and Benjamin, "You all are _so_ lucky."

The three blinked at her vapidly again.

"Well, now that we have all of that out of the way, moving onto these assassination attempts on Mother…" Lorelei propped her elbow up on the table, dropping her cheek into her palm and staring at Alexander evenly, "Since you wouldn't explain your reasoning to anyone once you were convinced, here's what I managed to gather from listening to Veronica's side of the story; she was about to bathe mother, got attacked by some long-haired shadow with a sword, and you somehow got fed the knowledge of Kanda and Mugen and assumed it was him, ending with you coming to the conclusion that Gracia, who had already been associated with someone you didn't know who had been, in your view, unjustly leading the family until she got here, Christopher, was trying to kill Mother, right?"

Alexander blinked, then nodded slowly.

"Well, I can tell you right now, Veronica wasn't attacked by Kanda."

Alexander scowled, "And just how do you—"

Lorelei flicked a wrist at Alexander casually, then glanced at Veronica and nodded.

As Veronica stepped forward from behind the left-hand side of Lorelei's chair, Gracia glanced at her, her eyes widening when she saw the nurse was thickly bandaged underneath a loose medical shirt. She… really had been attacked…

"It wasn't Sir Kanda…" Veronica confirmed, her voice weak, "The person who attacked me was female."

"And there you have it." Lorelei nodded as Renault stepped forward to support Veronica, "While Kanda can be considered really pretty and girly, he's clearly male and _very_ flat-chested." She rolled her eyes, "And trust me, he isn't the type to stuff and be convincing."

Gracia glanced over at Kanda to see his reaction, biting the inside of her lip to keep from smiling when she saw he was slightly flushed and twitching, and indignant look on his face. He glanced at her, though, and scowled, crossing his arms and slumping back into his seat, keeping his mouth shut.

"…Then… who did do it?" Benjamin asked, frowning.

"I think I'm more concerned with who accused Kanda in the first place." Lorelei scowled, leaning back in her seat and setting her arms on the armrests, drumming her fingers, "And who told you about Mugen." She glanced at Alexander. "I think it's all related, so if we can figure that out…"

Alexander blinked, as if stunned, "Well, it was Sheril Kamelot, of course. He was the one who said he saw Sir Kanda slipping out of Lady Mathilda's room with his sword, Mugen, in hand."

"…Sheril Kamelot…" Lorelei frowned, then glanced at Gracia, "When did Kamelot get here? Before or after the first attempt?"

"…After."

"Before." Attention turned to Benjamin, who swallowed, "H-He'd arrived very late in the evening, and I was tired when I was informed… We'd been in that meeting for so long… So I had him set up in a guest bedroom. He made his first appearance at breakfast the morning after."

"…" Lorelei slowly looked down at the surface of the table, a deep frown etching onto her face.

"…Renault, when you questioned the nurse that tried to cut Mother's oxygen line, who did she say she was working for?"

"…She only said he was a 'Son of Adam.'"

"…And Gracia, what was the name of that Noah girl who attacked you before? The one you said could control dreams."

"…Road." Gracia answered, "Road Kamel… ot…"

Gracia, Kanda and Lorelei all jumped to their feet at the same time, Gracia's blood roaring in her ears as she followed the two much faster teens out of the room.

Gracia and Kanda ran straight to Mathilda's office to get Mugen; Lorelei deviated and headed for the kitchens.

Once Kanda had Mugen in hand, Gracia made a mad dash for her mother's room, not bothering to pay attention to whether Kanda was following her or going after Lorelei.

She burst into Mathilda's room, almost choking on her tongue when she saw—

…That Mathilda was alright.

Any lingering feelings of discomfort caused by her being unable to stand the sight of her mother's weakened form flew out the window as Gracia ran across the room and pulled her mother into her arms, hugging her tightly and sobbing into her hair.

* * *

Sheril looked up from his tea and cookies as Lorelei Solidor and Yu Kanda flew by the room he was in, heading for the kitchens, by the looks of it. He chuckled and took another sip.

Children… If they took things a little slower, they might have been able to see him.

The Fourth Apostle, the Noah of Desire, looked directly ahead of himself when one of Road's Doors grew out of the ground and opened, a look of pure elation settling on his face when Road, herself, stepped forward.

"My darling baby girl~!" Sheril exclaimed happily, dropping his teacup on the floor as he stood and clasped his hands, a love-struck look marring his expression.

Road set her hands on her hips and shook her head, giggling, "Now, Daddy, you know Early doesn't have any plans for these people just yet. He was quite upset when he found out you were gone."

"Oh, my." Sheril chuckled, shaking his head and walking over, "Well, I guess I had best come home then, eh?"

"Yes." Road beamed and smiled, nearly making Sheril's nose bleed when she took his hand and walked through the Door with him.

Kanda and Lorelei wouldn't make it to the room until five minutes after the Door had closed and disappeared, and the Solidor house would be on lockdown for the next two days.


	102. Protocol Stasis Recording: File XXII

I'm going to be able to start updating more frequently for a bit~! Look for another chapter on Tuesday; I'll make a decision on what days I'll be able to update by then.

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Lorelei and Gracia were both sleeping at Mathilda's bedside when the woman woke, Gracia sitting in a chair with her head thrown back and her mouth open in a snore and Lorelei sitting on her lap, the girl's head on her shoulder.

Mathilda stared at her daughters silently, then tried to sit up, only to stop when she felt an uncomfortable tightness in her chest.

After a moment of thought, she laid back down and closed her eyes, deciding to wait.

About an hour later she heard the bedroom door open, and she opened her eyes and watched her most trusted nurse, Veronica, walk in.

The nurse's eyes widened, then watered when she saw Mathilda conscious, and she ran over and took Mathilda's hand when the woman held it out, rasping, "My Lady…"

"Veronica… how long… have they been there…?"

"Since yesterday afternoon, My Lady." Veronica gave Mathilda a watery smile, "After the attempts on your life were linked to a Noah, they stayed here, by your side, the entire time…"

"…Noah…?" Mathilda frowned. Then, she noticed her nurse was wearing bandages around her chest and right arm, "…Veronica… start from the beginning."

Veronica nodded, "Yes, My Lady."

* * *

"Mum, what are you doing out of bed? !"

Gracia's eyes snapped open, only to close again as she groaned and pressed a hand to them to guard against the overhead lights and the sunlight pouring in through the windows. What in the world was… Was she in a chair…?

"Lorelei, you are a lady; do not raise your voice. Honestly, a few weeks among commoners and you turn into…"

Underneath her hand, Gracia's eyes snapped open again.

That was Mathilda's voice.

Lifting her hand off of her face, Gracia stumbled to her feet, blood rushing in her ears and making her a bit lightheaded as she watched her mother and sister argue while Veronica helped Mathilda into a high-necked blue dress.

Lorelei, still in her Exorcist uniform (which consisted of a pair of skin-tight, knee length shorts under a mid-thigh length skirt with slits up the sides, a form-fitting Exorcist jacket with a hem that went down to her waistline and a pair of heeled boots), was standing in front of Mathilda, waving her arms emphatically and… shouting? Gracia couldn't tell… she couldn't really hear her over the ringing in her ears.

Mathilda seemed to be ignoring her youngest daughter's yelling, buttoning up a black waistcoat Veronica slipped onto her from behind.

The Solidor matriarch then turned to her eldest, Gracia and her mother meeting one another's eyes silently.

Gracia felt a wave of… something flash through her.

She wasn't sure what it was… but it left a certain emotional numbness in its wake.

Before her mother could look away, say anything… _do_ anything, Gracia walked past her and left the bedroom.

Against the wall next to the door, Kanda cracked an eye open and glanced at her, Mugen in one of his hands and his arms crossed over his chest.

Over on the sofas, Komui and Gaulle were talking to one another, Christopher asleep between them and leaning against Gaulle.

Katherine looked up from inspecting the map on the table, blinking, "Gracia?"

Feeling more eyes settle on her at Katherine's question, Gracia sighed, "She's… awake."

Christopher, who had started to wake when Gaulle had shaken him softly upon seeing Gracia, perked and woke completely, jumping to his feet, "M-Mother's awake…?"

"Yea—" Gracia started to nod, only to jump and get pulled out of the way by Kanda when the doors behind her slammed open.

"Damn it, Mother, get back in bed!" Lorelei barked as she ran after Mathilda, who marched out of the room with her head held high.

"I don't have time for the luxury of rest." Mathilda brushed her off smoothly, Veronica trotting alongside her dutifully with a wheeled oxygen tank in one hand and a breathing mask in the other, just in case, "Knowing Gracia, she simply froze all of the assets and left them that way so she could take her time adjusting to the position. I have to get the Solidor blood flowing again."

"Worry about your own blood, you psychotic old bat! You're recovering from a massive heart attack! !"

Gracia sighed heavily as the three women marched down the hall in a maelstrom of shouts, turning to Komui with pursed lips and a twitching brow, "There. She's better. Can we go home now?"

* * *

Gracia stood beside the carriage that would take them back to the harbor silently, her arms crossed as she stared off into space.

Next to her, Kanda was in much the same position, only he was facing the opposite direction and his eyes were closed.

Komui was still somewhere inside of Nalbina, trying to calm Lorelei and Mathilda down.

As Gracia had thought, Lorelei hadn't really gotten permission from Mathilda to be an Exorcist at all; she'd just argued for her with a bit, then hung up.

Mathilda, though, didn't seem as opposed to the idea of Lorelei being an Exorcist as she had with Gracia… Probably because Lorelei was more vivacious and better at weapons than Gracia.

Actually, if either of them was upset that the moment, it was Lorelei; when Gracia had walked out of the house, she could _still_ hear Lorelei screaming at Mathilda to get back into bed.

Now, as Renault loaded their luggage and Katherine, Benjamin and Alexander stood by to see them off, Gracia and Kanda were just waiting for—

"UGH, FUCK IT! !"

The front doors slammed open and Lorelei stormed out of the house, Christopher by her side once more, Komui rushing to catch up and Mathilda and Gaulle walking out the door calmly after them.

"IF YOU WANNA COMPROMISE YOUR HEALTH BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO CONTROL EVERYTHING, BE MY GODDAMNED GUEST! !" Lorelei bellowed as she tromped down the steps and towards the carriage, her footsteps slinging gravel, "BUT DON'T THINK I'LL LET SISTER PUT HERSELF THROUGH THAT KIND OF EMOTIONAL STRAIN AGAIN NEXT TIME YOU HAVE A DAMNED MEDICAL EMERGENCY! ! FUCK IT! ! I'LL JUST COME BACK AND TAKE OVER PERMANENTLY! !"

Gracia sighed. If only Lorelei could have seen the fleeting smirk that had flickered across Mathilda's face at that…

"Lorelei, please…" Christopher murmured softly, grabbing Lorelei's wrist and making her turn to face him.

Lorelei sighed heavily, then gave her fiancé a lopsided smile, "Keep an eye on the hag, okay, Chris? Keep me updated." She then took Christopher's face in her hands and kissed him harshly before jumping up into the carriage, leaving him frozen in place and blushing darkly.

Beside Gracia, Kanda snorted and rolled his eyes before stalking over and getting into the carriage, himself, leaving Komui to sigh and pat Christopher on the back as the boy made his unsteady way back to Mathilda's side. Komui then glanced at Gracia, tipping his head towards the carriage.

Gracia nodded and walked over, her eyes trailing up towards the house to acknowledge her uncles and cousin.

Benjamin and Alexander were 'watching' blankly, muttering to one another, but Katherine smiled and winked at her, making Gracia's lips twitch into a scowl.

As Renault climbed up beside the driver, Komui waited for Gracia by the door of the carriage to help her in. She was just accepting his hand and was preparing to step up when…

When Gracia turned back, her mother was standing a few feet away, staring at her intently.

…Though a large part of her didn't want to, Gracia still found herself inexplicably turning towards Mathilda and walking over to her. They hadn't spoken since before Gracia had left Nalbina months ago… but now Gracia was getting the oddest feeling the woman had something to say.

What would she—

"You did well."

…Again, an unidentifiable, certain emotion, and then numbness.

Gracia stared at her mother in shock.

"I was a bit shocked, truthfully…" Mathilda went on in a low murmur, though her gaze as she met Gracia's eyes was as steady as ever, "I had thought that, even though I had left you in charge, you would be calling your sister every step for council… But you handled it all by yourself until her unannounced arrival, and you did well by protecting not only the assets, but the family heads, first and foremost. You even dealt with your unsound cousin, and the constant scrutiny of Alexander… and you did it without wavering. I… am proud of you, Gracia Amberley."

Gracia continued staring at her mother in shock, starting to feel lightheaded, her pulse getting slower and slower in her throat…

"…You're not supposed to say things like that." Gracia croaked, her hands shaking and her vision starting to tunnel, "I don't know how to react when you praise me. Pick something to criticize me about before I pass out."

Briefly, Mathilda's expression seemed to soften, "Not this time, Gracia." She then sobered, lifting one hand and gesturing to the carriage behind Gracia, "Now, go. You have been away from your job on my behalf long enough."

Gracia simply _continued_ to stare at her mother in shock.

Praise…

Praise…

_Praise_…

Mathilda had given her praise… The world was ending…

What were the signs of the Apocalypse again? White horse, red horse, black horse, Mathilda praising someone, ashen horse… And now, approaching Apocalypse aside, Gracia was pretty sure she was swaying…

Mathilda's brow twitched, her eyes narrowing, "Gracia Amberley, now."

Oh… That was better… An order.

"Yes, Ma'am." Was what Gracia was pretty sure slipped out of her numb lips before she nodded and turned, stumbling over to the carriage. Komui caught her with an amused smile when she nearly tripped, chuckling and helping her up into the carriage when she blearily elbowed him.

As she sat, staring at the space in front of her with wide, blank eyes, Lorelei, sitting across from her and a seat over (next to Komui as he sat in front of Gracia), looked at her sister and frowned deeply, "What did she say to you? Do I need to tell her off before we go?"

Kanda, who had his eyes closed, opened one slightly and looked over at the auburn-haired woman sitting next to him, a slight scowl crossing his face.

Gracia stared at Komui blankly. "…She praised me…"

Lorelei blinked in shock, "…Eh?"

"She praised me." Gracia repeated in a thin, croaking voice, swaying slightly, "Sh-She told me… I did a good job… _She __actually __praised __me_…"

Even though she couldn't really see him, Gracia could vaguely make out Komui smiling at her, "Well, that's a good thing… right?"

"…I think 'm gonna pass out."

After that, the world jerked to the side and she landed on something soft, her ears barely making out Kanda's voice cursing before everything went black.

* * *

When Gracia woke, she was already back in the Order, in her own bedroom, on her own bed, and already dressed…

…In lingerie.

It took a while for Gracia to fully process the sheer purple babydoll and the lacy white panties she could literally see _through_ the slip… And, once she had, her eyes narrowed and her right eye and cheek started twitching.

It was sheer.

_Sheer_, damn it!

The thing was actually _see-thru_.

And she didn't have a bra on.

…Oh, she was going to kill Komui this time. She didn't mind the fact that he was getting more and more frisky when they had their time alone, but this was a step too far and several steps too fast.

Incensed, Gracia swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood, grabbing the short, satiny lavender robe at the end of the bed and pulling it on as she looked around with narrowed eyes and pursed lips.

She was the only one in her room, though; even her bathroom door was open, and the lights inside were off.

Where in the hell was he…

She turned quickly when the door opened, sneering and opening her mouth to start to tell Komui off when he ran in, only to get interrupted with he flew over to her and took her shoulders in his hands, a grim look on his face.

"I know, I know, kill me later, but right now you have to get to Asian Branch quickly. You have a mission; no Innocence, but a large group of Akuma is amassing around Beijing and you're the General set to cycle out this time. Get mentally prepared; you're going on your first official mission with your official team."

* * *

Kanda, Allen, Link, Madarao, Tewaku and Tokusa were already waiting for Gracia by the Ark Gate, as was—

"Lorelei?" Gracia glanced at Komui as they walked towards the Gate quickly.

"Beijing is a large city." Komui said as he quickly looked the folder in his hands over before handing it to Gracia, "You'll need the extra unit, and Lorelei needs the experience. Gaining it in a large group is the safest route."

As Gracia took the folder and looked it over, she realized he was right. Roughly six thousand five hundred square miles of city that needed to be protected…

"Alright, we'll need the firepower." Gracia agreed in a low mumble, skimming the folder for anything else that might have been important before handing it back to Komui, "Which Gate goes to Asia again?"

"Six, though it'll be marked on the door as 'Asian Branch.'" Komui answered, nodding to Gracia as the team started to step through the Ark Gate, "Good luck."

Gracia paused at the Gate, looking back at Komui with a harsh glare, "You are dead when I get back."

Komui's face fell and he keened as she ran through.


	103. PSR: Record Influx Pt 1

Expect another update on Friday~! (Now, you all do the math, nyan? I last updated on Saturday, now I'm updating on Tuesday, your next update will come Friday… Seeing the pattern? Good~! I knew you all were smart. XP)

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"Teams, check in." Gracia called out as she overlooked the bright lights of Beijing from atop one of the battlements of the Great Wall of China, Madarao behind her standing on the edge and looking off into the darkness of the opposing side with his sharp eyes.

"_Lorelei __and __Tewaku __reporting __from __the __Mentougou __District._" Lorelei's voice came over Gracia's golem immediately, "_Everything__'__s __clear __over __here._"

"_Allen __and __Link __in __the __Dachang __Autonomous __County._" Allen's voice came next, "_Everything__'__s __clear __here, __too._"

"_Kanda __and __Tokusa __in __Huairou._" Kanda's voice was clipped, keeping his report simple, "_Clear_."

"Clear in our location, too." Gracia sighed, "Allen, your eye picking up anything?"

"_It__'__s __on, __but __there __aren__'__t __any __indicator __points. __They__'__re __either __still __too __far __to __get __a __reading __or__…_"

"…Or another seal's been put on the area, like what happened at the Hearst Orphanage." Gracia filled in with another sigh, this one heavier.

"_Not __a __likely __scenario__…_" Tokusa's voice (forever slightly mocking, and now a bit skeptical and inquisitive) came on next, "_The __last __time __that __happened, __there __was __Innocence __involved __and __they __knew __Walker __was __in __the __area, __but __they __can__'__t __know __he__'__s __here __if __they __haven__'__t __sent __anyone, __and __Walker__'__s __eye __would __have __picked __up __something __a __bit __more __indicative __than __a __feeling __if __anything __had __gotten __that __close._"

"Allen's eye doesn't register Noah, so if there was one in the area it could easily be spying on us without our knowledge." Gracia turned and leaned back against the stone railing, closing her eyes, "But you have a point. If there's no Innocence and they had no way of knowing Allen would be one of the ones to come out, there probably isn't a seal on the area."

"_Hn. _Moyashi_, __you __try __spinning __around __to __see __if __any__ '__indicator __points__' __pop __up?_"

"_Of __course __I __have, _Ba_Kanda, __just __how __stupid __do __you __think __I __am?_"

Gracia could practically see the smirk curling on Kanda's lips, hear the chuckle bubbling in his throat, so she sighed, "Kanda, don't answer that. Both of you, stop; we need to keep this line clear in case any one of our teams is attacked. Don't drown everyone out with your arguing."

"_Yes, __General__…_" Allen muttered sullenly.

"_Tch__…_" Kanda grunted, but Gracia still heard him sigh in resignation afterwards, so she didn't say anything.

"_You __two __are __so __stupid__…_" Lorelei sighed heavily, an eye roll strongly indicated in her tone.

Smiling and feeling a small twinge of pride when neither Kanda nor Allen responded to the barb, Gracia turned to look at Madarao, who hadn't said a word. "Madarao?" She walked over, "Do you see anything?"

"…No." He continued staring off into the dark forest below, pupil-less eyes scanning intensely, "But there is a faint smell of oil."

"Akuma Oil, you think?" Gracia leaned against the stone wall next to him, propping her elbows up and setting her chin on her arm, "You have to remember, there's a large metropolitan city behind us. No telling how much oil has been spilled on the streets down there…"

"It is Akuma Oil." Madarao assured her in his grave tone, "It carries the scent of putrefied human blood in it."

Gracia glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. After having most of her senses dulled by Sleep for so long… she couldn't begin to imagine how perceptive he was, and how he must view the world because of that perception.

And, truthfully, she wasn't about to ask; the less she verbally acknowledged what he was, what his team was, the less agitated Sleep would be when she thought about them.

"…Does the Innocence abhor us that much?"

Gracia blinked and looked up at him.

Madarao was still staring off into the night, the feather that hung from his hair distracting her from the side she was standing on.

She didn't have to think much about her answer, though; when it came to Madarao, she felt no inclination to sugar coat anything. Mentally, she already knew he wouldn't appreciate it if she tried.

"Not you, personally," She looked back out into the darkness, her eyes picking up nothing but black and the dark blue horizon, "But the idea of what you are, yes."

"And would it turn on us?"

"…Sleep's never really… dictated my actions before. It only seems to respond on its own at times because, for a long time, I let it respond to subconscious activation, and when it activates like that, Sleep tends to be nondiscriminatory. Back when I… got as angry as I did with Epstain, Sleep wasn't forcing me to be angry; it was amplifying my own anger towards the situation. But Innocence… does respond to Akuma, and Sleep does respond to threats, so… Yes. If I came to perceive you as a threat, Sleep would, without a doubt, turn on you."

"…Keep it that way."

"…" Gracia glanced at Madarao again, "Why, you don't trust your control?"

"That's not it." Was all Madarao said before he fell silent.

Gracia stared at him, then sighed and walked back to the other side of the battlement, looking outward. Beijing was a fair ways away, but the lights shone brightly against the black of the horizon and the star-speckled dark blue of the sky…

"_Hey__… __Hey, __Tewaku, __what__'__s __up? !_"

Gracia and Madarao both turned to look at her golem.

"_Holy __freakin__'—__! !_" Lorelei's voice started before there was a screeching of metal, then Lorelei's line went dead.

"_G-General!_" Allen's voice came up next.

"Kanda, Allen, you two stay on your sides!" Gracia barked as Madarao dashed over to her and wrapped his arm around her waist, using his superior strength to jump them both down from the battlement and onto the main walkway of the Wall, "Kanda, you and Tokusa move closer to Shunyi! Allen, Link, move towards Daxing to keep the southeast covered! Madarao and I are on our way to Mentougou!" As soon as she had finished speaking, Gracia wrapped her arms around Madarao's neck as he jumped straight over the side of the wall.

Shuddering and closing her eyes as vertigo overtook her, she curled her legs up to keep Madarao's leg space as clear as possible, grunting and jerking at the shock that rolled through his body and into hers as he landed on the ground a ways below the edge of the wall. She then continued holding on as Madarao started to bound across the landscape at an impressive speed; nowhere close to matching Lenalee, but definitely faster than the average human and even some of the more gifted Exorcists.

"Madarao!" Gracia called out against the wind, "Don't use your arm's wider range abilities unless it's absolutely necessary! There are going to be civilians in the area, and you won't be able to cover them all with your spell strips!"

Madarao's head simply jerked in a short nod as he continued running.

Gracia shuddered again and closed her eyes, trying to hang on and keep Sleep from coming into skin contact with the Third Exorcist at the same time; Third Exorcists coming into contact with Innocence resulted in their arms automatically turning on. Not something she wanted to happen, considering his left arm, the default Akuma arm of all Thirds, was the one that was currently wrapped around her waist.

The area only became more mountainous as they went, the Mentougou District being the most mountainous district in the Beijing Municipality, but Madarao never slowed down, neither while descending nor ascending the hilly area.

By the time they reached Tewaku and Lorelei, the two girls were back to back and surrounded by a large group of Level 3s, Tewaku looking like she was down to her last shield-generating spell strips and Lorelei's veins becoming a darker, more prominent color under her skin as she continued her uninterrupted invocation.

Madarao dropped Gracia behind a tree so she could summon the Judge-Sal/use ranged attacks without needing to worry about her body being protected in the middle of the fray, then dashed towards the girls, snapping his arms out and making dozens of paper spell strips fly out of his sleeves.

Not wanting to burn herself out too quickly when the night had only just started, Gracia focused on locking onto the nearest Level 3 and holding out her arm, sleep chiming softly while she stayed ducked behind the tree.

"Drow Poison : Alucinari!"

The target twitched, its head lolling to the side and its legs nearly giving out, making it stumble away from the group.

Several paused to glance back at it curiously, and then more looked back when the now Innocence-affected Akuma grabbed its head and let out a loud, terrified shriek, spidery fingers on spindly arms lashing out to its nearest comrade to tear it to shreds as if doing so would make the nightmare stop.

As it continued to attack its fellows, a group of whom broke away from the main body to attack back, Gracia glanced towards her sister and watched as Lorelei let go of her ice-coated spear with one hand to touch the spread of spell strips Madarao held out for her without looking.

Once the spell strips had frozen over, Madarao's arm snapped out in an ark, the spread of ten or so strips flying through the air like daggers.

Gracia watched, impressed, as most of the strips of frozen paper got buried in the bodies of several Level 3s, who first screamed and thrashed at having the Innocence-laced ice driven into their bodies, then louder and fell to the ground, writhing as they burst into flames when the spell strips exploded.

Lorelei's eyes widened, then she started to grin and she covered her mouth as she let out a giggle of partially shocked, partially terrified excitement before she touched more of the spell strips Madarao held out for her, Tewaku getting the idea and offering a few of her own destructive spell strips.

Gracia looked back to her own battle when Sleep burned as 'her' Akuma was finally killed, frowning when she saw it had done less damage than she had anticipated.

"Drow Poison : Sopor!"

Sleep sent out a strong pulse, and a wave of the Level 3s closest to her all collapsed at once, though their bodies took longer to start turning silver because of the sheer number that had been affected.

In fact, when one of the Level 3 Akuma that had been hit by one of the Third Exorcists' frozen, exploding spell strips and fell, landing on one of Gracia's Sopor-affected Level 3s, the Sopor-affected Level 3 snapped back to coherence and stumbled to its feet, bumping into more Sopor-affected Level 3s.

Gracia frowned and sank down behind her hiding spot when, much like the wave they had collapsed in, the Level 3s all woke up and stumbled back to their feet, most of them starting to turn silver from their outer extremities inward but none at a rate that would see them dead any time soon.

When one of the Level 3s closer to Gracia turned towards her, its head tipping and its lipless mouth twisting into a scowl, Gracia pressed closer to the tree but resisted the urge to duck behind it completely. If she did, she wouldn't know if she was getting snuck up on or not…

"So, there was another one…"

Gracia froze, her eyes slowly widening as the hair on the back of her neck stood, a skeletal finger of dread creeping down her spine as the hair on the back of her head was stirred by the ragged, even breathing of something behind her…

…Something _large_, her flight-or-fight response screamed in the back of her head.

She couldn't turn to face the source of the deep, grating chuckle just behind her; her body was frozen and starting to shake.

Her breathing was loud in her ears, pulse pounding harshly but at a rapidly decelerating rate on the back of her tongue and in her throat, her vision was starting to gray at the edges and tunnel inwards…

Something… smell of something… oily… bloody… cloying… head… fogging…

She couldn't focus… couldn't feel her arm… Couldn't focus on Slee—

Then, she felt another finger trail down her spine, only this one wasn't metaphorical and chill-inducing.

It was real.

It hurt.

She could feel it threatening to dig through the protective weaving of her uniform and dig into her skin and flay her back op—

"Flame Wings!"

In a flash, she was taken to the ground, a swirl of a cloak of familiar crimson swooping around and shielding her and the body that fell on top of her from the tornado of fire.

As she regained feeling in her body, the dyed edges of Madarao's one-sided fringe brushing her face as he turned his head to throw a pupil-less glare over his shoulder, Gracia inhaled deeply, her eyes rolling back into her head before they closed as she started to summon her senses and her strength.

Even before she could feel Sleep again, her blood started to boil from her wrist up.

Even before she verbalized her command, she could feel herself losing coherence.

But that Akuma's ability, its ability to make her lose focus, lose sight of her Innocence, keep her from fighting back, had scared her, so how far she had to go didn't matt—

"_**SOPOR! !**_"

The boughs of the tree above actually swayed with the force of the wave Sleep released, and as Gracia dozed off, all fell silent.

* * *

Lorelei ducked down and covered her head as the Akuma around her and Tewaku all turned silver and burst into ash.

"Protection Wing!"

Tewaku used the last of her restrictive strips to cast a shielding pall around herself and Lorelei, the paper lining up in a perfect ring around them and keeping the gray haze from touching them until it all settled down on the ground, like some kind of unearthly, morbid snowfall.

Once things had settled, Tewaku summoned the spell strips back to her hand, turning and following Lorelei when the young noblewoman turned and ran over to where Madarao was still covering her sister.

The male Third Exorcist pulled himself off of Gracia's body as they approached, standing before bending over and grabbing Gracia by the arms to pull her up and sling her over his shoulder.

"Is she alright…?" Lorelei's voice was bordering on frantic as she observed her sister's limp body.

Madarao glanced at her, nodding slowly.

"It was an impressive group of Level 3 Akuma…" Tewaku noted in her muted voice, "She expended a large amount of energy to defeat them all at once…" She paused, then glanced at her brother, "Brother, why didn't you…?"

"…The General forbade me from using my arm for wide-spread techniques." Madarao glanced back at her, "She was concerned about the nearby villages."

"And rightly so." Lorelei sighed, running a hand through her hair and relaxing, assured Gracia was just unconscious, "There are a few houses just on the other side of those trees over there." She nodded to the tree line right behind Madarao.

Madarao glanced back.

His Flame Wings had done more than just burn the tree Gracia had taken refuge behind; several of the trees behind him were also singed and smoking.

Though the trees, they could hear approaching voices and coughing…

"We're going. Now." Madarao said shortly before he turned and started running, Tewaku and Lorelei not far behind.

When Gracia's golem zipped over to her, Lorelei glanced at it before shouting, "This is Lorelei! Kanda, Allen, answer!"

"_Lorelei?_" Allen answered first, "_Oh, __good, __you__'__re __alright__…_"

"I'm fine!" Lorelei scowled as Madarao and Tewaku started jumping from rock to rock up the side of a cliff as if it were nothing, the girl having to sling her poleax over her shoulder by the short strap that had been added to it before she started scaling after them, "The Akuma in our area were defeated, but it was a bunch of Level 3s. At least twenty. Get your big guns ready, and Kanda, don't let your Third use… oh, what did Madarao call it… his "wide-spread arm techniques" or whatever."

"_I __beg __your __par__—_" Tokusa's slightly affronted voice started over the speakers before Madarao cut him off.

"Orders from the General." The de facto leader of the Thirds paused in his ascent and glanced back at the golem with narrowed eyes, as if Tokusa could see him, "Do not use the Primal Hole around civilians if you cannot protect them from it."

"…_Understood._" Tokusa's voice sighed heavily.

"_Hey, __Kanda!_" Allen's voice suddenly shouted, making Lorelei squeak and stumble when she reached the top of the short cliff and stood, "_I__'__m __getting __a __massive __reading __coming __from __your __area! __Do __you __see __them __yet? !_"

"_Tch, __no__—__Shit!_" After that, Kanda's end fell into radio silence.

"_Kanda__…__? _Ba_Kanda!_" Allen shouted.

"_Walker!_" Link's voice barked, "_Pay __attent__—_"

"Damn it!" Lorelei hissed as Gracia's golem buzzed with static before it went silent as it turned off its radio functions, not needing them when the other golems didn't have theirs on. Lorelei then turned to Madarao and Tewaku, who were staring at her, "Now what?"

The siblings blinked, exchanging glances.

"…What would the General have us do?" Tewaku asked as Madarao shifted Gracia pointedly over his shoulder.

"…Well, she'd definitely be worried about Allen and Kanda…" Lorelei muttered, frowning and rubbing the back of her head as she glanced in a general northeasterly direction, where Kanda, Tokusa, Allen and Link were, "So she'd probably think about helping them, but then she'd think that they're big boys who can take care of themselves, and she'd think of her duty and point out that if we go that way, the entire western side will be left defenseless, so…"

"Understood." Madarao nodded, "We will stay here, then."

Lorelei nodded, glancing and watching as Tewaku turned and trotted off to stand at the top of a rock jutting out of the cliff they'd climbed to watch the area below. The young noblewoman then turned back to Madarao and watched as he eased Gracia over his shoulder and onto the ground.

Gracia was pale-faced and completely unresponsive in her state of Sleep-induced unconsciousness, the slave bracelet in question glowing dully against her wrist…

It was unnerving; Lorelei has seen Gracia in such states before, but it was still so damned unnerving… Especially now that they were on a mission. Lorelei had never seen Gracia like this on a mission… Save when they had gone to Golomore…

Lorelei shuddered at the memories.

Then, when an inhuman, somewhat metallic screech echoed through the night air, originating from somewhere nearby, and Madarao glanced off to the side sharply, reaching into his cloak for more spell strips, Lorelei shuddered again, slowly pulling her poleax off of her back, the weapon starting to get coated in ice once more.

The night was far from over…


	104. PSR: Record Influx Pt 2

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

When Gracia woke, it was only for a brief instant – all she saw was a smear of brown and green, and then her face was skidding along the ground harshly, the taste of blood and dirt filling her mouth before the world went black again.

And, after the world went black again, it only stayed like that for what she perceived to be a moment – when she regained consciousness once more, she was still in the small skid she'd made on the ground, bleeding from the mouth and from friction burns on her face.

Confused and disoriented, loud, jarring sounds around her rattled and echoed in her head, making it impossible to form a coherent thought as she tried to push herself up. When she put her right hand down, though, jolts of pain ran up it and she gasped, automatically lifting her arm again and pressing it to her chest, the loss of the extra support making her teeter and crash back to the ground on her right shoulder.

As she reeled in her pain and a fog of drowsiness she couldn't shake off quickly, no matter how much adrenaline was starting to trickle into her system, she was able to start making out distinct screams, curses and screeches in the discombobulating cacophony of noise that seemed to be trying to pound her pained and bruised body from all sides.

"_Ascending __Flower!_"

"_Crown __Edge!_"

"_Hey! __Thirds! __Civilians __at __two __o__'__clock!_"

"_Where__'__s __Gracia? !_"

"_Tewaku! __Cover __the __Ge__—_"

A scream.

"_Tewaku!_"

Then, she felt a presence looming over her. Dazed, she looked up to see a hulking, metallic form of acid green and gunmetal blue crouching over her body, a pinpoint of poisonous-looking lavender light rimmed in a darker purple forming, growing, growing, hot, gaining density, about to be fire—

"Forbidden Spell : Triple Illusion!"

The familiar image of a tall figure wrapped in long, red-rimmed black with long, dark hair jarred a bit of the confusion away.

"Eight Flow—" Before he could finish, the creature he had knocked back realigned the attack it had meant for her and fired it at him, and the person she recognized but couldn't name in her stupor cried out as the light consumed him before tossing him aside.

"Kanda!" A familiar feminine form took the other, male form's place, standing over her protectively hand holding out a pole of some sort of clear, crystal substance that had the broken remains of a weapon trapped inside.

Gracia watched numbly, unable to focus enough to coordinate her body as the creature that had attacked the talk, dark-haired form fell down upon this new, feminine form, making the girl scream out as she bore its weight along the length of her clear, slightly smoking weapon.

As her peripheral vision started to, belatedly, pick up movement all around them, she turned her head back and forth slowly.

Kids… so many kids around her… fighting… more creatures…

What was…

"Lorelei!" Yet another voice cried out when the girl above her was tossed aside by the creature, as if she weighed nothing.

And, as it leaned over her once again, Gracia suddenly remembered what it was.

_Akuma_

"Judge-Sal—"

The giant, ethereal suit of armor swiped the Akuma aside with one hand as it crashed down in the positions Kanda and Lorelei, respectively, had been in not six and two minutes earlier.

"Full Invocation—"

Gracia cried out shortly when the Judge's hand wrapped around her sore and likely broken body, but the pain quickly faded as Sleep heated around her wrist, spreading numbness through her body quicker than any anesthetic.

"Libra Exchange—"

Her consciousness started to meld into Judge-Sal's as it slammed her back against its chest, her small, frail body becoming one with the ethereal giant behind her in a way that would normally only be possible in dreams.

"Ultima."

As she closed her eyes and caved in, she felt a long dress swaying around her ankles.

* * *

Madarao and Tokusa, the ones closest to Gracia, flinched and shot away from her as an Innocence-laced aura poured off of her new form, their previously withheld Akuma arms flaring at full strength in response to the perceived threat.

Lorelei, back-to-back with a burned and bloody Kanda, looked over, her eyes widening and her jaw dropping when she saw Ultima. She'd seen it before, but it was still…

Ultima opened her eyes, which eerily had no irises or even pupils but merely exuded a white light, slowly, then suddenly spun to the side and lunged.

Allen looked up from the two Chinese children (a young twin brother and sister duo who had been curious when they heard noises and explosions and had quickly become targets) he and Tewaku were protecting, cringing and hugging them close when they screamed as Ultima leaned over them and lashed out with one hand, batting the Level 3s that had closed in on them aside as if they were flies. He would have protected them, himself, and even had his Sword of Exorcism drawn and poised to do so, but the children had clung to him the moment he'd saved them, babbling in teary Chinese and not understanding a word of English.

Their grips on him, though, loosened as they looked up at their giant, humanoid savior, giving Allen enough space and time to turn them over to Tewaku before he turned and lunged at the Level 3s as they came back, sword swinging.

A loud explosion rippled through the air, the group getting blinded briefly by a white light.

When they could see again, Ultima was stumbling forward, several Level 3 Akuma behind her having merged into a Giant Akuma that was currently firing large, missile-like Blood Bullets at her.

Another Blood Bullet was fired, hitting Ultima in the back again with another explosion that resulted in another flash of white light, the flashes emanating from Ultima's body as the blows sent ripples through her form that made her light up.

When the Giant Akuma fired yet another one, Ultima stopped her stumbling and spun around quickly, bringing her hand up and backhanding the bottom of the Blood Bullet, sending it skyward.

Kanda suddenly broke away from Lorelei and dashed towards the Giant Akuma, almost seeming to flicker in and out of existence with the speeds he was going at.

As Ultima lumbered towards the Giant Akuma, Kanda leapt, both of them lashing out at the same time.

"Double Illusion Sword!"

"_Flare._"

Kanda's Mugen and the ethereal copy in his other hand cleaved the Akuma in half from the top down, and Ultima's hand sliced through the two halves diagonally, quartering the Giant Akuma. The cut left by Ultima's attack, though, left the edge's of the Akuma's wound glowing, first dully and then with slowly growing intensity.

Still airborne, Kanda's eyes widened as the Akuma started to explode, crossing his arms and swords in front of himself protectively as the first wave of heat before the actual explosion washed over him. With his eyes closed, though, he found himself engulfed in a glowing, soft presence, and when he heard the explosion he felt nothing.

Kanda opened his eyes and looked up from within Ultima's grasp, the feminine being hugging him to her chest and bearing any damage the explosion might have caused him with her already injured back.

Ultima set Kanda down carefully, then turned when the screech of Akuma machinery echoed through the air, more Level 3s, along with several Level 2s and 1s, emerging from the dark, advancing on them slowly.

Quickly, the group merged around Ultima and stood facing outwards, the two Chinese children left at the base of Ultima's skirts (much to their horror) as the Exorcists prepared themselves, Kanda summoning his illusionary sword again, Lorelei grinding her teeth and tightening her grip on her ice-coated poleax, Allen banishing his Sword of Exorcism in favor of using his clawed hand and Link and the Third Exorcists preparing their spell strips and, in the case of the Thirds, their arms.

"Is it too late to call for backup…?" Lorelei asked weakly as the number of Akuma kept increasing.

"Che, need a phone connection for that…" Kanda growled, widening his stance and gripping the hilts of his swords until his skin audibly squeaked at the friction.

"General Solidor's fully invoked, we should be fine…" Link muttered, though he still snapped his wrist blades out of the sleeves of his suit and pulled out even more destructive spell strips.

"Wouldn't count on that for too long…" Lorelei muttered, "Ultima didn't last more than ten minutes the last time she used it."

"Then we'll keep holding out until the morning." Allen said firmly, voice confident and cloak swirling around him with its own life, "When we don't check in, they'll send someone for us."

"Doesn't the General have some sort of wide-range ability…?" Tokusa had pained annoyance in his voice, his non-Akuma arm grabbing the upper part of his Akuma arm for support, "If she's going to forbid us from using the Primal Well, she should have a contingency plan."

"Feel free to ask her." Kanda snapped, throwing the Third a sneer.

In the middle of them all, Ultima was an overwhelming but silent presence.

Then, she started to… hum…

When the Akuma paused in their advance, the Exorcists looked back and up at the giant being behind them.

Ultima slowly stood upright, having previously been hunched slightly in response to the blackened injuries on her back, and reached up, crossing her arms over her chest and grabbing her shoulders as her humming got louder and louder. She then opened her mouth, letting out a single, clear note.

Overwhelmed, not by pain, but by the fact that Ultima's mere _presence_ seemed to be getting denser and denser, the Exorcists at her feet covered their ears, Allen lunging at the children when they screamed in pain (the children being regular humans and thus unable to handle such a large, Innocence-fueled existence) and wrapping them up in his Crowned Clown to shield them.

Around them, the Akuma had their heads bowed and were clutching at them, screaming.

Ultima's voice reached its crescendo, she let her shoulders go and held out her arms, her voice suddenly cutting off.

"_Redemption __: __Purifying __Wave._"

The teens at her feet all collapsed as they felt several strong, heated ripples rush outwards and wash over the area.

The Akuma began attempting to flee, but were still dazed and didn't make it far; the trees around them swayed with the force of the invisible wave as it rolled over the area, with the Akuma it passed through collapsing and bursting into silver ash.

Once the force of the attack was spent, Ultima's presence lifted, and the teens on the ground jerked when the glow she emitted faded and a soft thump came from the middle of their circle.

Lorelei looked over, eyes widening and a terrified "SISTER!" tearing from her throat as she lunged at Gracia.

In the middle of the group, Gracia was unconscious once again, Sleep in its regular, plain silver state against her wrist with its invocation burned out. And, like she had been the last time she had used Ultima, she was burned.

Only this time, the attack hadn't been localized in one area (the technique she had previously used, Eschaton, having come from her hands); this time the attack had used her entire body as a catalyst.

This time, Gracia was burned from head to foot, the ends of her hair singed, her uniform smoldering tatters on her body, and her skin…

As Lorelei hovered over her sister, sobbing and afraid to touch her, Madarao looked around the area quickly before turning to Kanda and Allen, "The threat in this area has been neutralized. We should get General Solidor to a hospital. Immediately."

Kanda and Link glanced at Allen, whose deactivated eye proved Madarao's words true; the Akuma were gone.

The moment Allen nodded, Kanda jerked off his coat and covered Gracia with it, scooping her up and starting to hurry to Beijing with the rest of the group not far behind.

* * *

"…_How __is __she?_" Komui's voice croaked from the other end of the phone line.

"They have her in the burn ward, near as I can tell." Lorelei answered, her voice equally thin and ragged and her hand shaking as she held the handset of the Chinese payphone to her ear, staring at the Chinese characters in front of her with damp eyes, "I don't know… I can't understand a damn word anyone here is trying to say; they have all of the English speakers here working on actual foreigners. As soon as they saw the Rose Cross, they ushered us to a room, took her, and we haven't heard much since."

"_I__'__ll __call __Bak __and __have __him __send __someone __down._" Komui muttered, "_As __soon __as __she__'__s __stable, __we__'__ll __have __her __transferred __to __Asian __Branch; __I __don__'__t __want __Sleep __causing __any __issues._"

"Damn it!" Lorelei smacked her head against the side of the small pay phone booth, "I forgot to warn them about Sleep!"

"_It__'__s __okay, __it__'__s __okay, __calm __down__…_" Komui soothed weakly, "_This __isn__'__t __the __first __time __Beijing __Jishuitan __has __taken __care __of __Order __personnel; __if __they __can__'__t __get __it __off __of __her, __they__'__ll __know __not __to __mess __with __it._"

"…Do new techniques always hurt her like this?" Exactly how many techniques had her sister learned? And had they _always_ ended with her in the hospital?

Komui sighed heavily, "_More __often __than __not, __unfortunately__… __Unlike __most __equipment __types, __though, __Gracia__'__s __Innocence typically __affects __her __internally __rather __than __externally, __not __to __mention __the __internal __effects __often __cross __over __into __internal __psychological __effects. __Every __time __she __learns __a __new __technique, __her __life __is __at __risk__… __But __we__'__re __used __to __that __by __now. __When __she __gets __back __to __Asian __Branch, __she__'__ll __be __well __taken __care __of._"

"…Alright." Lorelei heaved a shuddering sigh, relaxing, "…So, what, is the mission over now? Do we come back with her?"

"_No__… __I __would __prefer __it __if __the __rest __of __you, __the __Thirds __included, __stayed __in __Beijing __for __a __day __or __two __more, __just __to __make __sure __the __threat __is __really __taken __care __of. __It__'__s__… __odd, __to __say __the __least, __to __have __Akuma __amass __in __the __levels __and __numbers __you __described __when __there __is __no __Innocence __to __be __had._"

"Foreshadows bad things, right…?" Lorelei sighed, closing her eyes and tapping her forehead against the wall of the small booth a bit more, "First the attack on the old HQ, a few months of silence, and now a massive attempt on one of the most populous cities in the world…"

"_Not __to __mention __the __hunting __of __the __Generals __before __all __of __this __began__…_" Komui muttered in agreement. He wouldn't say it out loud, but… this was easily one of the most tumultuous times the Order had gone through in years.

And it was only looking to get worse.

"_Stay __until __someone __from __Asian __Branch __arrives __to __pick __her __up. __Once __she__'__s __secure, __head __back __out, __surround __the __city, __and __stick __with __the __basic __orders __she __left __for __you __before __she __became __incapacitated. __Keep __her __golem __with __you __and __hooked __up __to __the __phone __for __about __ten __more __minutes, __and __keep __the __line __open; __I__'__ll __have __the __programming __to __keep __you __temporarily __keyed __into __its __voice __recognition __software __for __a __few __more __days __transferred __right __now. __If __it __comes __down __to __decision-making, __Kanda__'__s __in __charge. __Keep __Beijing __safe __at __all __costs; __if __they __want __it __for __something, __they__'__re __not __getting __it._"

* * *

"Brigitte, would you excuse me for a moment?"

The Assistant Branch Head looked up from her work and glared at Komui sharply, suspiciously, but when she saw the somber, pale look on his face as he set the phone back down on its cradle… she sighed and nodded, standing, turning on her heel and walking out.

Komui waited until she was gone, the door clicking shut behind her and her footsteps echoing as she walked off down the hall, to drop his head into his hands and heave a shuddering sigh.

Yet another one of Gracia's stressful near-death experiences.

Only this time… it was different…

She wasn't asleep because Sleep was affecting her brain as it had so many times before, and she wasn't weak with blood loss like she had been when the Akuma had slashed her neck open.

She was covered, head to toe, in burns, some, if not most, of which could/would require skin grafts.

And from where? She had no skin on her body available for grafting; it was all burned.

She'd need a donor… and a blood transfusion… and rest… and _so __many __painkillers_…

But that was all fine; Komui could concoct her something that would cut her recovery time down by half, two-thirds, three-quarters…

What wasn't fine was how close she had come to death this time, and not in a way that was easy to fix.

She could have really… really…

…Suddenly, he didn't feel like they were close enough.

Suddenly, there were so many things he wanted to do with her, so many things he wanted to say.

Suddenly, he felt like they didn't have enough time.

He'd always known and warned her that if she wasn't careful, she could really die on a mission, but it suddenly _dawned_ on him that she could _die __on __a __mission_.

It was suddenly that much more _real_.

As soon as she came back, he would pull her close and… and…

…He had to prioritize; had to slow down and think. Because as soon as she got back, was tended to and healed, she could easily be sent out again.

So, during the time she was back, he had to think about which things he wanted to do with her that were the most important.

Meaning that, before she got back, he had to be ready.

As Komui stood and prepared to walk out of his office, it suddenly hit him that he was betraying Brigitte's trust…

…Ten seconds later, he was out the door.

Nothing mattered more than this.


	105. PSR: Record Influx Pt 3

Today, we're dishing out props to **Ryo Hoshi**, again for help with medical terminology. **Ryo**'s such a good medical consultant…

Oh, and congrats to any college/university students who just complete their semesters! ^ . ^ Enjoy your breaks while you have 'em!

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia woke and passed out in agony several times; three times in rooms she didn't recognize surrounded by Asian faces in white uniforms she didn't know, and every time after that in Asian Branch, usually with Sammo Han Won hovering over her as he changed her bloodstained bandages.

How much was she bleeding to need bandage changes that often…?

…Or was it better asked… how long was she out for for her bandages to be soaking up that much blood?

_Awake. Pain. Screaming._

_Black. Nightmares. Fear._

_Awake. Blood. Bandages._

_Black. Lucid. Agony._

_Awake. Sammo. Crying._

_Black. Hot. Suffocating._

_How. Many. Days._

_Passed. Like. This?_

One time she woke, she was on an operating table.

_The color drained out of the face of the nurse who noticed her eyes move, and then a washcloth was being draped over her face and a slight burn ran up her arm._

One time she woke, Lorelei and Lenalee were hovering over her.

_They were both crying. Lenalee saw her awake, first, and cried out, trying to talk to her. Lorelei followed suit. She couldn't understand them through the cotton and static in her ears._

Another time she woke, Bak and Komui were at her bedside, talking.

_Bak nodded to Komui when he saw her open her eyes, and Komui turned to look down at her, glasses slipping down and flecked with wetness, dark circles under his eyes. Komui hurried to her side, reaching out, but everything went black._

Yet another time she woke, Komui was sitting at her bedside, this time with his head resting by her arm.

_She thought she saw Katherine melt out of the shadows and reach for him. She screamed and thrashed, summoning agony and waking Komui, but, again, before he could do anything the world went black._

When she finally woke, and stayed awake, she realized she was in a new place, and it wasn't Asia; she was finally back home, in the medical ward of the European Branch.

And she wasn't in heavy, hot, stifling, blood-soaked bandages anymore…

Thank god, they'd drugged her so well she'd slept through it all…

Despite the fact that she was still riding on a cloud of painkillers, she could still feel something… off… about how she felt in her body…

…And it made her afraid to move.

What was the last thing she remembered?

Why was she in the hospital again?

What kind of hurt had damaged her body?

…How bad was it?

She tried to keep from moving, she really did… but an involuntary muscle spasm started up beneath her eye, and continued for five seconds…

…Five of the longest seconds of her life…

…As the muscle continuously twitched, it tweaked the muscles that ran down the side of her face, which ran into the muscles in her neck, which tweaked the muscles in her chest…

…She got lightheaded, panic made her stomach and chest twist, her body went cold… She experienced various reactions related to terror when she felt how tight, how cracked, how… leathery and dilapidated her own body felt…

…Burn.

Sleep had… always burned her…

When it invoked to let her know it was on, when she was stressed to remind her that it was there, when she exceeded her limits and set new ones to clue her in on its new transformations and abilities…

…And… when she pushed herself too far or crossed one too many lines… its burns had even left physical marks on her before, usually on her wrist…

…Or… like when she had used Ultima's Eschaton… wrist_s_.

…Those marks, though, had, unnaturally, faded…

…But this…

…She remembered now… she'd used Ultima again… and the attack… had… her whole body… had…

A loud, thick, crinkly noise filled the air, like someone was crumpling a giant sheet of paper, and it took her a moment to realize that it was her lungs – her own, dried out lungs – as she hyperventilated.

And it only made it worse.

And then she felt her heart pounding strongly but slowly in her throat, on the back of her tongue, and then a machine was beeping loudly and _quickly_, and then the crinkling from her breathing got louder and she was possessed by the urge to _move_, to get up and _run __away_, to _get __away_ from all of this, but when she moved the beeping of the loud machine she couldn't see was accompanied by another loud beeping, this one more a blaring, really, and a red light started flashing somewhere in her room, and—

"Gracia!"

She jerked and pressed herself back against the bed again when a form suddenly leaned over her, an involuntary scream leaving her mouth and the beeping machine getting louder and more frantic over the steady blaring and the flashing lights.

The person quickly, too quickly, said several 'soothing' things to her and leaned away, the blaring alarm and the lights stopping a moment later before they leaned back in, though Gracia still couldn't make out who it was so she cringed away and closed her eyes when they reached out for her.

Whatever she had been expecting when she cringed away, though, hadn't come; instead, she was showered with the barest and gentlest of touches, trembling lips brushing hers and then her eyelids, breath uncomfortably warm against her face when coupled with her own too-high body temperature as whoever it was whispered.

_Oh, thank God you're okay, shh, shh, it's alright, you're okay now, you're awake, don't worry we'll you comfortable when your pain drip runs out and gets refreshed, shh, it's okay, I'm here, I promise, you're okay, you're awake and you're going to be okay…_

Her rapid, shallow breathing, her dropping heart rate, her shaking and panic… it all calmed. Slowly, but it calmed.

Gracia shuddered and slowly, slowly relaxed as the gentle touches and soothing murmurs continued, at first soundlessly moving her mouth in an effort to talk, and then to kiss back when the lips brushed hers again.

A few times, she absently felt the fingers that were brushing her break off a dried and dead piece of flesh here and there, said fingers trembling as if with terror every time they did, but she didn't really feel pain in what he was brushing off… The pain was more… deep-set… but _everywhere_…

Besides… she found it easier to ignore the departing skin as she focused on who was above her…

"Gracia…" He murmured, his voice hoarse and choked with emotion, "Gracia, please…"

Again, she moved her mouth against his in an effort to talk, taking a moment to… try to will some moisture into her throat so her dried vocal cords wouldn't just shatter when they flexed…

"…_k-k_…_oh_…_muu_…_ee_…" Dear lord, was she grateful his name only had one harsh consonant in it…

The kisses and soft caresses stopped and she blinked open eyes she didn't remember closing as Komui pulled back and stared down at her, shocked.

"…Gracia…?" He croaked, though not nearly as horribly as her, "A-Are you… awake?" He shuddered, quickly muttering, "Of course you're awake, you've been waking up on and off, but," Again, his voice slowed and strengthened a bit as he addressed her, "Are you… coherent…?"

"…_Ko-mui_…" She could only manage to whisper his name again, hardly able to comprehend the rest of what he had said, "_Ko_… _mui_…"

"Y-Yes, yes, I'm here." The caresses resumed with a weak laugh, "Don't worry, I'm here…"

Good… he was there… That made her feel calmer…

Now… the question… she didn't particularly want an answer to… but she…

"…H-How…" She croaked, cringing, whimpering when she swallowed dry, but forcing herself to go on, "Bad…?"

…For a while, she didn't get an answer; just more strokes and pets, though they were now hesitant.

"…Better." Komui finally whispered, his strokes getting less hesitant and more confident, but still staying so gentle, so ginger, as if he were afraid she'd crumble and turn to dust, "So much better. And since the doctors at Jishuitan burn ward didn't think it would get this much better this quickly, we're all sure that it's like the other times Sleep burned you; if it scars at all, it'll be light. You'll be okay." His voice tapered a bit at the end and broke, and she could hear him swallow a choked sound, as if he were saying it for himself as much as he was for her.

…What else… did she need… to ask… while she still could…

"…Kah… n… da…" She managed after a bit, remembering who she had last been with, "Lor… eh… lie… Al… le—"

"Shh, no more." Komui pressed his lips to hers to get her to stop talking, and she could actually feel how _moist_ his body was through his breath, "Don't think about anything outside of this room. Focus on yourself. Focus on getting better, okay? We'll all be that much better after you get better."

After thinking on it for a moment, Gracia gave in with a dry, pained sigh.

"…I have something," Komui murmured after a bit, pulling away, "Something that might help… I usually give it to parasite types, but… the human body is the human body. I just need you to drink this, okay?"

Gracia inclined her head in a weak nod, her lips splitting and cracking as she pursed them around the rim of the bottle Komui pressed to her mouth.

She couldn't help letting out a painful cry when he cautiously cupped the back of her head and eased her upright as much as he dared, whimpering over his sympathetic hisses and multiple apologies as he tipped the bottle slowly.

When the contents of the bottle spilled over her lips and started to flood her mouth, she nearly choked and gagged; it didn't taste unpalatably unpleasant, and it didn't make her sick, but feeling something so _thick_ and _wet_ and having something trying to _moisturize_ her body after it had gotten so _dry_… She almost couldn't take it.

…But she did take it.

And the thick, wet syrup slid through her mouth, over her tongue and down her throat inch by initially maddeningly painful and itchy inch, the going so slow it had time to seep into her skin, to moisturize, and to go from uncomfortable to refreshing and _relieving_.

Even if it didn't heal her like Komui was hoping it would, it was doing a better job of restoring her bodily fluids than the fluid bag she was hooked up to. It even slicked her lips when too much spilled, bringing her bloody and broken skin relief.

Komui murmured to her in Mandarin, which she was too incoherent to understand but liked so much at the moment because, for some reason, hearing a language other than English soothed her heated and frazzled mind. He had her keep drinking, keep drinking until it was all gone, pulling the bottle away and running a finger over her lips to gently work the syrup deeper into the cracks.

It felt _so __good_… Even when it felt too thick on her tongue and she was tempted to try to swallow to clear her mouth it, she was still feeling so much better…

"How's that…?" Komui asked gently as she cautiously tried to swallow a bit.

Swallowing got a bit more of the syrup down her throat, but without her salivary glands producing anything she wasn't able to get rid of it all, so she stuck with nodding slightly, looking up at him… and taking a moment to _really_ look at him.

Like he had been the last time she'd woken, he was pale, and he had dark circles under his eyes and his eyes were rimmed with red…

Gracia went to say his name, but her voice failed her, so she only ended up mouthing it as she weakly lifted her hand.

Automatically, her mind shifted her focus completely to Komui, trying to block out how _black_ and _split_ and _bloody_ her skin was in between the areas she could see on her hand out of the corner of her periphery…

And, with her focus on Komui, she was able to brush the pain off enough to reach out and touch the side of his face… part of her warming (thankfully in a metaphorical, sentimental way rather than a physical way, as she was still feeling way too hot in her own skin) when Komui didn't flinch at her likely unpleasant touch.

'Likely' because, unlike him, she couldn't really use her sense of touch anymore; her fingers could register that something was pressed against her pads, but she couldn't discern details like texture and temperature…

"…Sl… eep…" Gracia croaked after thinking for a moment, "You… need sleep… Been waiting… worried… so long… Starting… look sick…"

Komui smiled at her weakly, raising his hand and pressing his palm against the back of her flakey, burnt hand, pressing it closer to his face, "Not a chance. Now that you're awake, your daily debridement treatment is going to be even more traumatic than it has been previously, and I'm not leaving you alone for your first conscious treatment."

…Debridement…

Gracia blinked.

…What was debridement?

* * *

She would never let Sleep burn her again.

Despite the local anesthetic they had given her, what she was feeling wasn't the 'mild discomfort' they had described to her.

It was pain.

And it had her dry, cracked throat bleeding as she screamed.

As it turned out, debridement, or the removal dead/damaged/infected tissue, could be done in several different ways, some better used for certain types of tissue removal.

The least painful route, something called 'autolytic debridement,' wasn't an option, as the process used the body's own enzymes and moisture… And Gracia's epidermis was so extensively damaged that, in some places, she practically had no enzymes or moisture.

The fastest route, 'enzymatic debridement,' also wasn't an option; enzymatic was usually used when necrosis set in, and because Sleep was affecting how she healed, her skin wasn't necrotic.

After that, there were only two more methods… 'mechanical' and 'surgical debridement,' easily the two most painful forms of the procedure.

And because her wounds varied in severity from location to location, the doctors decided to use both, each use depending on how bad the damage was per location.

And so, despite having been 'anesthetized,' Gracia was awake, staring at the ceiling and screaming her throat raw as scalpels cut and scraped away skin in some areas, while once white bandages came away with huge flakes of black-edged, dry, bloody, and even some yellow fluid-stained sloughs of skin grafted to their undersides where the once-wet-and-now-dry cloth had fused with the epidermis.

The only thing she had to be mildly thankful for was the fact that the medical technicians had, indeed, accommodated the situation so Komui could stay by her side; while she had doctors and nurses lining both sides and the end of the bed she was on, the bed, itself, had been moved away from the wall so Komui could stand behind her and lean over, his hands holding the sides of her face and his forehead pressed against hers as he murmured unintelligibly over her screams.

It wasn't fair.

She was supposed to be under the influence of anesthesia, and she was even subconsciously crying out for Sleep's help but it…

It wasn't… answering…

Why… Why wasn't it answering?

What… had she done… this time…

…What Gracia didn't know was that the doctors had had to take Sleep off for the procedure.

And Sleep had let them.

* * *

Once the daily debridement treatments were done, Komui sat by Gracia's unconscious body haggardly, staring at her slightly less charred and now more raw form.

Sleep's chain chimed softly as he absentmindedly spun it around in his shaking hands, knowing he should put it back on her so it could go back to helping her heal the wounds it had caused, like it had done before, but reluctant to considering how… damaged her wrist and finger looked.

Every time he made to put it back on her, the bracelet and ring resized themselves, widening so it would be easier for him to slip them on, but he… he couldn't do it… No matter how wide they made themselves, it would still clench down on her raw, tender flesh; it would still apply pressure and cause pain.

And so, every time he made to put it back on, only to pull it back towards his lap, Sleep would, almost patiently, widen its bands only to shrink them down again.

It didn't heat for him like it did her, and it wasn't ice cold in its resting form; it absorbed his bodily heat and maintained it as long as he touched the area, then lost it when he stopped touching the area. It reacted like normal jewelry, save the automatic resizing.

…And… despite it having been taken off without her consent… Sleep didn't lash out at him.

In fact it…

…It was heavy in his hands.

And every time he started to get upset while thinking about Gracia, it seemed to get heavier, as if reminding him that it was there.

Almost as if it was…

"…I get it." Komui rasped without looking at the Innocence, "After seeing so many Exorcists get hurt, I get it. Power has a price. But what… is she supposed to learn when the damage is so extensive she can't even think? What are you trying to do for her this time?" Komui looked down at the slave bracelet in his hands, "It seems like every time you hurt her, you have a reason for it; first you wanted her to heal, then you wanted her to reconnect, then you wanted her to start distancing herself from you, but this time… What do either of you have to gain?"

At that, it was confirmed that Sleep was, indeed, gaining weight on and off, because it suddenly felt like Komui was holding a thirty-pound weight.

Sleep fell out of Komui's unprepared hands, bumping against something hollow in his coat pocket as it slid off of his lap and clanged to the floor.

And, at the hollow sound, Komui remembered that he had something in his pocket.

Komui's eyes widened and the color drained from his face as he stared down at the slave bracelet on the floor.

Slowly, with numb, shaking fingers, he reached into his pocket and grabbed the object inside, swallowing harshly as he pulled it out.

And as he braced his arm against his leg and uncurled his fingers to show the small black box in his palm, Sleep's silver surface seemed to shine before it dulled.


	106. PSR: Record Influx Pt 4

Sowwy I'm late; I got caught up in surgery.

I didn't want to bring this up here, because I'm not much of a political person, but the development of a certain situation on Capitol Hill is starting to disturb me…

Do yourselves a favor today and educate yourselves a bit: Go to Wikipedia and and search "SOPA", the "Stop Online Piracy Act".

Now, while no one should be in favor of online piracy, anyone who wants their rights on the Internet to stay as they are should oppose this bill; hiding behind a title representing good intentions, what you have here is a bill that will enforce governmental restrictions on the United States Internet similar to those that are currently in use in China.

What this bill would do is _completely_ shut down websites that infringe on a _very widely defined_ "piracy". An example of known and popular sites this bill would completely shut down is as follows:

deviantART

Wikipedia (Actually, Jimmy Wales is suggesting that he'll _willingly_ blackout Wikipedia if SOPA passes.)

YouTube

Flickr

Facebook

Wikia

F F . net (?)

Enough to disturb you yet?

Here is a list of big names who _oppose_ this bill (and understand it way better than me):

Google

Yahoo!

Twitter

AOL

eBay

Mozilla

Wikimedia Foundation

Tumblr

Silicone Valley

Visa

The Los Angeles Times

The New York Times

45 different international human rights advocates

(For more, Google "List of Those Expressing Concern With SOPA and PIPA")

Furthermore, e-commerce businesses like PayPal will not longer be able to allow their users to make transactions with websites, both within and outside of the US, that infringe on SOPA's proposed barriers.

Now, what can you do…? Well, if you're under the age of 13, nothing, really, as COPPA says that those under the age of 13 who use the Internet need their parent's consent to do so, and I can't imagine many 13-and-under-year-olds who come here have their parents consent to do so (and, even if they do, there's a strong possibility their parents don't know this site very well), but if you're a legal adult one thing you can do is exercise the right that every American (and every non-American who uses American-based websites) of voting age can:

Sign the dozens of petitions that are popping up all over the place on the Internet.

If you deviantART search "SOPA", the first result you should get should be one titled "SOPA, Internet Censorship, and You", a post made by DailyLitDeviations: in the artist's comment section, this person has a list of links to online petitions that are against SOPA; I would suggest the one that links you to **Change . org**, as it has the most signatures I have seen so far.

If you are aware of this bill and understand it better than I do (and there are dozens who do. ^ . ^' I'm not the most politically inclined person on the face of the planet) and think I didn't explain this adequately, I do apologize, though I think I did cover the gist of it. If you who didn't know about this read up on it, you'll probably get a better idea of what's going on here…

Basically, the government is trying to go The Great Firewall of China (Wiki it) on us, and frankly, I'm of the opinion that the government is stomping all over our Constitutional right to Freedom of the Press by punishing everyone in the United States (and the rest of the world, because a lot of the common websites we use aren't based in the US) just because one person can't figure out how to properly attribute an idea to the original creator.

To quote Mike Masnick of Techdirt in his criticism of the bill, "one could argue that the entire Internet enables or facilitates infringement"; the government clearly has no idea how monumentally stupid they're being, and doesn't care how many people they would be putting out of a job with this (it's not just the shutting down of these sites that's bad, you see; a lot of these sites contribute _heavily_ to their corner of the market, so this could also f*** the US over financially, something we don't need right now).

*sighs* And that was my ill-educated and depressing rant of the month. Now, on with the chapter:

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"…I can't believe this…" The doctor behind her murmured.

Gracia shuddered and clenched her jaw, her head involuntarily twitching to the side at the unbearable _itchiness_ that prickled her back as the doctor, tweezers in one hand, pulled a long, soft strip of dead skin from her back, following the action with a swipe of a cold, wet cotton ball clamped between the teeth of a pair of forceps he held in his other hand. Fortunately, as much as it stung, the cotton ball and whatever it was soaked in were enough to soothe the itchiness.

"I… I just… can't… believe this…" Another strip was peeled away, the cotton ball following the motion once again.

"Aaaaaaah…" Gracia whined and tipped her head back, squirming, "Quit dragging it out… It's healed, okay? Just take some wet gauze or a towel or something and rub it all off! It iiiitcheesss…"

"…have to… finish… the therapy… properly…" Came the doctor's stunned muttering. He then peeled off another maddeningly long and itchy strip.

At that point, Gracia couldn't take it anymore; she turned, threw her legs back up onto the bed, laid down and started squirming back against the sheets, ignoring the doctor's yelping and indignant protests as she stripped the final layer of dead skin off of her back, herself. It was so sickeningly pleasurable that she openly moaned, sitting up and grabbing the edges of the sheets to pull them up against her back and drag them back and forth, as if she were toweling off after a shower.

At her bedside, the doctor and nurse assisting him could only watch in shock as Gracia continued to use the sheets like a towel, rubbing more dead skin off of her arms, chest, neck, stomach, legs, etc. to reveal the unmarred (if irritated pink) skin underneath.

When she stood and stripped off what minimal covering she had to continue, the doctor averting his eyes and the nurse closing hers with a sigh, an admonishing huff came from the other side of the room.

"Gracia, I know the past week has been frustrating, but try to maintain some de—"

"It's nothing they didn't see when they were doing my debridement treatments." Gracia cut Komui off with a half snort, half sigh and a glance in his direction, "And I didn't want to sit there for an hour as the doctor gave himself a panic attack over how well I healed."

"My apologies, General Solidor." Said doctor sighed, rolling his diverted eyes, "But you recovered from burns that ranged from first degree to second with both superficial and deep partial thickness in a matter of three weeks, not to mention you're hardly scarred… Innocence-related or not, I think I'm allowed to be a bit shocked."

"…I'm sorry." Gracia mumbled, turning back to him and sighing as she pulled the sheet around herself, "It… hasn't been fun… And I'm tired. Really, really tired."

"…Yes, well, it does happen." The doctor sighed, nodding and turning his attention to the nurse, who handed him a soft tube. "Supervisor," The doctor turned back to Komui and quirked a brow lightly, tube in hand, "I take it you'll be overseeing the rest of her recovery?"

"Yes." Komui immediately nodded, ignoring the questioning frown Gracia gave him as he stepped forward to take the tube from the doctor.

"Of course, you're familiar with silver sulfadiazine." The doctor picked up a nearby clipboard and looked it over, "Since she stripped the dead skin off of herself without allowing me to tend to the sensitive skin underneath, she'll now stand a greater risk of infection. Baths only for a week or so, no bar soap – the nurse will give you a gel substitute, and she'll need to have the sulfadiazine applied to her entire body twice daily – once in the morning and once after she bathes in the evening."

"…Understood." Komui smirked down in the tube at his hand slightly before slowly looking over at Gracia.

Gracia sighed, twitching and flushing lightly (and a bit painfully) as she rolled her eyes. Great. They'd given _him_ the lotion. Her flush only darkened, making her skin throb painfully, when the nurse giggled.

"Okay, are we done?" Gracia frowned slightly, looking at the doctor and starting to feel some irritation, "Can I have Sleep back now?" She hadn't seen Sleep since her first conscious debridement treatment; she hadn't been able to sleep, and was irritable.

"Sleep?" The doctor looked over at her from his clipboard, blinking, "We didn't take Sleep from you."

Gracia's eyes widened, a spike of panic running through her as she opened her mouth, only to be cut off.

"Ah, I have it, actually." Komui spoke up sheepishly, reaching into his uniform jacket pocket and fumbling around when Gracia looked over at him sharply. His fumblings first produced a small black box, which he immediately dropped back into his pocket before pulling out Sleep.

Gracia was crossing the room as soon as she saw the flash of silver, taking it from him and slipping it onto her right wrist and middle finger as both bracelet and ring resized themselves.

"Sorry…" Komui was mumbling as she shuddered and hugged the slave bracelet to her chest, "They had to take it off for your treatments, and you looked so raw afterwards that I was afraid to put it back on you… I never let it leave my person, though." He assured quickly when she looked up at him, "Save when I left it with you so you could keep in contact with it, it was always in my pocket."

"…You kept Sleep on you." Gracia's eyes flickered across Komui's face searchingly, "And it… didn't do anything to you?"

"It didn't." Komui confirmed with a quick nod, "Not even the slightest bump, nudge or pulse."

"…" Gracia closed her eyes and shuddered in relief, both at the safety of Komui and Sleep. If anything had happened to either of them…

"C'mon," She blinked and snapped out of her thoughts when Komui pressed his hand against her lower back, starting to lead her to the door, "Let's get you back to your room, bathed, dressed and in bed."

Gracia nodded, mumbling a quick, muted thanks at the doctor and the nurse as Komui led her out of the room, and then out of the medical ward completely.

He kept his hand on her lower back, and she kept the sheet hugged to herself tightly as they walked through the halls, everyone giving them a wide berth and no one making any teasing remarks about Komui not being at his desk.

Briefly, she wondered what sorts of rumors had been spreading when word of her injuries had (surely) gotten around…

"Gracia…" Komui mumbled as they approached her room, his hand going into his jacket pocket to fiddle with something, "There's something… I have to tell you… Well, ask, really."

"Hmm?" Gracia looked up at him, blinking as he opened the door for her, "What is it?"

"W-Well, you see—"

As soon as the door was open, a pair of slim, feminine arms that ended in long-fingered hands with crimson nails reached out and wrapped themselves around Gracia's neck, pulling her into an embrace as a pair of crimson lips pressed against her forehead.

"Gracia…" Katherine murmured. "Thank heavens…"

Gracia's eyes widened and she slowly started to tense up, her stomach clenching.

Damn it… Katherine had followed her back to the Order.

* * *

"What in the hell is she doing here? !" Gracia hissed as she paced her room, ignoring Komui's attempts to get her to calm down and bathe so he could apply her medicine and lay her down for a nap.

Komui sighed heavily, admitting in a low mumble, "After your accident, I panicked. I called Nalbina to tell them what was happening, and I didn't really bother to ask which "Lady" the maid who answered turned me over to, so as soon as I heard a female voice, I told her everything, only to later find out that Katherine and Alexander had stayed in Nalbina to help Mathilda, and that Katherine was the one I had told everything to… She was here the moment you got transferred from Asian Branch."

Gracia shuddered, remembering a 'dream' she had had while she had been out of it… "…She touched you, didn't she? She… 'comforted' you."

"Gracia, there wasn't any ill intent behi—"

"I'll fucking kill her." Gracia was hissing as she turned and started to storm to the door.

"Gracia!" She spun around in a flash to glare up at Komui, only to twitch and deflate slightly at the wide-eyed, almost terrified look he was giving her as he held her by her waist. "…You swore." He murmured softly, "…You swore, even though she hasn't done anything."

"Komui," Gracia started in a growl, "You don't—"

"Gracia, you're scaring me."

Gracia froze, her anger deflating at the… utter sincerity on his face.

The wide, hurt, searching eyes, the lips thinned with the lower one caught between his teeth, the slightly furrowed brow, the way his slightly shaking fingers were digging into her back…

Swallowing and feeling a pain in her chest, Gracia forced herself to calm down, lowering her eyes and looking away guiltily.

"…What exactly is it about Katherine," Komui started in a soft voice tinged with hesitance after a bit, "That makes you so angry…?"

"…She's… poisonous." At the questioning frown on his face, Gracia's frustration flared and she went back to scowling, pulling away from him, "Forget it; you wouldn't understand. I don't want her touching you, alright? Let's leave it at that."

Komui frowned down at her, "…Gracia, she can't hurt me—"

Feeling an uncharacteristic amount of cynicism, Gracia snorted and rolled her eyes before heading towards the bathroom with heavy steps.

As she thought, he didn't _get_ it. He couldn't just _take __her __word_ for it.

"Couldn't hurt him"? Katherine didn't _need_ to touch people to hurt them. She didn't even need to _act __hostile_ to hurt them. A few 'innocent,' well-placed words from her mouth could cause irreparable damage.

They weren't in Nalbina anymore; they weren't teamed up to help Mathilda. Now it was just them: Gracia and Katherine.

And, after she'd seen how independent Gracia had become, Katherine had expressed an… unsettling level of interest…

…And not just in Gracia's personal development…

…She'd expressed an interest in Komui…

Gracia knew that death threat she had left hanging over her cousin's head wouldn't hold for long; if there was one pastime Katherine loved above all others, it was testing the waters…

Behind Gracia, Komui was silent as she ran a bath and stripped herself of her robe, sliding in. When he walked over and sat on the lid of the toilet with a sigh, leaning back against the tank and staring at the wall in front of him, Gracia glanced over and… instantly felt guilty.

"…I'm sorry…" She mumbled, "It's just… Katherine and I… We just don't get along. She's dangerous; can you take my word on that?"

"…It's not looking like I have a choice." Komui murmured, not looking at her, "Katherine has yet to show any signs of being hostile, but your reaction… You've never gotten like this when there was nothing obvious to be upset about. She's obviously done some things in the past that put you on edge, and you obviously don't think she's gotten better with age…"

…Oh, there were so many things Gracia could tell Komui about Katherine.

And there wasn't just the incident with the maid who had gotten pregnant by Ricky; Katherine had had her hand in many Solidor scandals and tragedies…

Aunt Imogene's suicide.

Uncle Bartholomew's infidelity after twenty years of trouble-free marriage.

Young cousin Derrick skinning his mother's cat.

Katherine's _own __mother_ getting addicted to several illegal substances… and her father's subsequent rage that had led to him beating his wife…

Though there was no proof that linked Katherine to any of it other than the fact that she had been around for all of the incidents, Gracia still… _knew_.

And nothing was about to change her mind.

…Still… because there was no evidence, Gracia couldn't tell Komui. She could have told him about the incident with the pregnant maid, but…

…Gracia… didn't want Komui mixed up in her family if he didn't have to be, and that included keeping such family stories from him.

She wanted one thing in her life that Katherine and the other Solidors couldn't touch…

"…What exactly has she done… and said?"

"Gracia…" Komui sighed.

"You said you were taking my word for this." Gracia looked back over Komui, torn between frustration and desperation. Even though it wasn't his fault, it was starting to grate on her that he was trying to defend Katherine…

"…She hasn't done anything." Komui said, frowning as his voice started to get a bit firm, "She came to check on you, she was upset, she was given a room to stay in and, other than coming out frequently to check on you and infrequently eat, she hasn't left it. When she talked to me, it was only to check on you and, passively, seek some comfort."

"I woke up once and she was walking up behind you. She was reaching out for you—"

"Which was why you panicked that time…" Komui murmured, his expression softening yet again, "…I was upset, initially, to the point where several felt the need to comfort me. Katherine was one of them; she hugged me, Gracia. That's it."

"She touched you." Gracia shook slightly, her anger building again.

"Gracia, it was just a hu—"

"I told her not to touch you. She knew better."

"It wasn't a big deal!"

"It _was_, even if you don't know it! I told her that if she touched you, I'd—" Gracia tensed and bit her tongue, cutting herself off, quickly looking away when Komui stared at her with intensity, curiosity and confusion.

After several moments of silence… he got it.

…Sometimes, Gracia almost found herself wishing her partner wasn't as smart as he was.

"…That day in Nalbina… when I'd first met her… you wouldn't let me take her hand. You didn't want me to touch her. You said you'd 'talked about it' the previous night. …She said something that upset you, and you've been on edge about letting her near me since then. …You threatened her that night, and she consciously ignored that threat and did what she knew you didn't want her to."

Gracia dug her nails into her palms, the water rippling as her breathing changed.

"More than that," Komui went on, "She did it in a way that assured you would find out that she'd broken the boundaries you had set… And she made sure that after you had gotten out of the medical ward, as I was escorting you back to your room, you would know that she was not only here, but that she'd been around me while you were unconscious."

"Starting to see just what kind of person she is, yet?" Gracia, admittedly, was feeling a bit bitter. He'd said he would take her word, but he hadn't; it hadn't dawned on him until he'd drawn his own conclusion.

"…Yes." Komui sighed, shaking his head and rubbing the bridge of his nose, "…What exactly does she have to gain by doing this? Is it because of our relationship? You're not Mathilda's successor; Mathilda wouldn't be happy about us, but it's not like it's anything Katherine can get you into major trouble for…" He paused, then looked at Gracia worriedly, "Is she looking to slander your branch of the Solidor family?"

"If it were Alexander or Benjamin doing something like this, I'd say yes…" Gracia mumbled, taking the medicated gel soap the nurse had given to her and starting to wash her reddened, puffy skin slowly and with her bare hands, "But Katherine doesn't particularly need a reason." Gracia paused, thinking, then sighed, "Renault… told me recently that Kate has some… mental complications. The only time she's not a real threat is when she's traveling and working; I don't know… it's therapeutic for her and it tires her out. When she has to stay stationary, though…"

"…She schemes." Komui filled in, "She plots. She seeks a sadistic level of control over the lives of those who interest her." Komui stared at Gracia incredulously, "How long has she been like this?"

"…" Gracia sighed, washing her chest and stomach slowly, "Even when I was a child, Mother didn't want me interacting with Kate. I think she… had a feeling that there was something wrong with her. Kate's parents, though, either wouldn't listen to reason, or Kate was good at hiding her problems in front of psychiatrists; I don't know. When I reached a certain age, Mother made sure that Kate and I didn't have a chance to interact anymore, and she did it more aggressively than she had initially." Gracia paused, glancing at Komui, "She forbade Kate's parents from ever bringing her to Nalbina again."

"…" Komui continued staring at Gracia, "…This isn't just about what Katherine did as a child. You're convinced she's only gotten even more dangerous with age… What exactly… did she do when she was youn—"

"I'm not telling you that." Gracia cut Komui off, "So save yourself the trouble of asking."

To his credit, Komui didn't balk, didn't look angry, didn't frown and try to protest… He just looked hurt, "…You're angry with me for pushing the issue after I told you I believed what you said."

"Yes." Gracia went back to washing herself, "But that's not why I won't tell you. I'm not going to tell you because I don't want you anywhere near the Solidor family and their issues any more than you need to be." At the ensuing silence, Gracia looked back over, blinking when she saw the hurt look on his face had intensified.

…Guilt and panic set in at just _how __hurt_ he looked. In a flash, all of her previous irritation, anger and frustration were gone.

"Komui?"

"…You don't want me involved in your familial affairs…" Komui murmured, his eyes slowly lowering and sliding to the side, "You don't… trust…"

…Oh _shit_.

Water splashed and soaked the ground as Gracia stumbled to her feet as quickly as she could and got out of the bath, her feet slipping on the tile and making her reach out with her arms to brace herself, one hand against the counter and the other against the lid on top of the tank of the toilet, making her box Komui in.

She didn't correct her positioning, though, no matter how much it laid her out.

She had to rectify and clarify before the hurt set in too deep.

"It is _not_ like that _at __all_." When he didn't look at her, the tip of her nose and her eyes started to burn and she cupped his jaw with one hand, tipping his head, "Komui, look at me. _Please_." When he did look at her, it hurt to see the guarded look on his face, and she didn't do anything about her watering eyes or her tightening throat as she started to speak, "I don't want you involved in _their_ familial affairs. Not '_mine_' or '_ours_,' but '_theirs_.'"

Komui simply blinked slowly, a brief, questioning look flashing across his face.

She clung to that glimmer of hope; he wanted her to elaborate, so he wasn't to the point where he wouldn't listen.

"Part of me will always be linked to them," Gracia started slowly, thinking her words over carefully, as always, "No matter what I do or where I go. But what I have with you…" Her hand shook against his cheek slightly, "What I have with you has _nothing_ to do with them and that part of me. What I have with you was born when, in my mindset, I had no connection to them. And because of that, _you_ and _that __part __of __me_ and what we have has _no __reason_ to get sullied in their affairs. I'm still connected to them by blood, and for the most part, that's the only thing that makes me continue to interact with the Solidor family. But _you_, Komui… What I have with you… To me, you're more than they…" She trailed off as she ran out of words and strength, lowering her head and focusing on her breathing and the way the tears dripped down onto Komui's lap to keep from breaking down.

To her, Komui was more her family than most of the Solidors, and anything she did to keep them apart was only done to protect him and the _family_ she had made with him.

After a pause, a moment of silence… Gracia let Komui's large, slightly rough, familiar hands tip her head up, a weak noise melting from her mouth into his when he gently pulled her close.

"I love you." Her words were muffled as his tongue slid along her lip before gently slipping further in, "I love you…"

"I know." Komui assured her consolingly as he pulled her down onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her still naked and soaked body as his mouth trailed up to her forehead, "I'm sorry… I love you, too."

Gracia shuddered and curled up against him slightly, pressing her forehead to his shoulder.

"…Let's get you to bed, hmm?" Komui rubbed her back, "I still need to rub that cream onto your body…"

"…You're such a pervert." Gracia smiled weakly and stood, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around herself as she walked into the bedroom.

* * *

"…Only for you." Komui murmured after her.

Almost unconsciously, one of his now wet hands slipped into his pocket, fingers wrapping around the small black box inside.


	107. PSR: Record Influx Pt 5

XD Your whines… your demands… they feed me! *cackles*

For those of you who are waiting for _it_ (you know who you are and what "it" I'm referring to…), your complaints will be addressed soon… Maybe. *snerk*

^ . ^ In the meantime, be on the lookout today for some side-story fluff~! I'm going to be publishing a separate collection of scenes I wanted to add to the main canon but never had the chance to (prodding to do so given a la **Ryo**). (**Ryo**, if you're out there, I hope you're okay… Don't overwork yourself on that blanket! And make sure you try to go to bed _before_ your internal heater shuts off, nyan? It's getting really freakin' cold…)

I'll also be posting a Yullen one-shot as **Inuyoshie**'s Christmas present. XD Oh, I've wanted a reason to do a Yullen…

Merry Christmas, all~! See you in three days~!

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

When Gracia woke after a long, heavy nap, it was to Komui easing her clothes off, the tube of silver sulfadiazine between them as he sat by her legs and pulled her sleep pants off of her.

"…That's right…" Gracia scowled slightly, making him glance at her as he continued stripping her, "Before the mission… I was mad at you. You'd stripped me and put me in that skimpy slip."

Komui's hands twitched as he faltered, and then he sighed and lowered his head, shamefaced as he admitted meekly, "Yes."

"Why?" Gracia glared at him, her brow twitching.

"You were upset!" Komui whined, looking back up at her and keening pathetically, "I wanted to get your mind off of Mathilda's praise, and annoying you was the easiest way I knew how!"

"…So you stripped me and put me in something see-thru."

"Well…" Komui smiled sheepishly, rubbing his neck, "It had the added bonus of me being able to strip you and see you in something see-thru."

…She was actually going to go through with it this time.

This time, she was actually going to have to use Alucinari on him.

"I swear I have a good reason to this time, though." Komui smiled down at her cheekily as he pulled her upper body into his arms, lips brushing her forehead before he pulled her shirt off, "You fell asleep before I could medicate you!"

Immediately, Gracia's eyes widened and she rolled away from Komui and onto her stomach, making to crawl awa—

"Ah-ah-aaah…" Komui chuckled into Gracia's ear darkly as he grabbed her waist, pressing his chest to her back as he pulled her hips back towards him, "You're not going anywhere…"

"K-Komui…" She shuddered and cursed her breathy, stuttering voice…

"Don't worry…" One of Komui's hands pulled away and she heard a soft click come from behind her. When his hand came back, his palm was slippery and it began rubbing something cool and wet onto her stomach, "I'm just applying your medicine…"

"S-St-aaa… Aaaaahhh…" Her protests were lost in a moan and her hands scrambled against the bed uselessly as Komui's hand reached up and cupped one side of her chest before sliding back down…

* * *

Flushing, twitching and mortified, Gracia stayed lying stomach-down on the bed as Komui kissed her shoulder before pulling away, his thumbs working themselves deep into the dimples of her lower back a bit longer.

Mortified as she was, she couldn't stop herself from moaning more, her eyes sliding shut again and her hands fisting the bed sheets.

Eyes closed and facing downward, she could focus solely on the sensation of Komui's warm, slightly rough palms sliding up and down her back slowly, the tips of his fingers tracing meaningless patterns deep, deep into her muscles…

Slowly… slowly, the mortification started to abate, giving way to an actual _desire_… which resulted in her moans only getting louder when Komui's hands slid down to her hips again.

Just as she was starting to (properly) give in, though, the heated tranquility was disturbed by voices walking down the hall.

"Oi! Kanda! Get back here! I'm not done with you yet, you jackass!"

Gracia and Komui glanced over their shoulders, blinking. That was Lorelei's voice…

Right outside of the bedroom door, Kanda's voice was heard grunting as footsteps walked on by.

Then, Lorelei's voice came again, louder as she got closer to the door, "I told you to get back here! You have to answer for what you did on that mission, asshole! What the fuck is wrong with you, abandoning Allen like that? !"

"Lorelei, really," Allen's voice sighed from behind Lorelei's, "Don't worry about it, _Ba_Kanda does that all of the—"

"That's no fucking excuse!"

"What did you call me, _Moyashi_…?"

"You guys, please!" Lenalee's voice joined the throng, and then—

"Now, children, really, some people in these halls are trying to sleep…"

Gracia tensed beneath Komui at the sound of Katherine's voice, then slid out from underneath him and stood, rushing over to her closet on wobbly legs and digging out a copy of her Exorcist uniform.

The sound of rustling clothes behind her told her that Komui was dressing like she was, and when she was done and turned around, he was already walking to the door.

Komui opened the door for her, and when Gracia stepped out and saw Katherine standing in front of Lenalee, smiling and holding out her hand to shake the girl's outstretched palm sh—

"_Katherine_…"

The eyes of the teens in the hall widened as the temperature dropped and the air got dense, Katherine's smile sharpening and a wince she couldn't restrain making her cheek twitch as the bones in her wrist ground audibly, Gracia's Sleep-laden hand gripping it tightly.

"I believe I told you…" Gracia looked up at Katherine from the corner of her eye without bothering to face her completely, a few strands of hair falling across her face and making her look more than slightly crazed, "That you aren't allowed to _touch __**anyone**_."

"Aaah, but Grace…" Katherine, a bit taller than Gracia, drew herself up smoothly and pressed closer to her cousin's side, long, dark brown hair forming a slight curtain as she leaned in and murmured, "If you don't _keep __me __company_, I get _bored_…"

"Then why don't you _go __back __to __Nalbina_?" Gracia hissed, her upper lip drawing back in a sneer, "You're not welcome here."

"I'll leave when I'm sure I don't have to worry about you anymore." Katherine's lips brushed Gracia's temple gently, and Gracia could practically _feel_ her teeth, "You really scared me this time around, Gracia…"

An unsettling silence engulfed the hall as the two female cousins glared at one another, one through a markedly disturbed smile and one through an uncharacteristic (Kanda-like) scowl.

"…Komui," Gracia started slowly after a bit, her eyes never leaving Katherine's, "Kate and I are going to go eat."

"…O… kay… Be careful, alright?"

"Don't worry, Supervisor Lee…" Katherine assured Komui with a smile, her eyes, like Gracia's, staying locked with her cousin's, "I'll take good care of my little cousin…"

Slowly, Gracia and Katherine turned and started to walk down the hall side-by-side, Katherine reaching out and taking Gracia's hand and Gracia squeezing harshly when the brunette laced their fingers, both of them leaving a still present uncomfortable silence behind them.

* * *

"…What… in the hell… was that?" Kanda asked slowly.

"…A typical exchange between those two, apparently." Komui mumbled in answer.

"…Mom apparently never liked Katherine and Gracia interacting." Lorelei started, sounding a bit shocked, "She said she didn't like how… obsessed Katherine seemed to be with her. I… didn't really take her seriously, but…"

Lenalee shuddered. Katherine had, indeed, seemed… nice at first, but… after Gracia had come out…

"…It is not an obsession. Miss Katherine genuinely loves her."

Still tense from the interaction between Katherine and Gracia, the group (minus Kanda and the silent Link) jumped slightly and turned around, exhaling loudly when they saw it was just Renault.

Komui frowned at him slightly, "Katherine 'loves' her?"

"Yes." Renault answered bluntly, nodding, "Much like how Miss Katherine has the ability to draw people in, Miss Katherine is drawn to Gracia. She has been since they were young, and whether it was born from a genuine emotion or not, what it has turned into is what someone with Miss Katherine's psychological state would consider familial love."

Komui stared at Renault, forgetting the teens in the hallway as he focused on more important things; namely, the source of the largest amount of discomfort and anger Komui had ever seen Gracia experience that wasn't related to Sleep.

"…If Katherine really 'loves' her, then why is she actively seeking ways to make Gracia angry at her?"

"Miss Katherine likes to test boundaries." Renault stared at Komui evenly, "And she wanted to meet you."

"…Meet _me_?" Komui blinked in confusion.

"Of course." One of Renault's brows rose ever so slightly, "Gracia's last relationship ended badly. As if someone like Miss Katherine would allow that to happen again to someone she loves."

Komui twitched and stared at Renault's back as the bodyguard/physician turned and walked off, the teenagers silently following suit soon after… save Lenalee, who slowly walked over to her brother's side when they were alone.

She watched him worriedly, her eyes flickering between his pale face and the hand he had in his pocket, which seemed to be clutching at something…

"…Brother?"

Slowly, Komui looked down at his sister, stiffening his arm slightly but otherwise not struggling when she gently took his wrist and pulled his hand out of his pocket. He watched her carefully, intently, as she gently pried his hand open, her eyes widening and a small gasp escaping her lips when she saw the small, black box in his palm.

"…Lenalee…" Komui started in a small voice, suddenly feeling very nervous and… scared, "I… uh…"

Before he could finish, Lenalee threw herself at her brother and wrapped her arms around him tightly, trying and failing to speak in thick, tearful Mandarin before she just stuck with nodding into his chest, tears soaking into his jacket.

Komui gave her a wavering smile and hugged her back.

* * *

"So, slumming it with the Asian commoner, hmm?" Katherine smiled at her cousin as she lifted a glass of fruit smoothie to her lips, "Not that I blame you, that is. Asians are cute." She sighed wistfully, "I think you must get that from my side of the family…" She sighed again, obviously thinking back to her bodyguard, Li, and taking a sip before blinking and looking down at her cup with a bright expression, "Well, isn't this tasty!"

Not answering and doing her best to pointedly ignore Katherine, Gracia stabbed at her salad, making sure she got some dressing-covered chicken on the fork alongside the lettuce leaves before putting it in her mouth.

"Oh, are we going back to ignoring me?" Katherine sighed, "Honestly, Grace, don't be like that, or we'll have a replay of the other night… I'll say something that will make you angry, you'll throw me down and threaten me again… Only this time, there will be so many witnesses—"

"I thought I told you not to touch Komui." Gracia looked up at her cousin flatly. If Katherine wanted to talk to her so badly, they wouldn't be shooting the breeze about Gracia's relationship.

"There we go." Katherine chimed calmly with a gentle smile, taking another sip of her smoothie before going on, "And, really, quit treating me like a leper. It's not like my 'problems' are contagious."

"Don't turn this back on me." Gracia's eyes narrowed slightly, "I told you not to touch him and you did. I mean it. Stay away from Komui and Lenalee… Stay away from the people in the Order in general. You won't find any of them to be interesting."

"Perhaps not," Katherine's smile turned lofty, "But the real _interest_ comes from your reactions to my 'interest' in them."

Gracia tensed, the fork in her hand coming close to bending as her voice took a low, warning tone, "Kate…"

"Fine, fine." Katherine sighed and lifted her hands, her eyes sliding away as her expression flattened to one of oblivious disinterest, "I'll only focus my 'interests' on you and the two Lees."

"_Kate_."

"Speaking of the two Lees," Katherine ignored the edge of a growl in Gracia's voice as she turned back to her, painted lips curling into the barest hint of a smile and eyes narrowing as she tipped her head, "Just how _close_ are you, really, to Komui? I know you two are sleeping together, but how deep is your relationship?"

"We've been over this, Kate." Gracia took a deep, calming breath as Sleep started to radiate heat around her still puffy wrist, against her still tender skin, "It's none of your business."

"Oh, but it is." Katherine's eyes narrowed a bit more, "I'm worried about you, Grace, and I won't let anyone hurt you again. Since you've reacted as badly as you have to me just _comforting_ him while you were injured, though, I thought I would try the direct approach and ask you."

Gracia sighed heavily and set her fork down, starting to lose her appetite, "Thank you for that, but it's still none of your business." She paused, then looked up at Katherine with a frown, "And what do you care if I get hurt or not? You routinely enjoy causing and watching the pain of others when you're not working…"

"…Not your pain, Grace." Katherine's expression softened slightly, "Not yours."

"…Why? Why me? Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"…Grace, do you remember how we met?"

Thrown off by the question, Gracia blinked at her cousin dumbly, opening and closing her mouth a few times before licking her lips and setting her jaw, torn between thinking about the question seriously and feeling suspicious.

"It was Christmas." Katherine sighed, her eyes slowly sliding off to the side again, "It had been a while since the family had done anything… familial together, so Silas, with quite a bit of bravery on his part, convinced Mathilda to invite everyone who cared to come to Nalbina to celebrate. It was where a lot of us who would later come to power in the family met for the first time… You, me, Xander, Ben, Landon and Gil… and a bunch of other quite inconsequential people."

Gracia's stare flattened slightly when Katherine shrugged and waved her hand dismissively. She then felt a bit… naked and vulnerable when Katherine turned back to her with an… almost frighteningly soft expression.

…She almost found herself wishing Katherine would go back to being subtly poisonous and mocking.

"I'd done something," Katherine went on, "As usual, to make those around me, which, at the time, were the other children our age, uncomfortable… And you'd done something to make them mock you. You really were so weak and timid…"

…Ah… she was starting to remember all of this now…

"…They locked us in a closet together." Katherine's smile widened slightly, "And you turned to me for comfort. No one… had ever done that before. No one had ever willingly put me in a position where I was a guardian, a source of stability. I was someone to be avoided, not a pillar of strength… But you treated me like one, anyway."

"…Kate, I clung to you and cried for all of five minutes." Gracia mumbled, feeling a bit out of it, "Then the older kids let us out. That's it. It wasn't anything that… romantic."

"It mattered to me." Katherine shrugged, "You treated me like someone who could be depended on, even if it was only for a brief moment." Katherine smiled at Gracia again, this time using her amiable, more chipper smile, "If there is anyone I'm supposed to protect, it's you."

Gracia stared at her cousin in shock, torn between feeling repulsed and… touched? Where in the hell…

"…Kate," Gracia sighed, "If you want to protect someone, do what most Solidor women do and find yourself a weak husband… I don't need you to protect me."

"You're almost right." Katherine beamed, holding up a finger, "You're not as weak as you used to be, and you're _almost_ ready for me to be done with you. However," Katherine's eyes narrowed, her smile sharpening and turning dangerous, "Your last relationship was a disaster. By no fault of your own, of course. And last time, I wasn't around… I wasn't _allowed_ to be around."

Gracia twitched slightly, picking up on the subtext.

_"This __time, __I _plan _on __being __around.__"_

"…I will call Mother and make her call you back to Nalbina."

"No you won't; she hates the idea of me being around you and doesn't know that I am now, and you won't put her through that kind of stress."

Gracia closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead.

"You know, this would be a lot less painful if you would just tell me what your relationship is with him." Katherine sighed sadly, drinking more of her smoothie.

"…If I tell you, you won't touch him anymore _and_ you'll leave us alone?"

"If you tell me, I'll stay long enough to verify the validity of your relationship, depending on how you label it, and if I deem that you're safe with him, not only will I back off completely, I'll even go back to Nalbina without making a scene or leaving either of you with some angsty brain food to munch on." Katherine gave Gracia a cheeky smile.

"…And you aren't just asking so you can get me in trouble with the family for… 'slumming it' with someone beneath our status?"

"Oh, please." Katherine rolled her eyes, "As if I would be that petty. Besides, that would make me a hypocrite and make me hurt a certain bodyguard of mine, and while I'm not particularly seeking to protect him because he is, after all, a big boy, if there is one thing I never will be, it's a hypocrite."

Gracia sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of her nose until her eyes watered.

"…We're—"

* * *

In his room, while waiting for Gracia and her… worrisome cousin, Katherine, to finish their lunches, Komui stood and stared at the blank space in front of him, wetting his lips and adjusting his glasses needlessly out of nervous habit.

In his free hand, he was clutching the little black box.

After swallowing a few times to wet his dry throat, he inhaled and exhaled slowly before he started practicing again, starting to bend at the knee as he held the box out and grabbed the top and bottom sides with his fingers.

* * *

_(P.S., D . Gray-man Volume 22 won't be available in the US until July 3 of 2012._

_Yeah, you heard me._

_Seven. F***ing. Months. From now._

_Shoot me.)_


	108. PSR: Record Influx Pt 6

The collection of side-chapters to this story, _Daydreams_, has been published~! Head to my profile and check it out!

Also, head to **SuperYuuki**'s deviantART profile to check out more of her fanart~! She's done two good ones of Gracia and Lorelei recently… Don't remember how to get there? Just go to the reviews for this story, find one by her, go to her profile, then click on the link that says it'll take you to deviantART.

…Oh… and…

Be prepared to start hating me…

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"_**All **__**Exorcists, **__**report **__**to **__**Supervisor **__**Komui **__**Lee**__**'**__**s **__**office **__**immediately **__**for **__**emergency **__**mission **__**assignments! **__**Reports **__**have **__**come **__**in **__**worldwide, **__**from **__**Jordan, **__**China, **__**Russia **__**and **__**Greece, **__**of **__**extreme **__**Akuma **__**hostilities! **__**This **__**is **__**not **__**a **__**drill! **__**All **__**Exorcists **__**and **__**all **__**Exorcist **__**Generals **__**are **__**to **__**report **__**to **__**Supervisor **__**Lee**__**'**__**s **__**office! **__**Repeat, **__**this **__**is **_**not ****a ****drill**_**! !**_"

* * *

Gracia and Kanda burst into Komui's office, both panting and sweating, to see that the entirety of the new Tiedoll unit (consisting of Tiedoll, Lavi, Bookman, Chaozii and Marie) had already arrived, as had part of the Nine unit (Klaud and Lenalee, with Lorelei and Timothy not present yet), and that the only one present from the Socalo unit was Miranda. All of the Third Exorcists from all units were present.

The only ones present from her own unit were herself and Kanda; Allen and Link still hadn't arrived.

Sore and a bit lightheaded from rushing (more like being dragged by Kanda) after having been training, Gracia stood off to the side with Kanda quietly, hardly looking away from Komui as Madarao, Tewaku and Tokusa broke away from their fellow Thirds to stand with them as part of their assigned unit.

Goushi and Kiredori followed their example, Goushi going to stand with Klaud and Kiredori taking up a place by Miranda silently.

When Gracia had the time, she took it to really look at Komui, blinking when she saw him giving her a pale-faced, worried look.

He quickly turned his attention back to his desk when he saw her eyes on him, shuffling through a few papers with shaking hands and continuing to steal glances. When she didn't look away from him, though, he went back to staring at her.

…She didn't like the look on his face.

He looked terrified.

Not that the message she and Kanda had gotten over their golems hadn't been indicative enough, but… the situation must have been bad.

Really, really bad.

Neither Komui nor Gracia noticed that all of the Exorcists had gathered until Brigitte stepped up beside Komui and pointedly held a clipboard out in front of him, but Komui reacted smoothly, if frenetically, enough and took it, starting to speak.

"Seventy-two hours ago, we started to receive reports from Asian and Middle Eastern Branches, along with some from several of our own Finders in Greece and Russia, of suspicious Akuma activity. Five hours ago, we lost contact with all who went to investigate, though from what we have managed to gather, Akuma of Levels no less than 2, arguably 3, have begun amassing. All Exorcists and Thirds are being deployed; the Tiedoll unit will be leaving immediately for China. Two hours from now, the Socalo unit will leave for Russia, the Nine unit for Greece in three and, five hours from now, the Solidor unit will head to Middle Eastern Branch with a large force of Finders and, from there, head to Wadi Rum in Jordan."

Komui paused, and Gracia frowned worriedly when a pained look flashed across his face as he stood and went on.

"Ever since… what happened at the old European Branch… we have been waiting with baited breath for the Noah to make their move…" Komui pulled himself upright, looking the group over seriously, "We haven't seen Akuma in numbers such as these since Edo. Do not take this situation lightly; assume the worst, and do your best. I want all of you to come home safe."

"Alright, brats," Socalo snarled, turning to Miranda, Krory and Kiredori, "You heard the man. Ya got two hours to get your shit ready and get your heads in the game, then we're headin' out. Get to it!"

Krory and Miranda both squeaked, jumped slightly and saluted, then turned to their fellows and started to say their goodbyes, while Kiredori stayed silent and small.

"Oi, Yu-_kun_! Gracia!"

Gracia blinked and looked over at Lavi trotted towards them with a grin, Tiedoll not far behind while Bookman and Marie strayed towards the door, Chaozii looking between the two halves of his unit with an unsure expression.

Kanda was about to growl and snap at Lavi when Tiedoll pulled his son into a hug while Lavi came to a stop in front of Gracia with a nod.

"Take care of our _Moyashi-chan_, ne?" Lavi smirked when Allen twitched, "It'd be just like him to get caught up in the middle of something during a time like this."

Gracia blinked, "…Isn't _–__chan_ usually tacked onto _female_ names?"

Lavi snickered before pulling Gracia and Allen into the same hug, making them both squirm and cough before he turned on Kanda with an almost lecherous grin as Tiedoll let him go, Lavi inching towards Kanda with groping hands.

As Kanda twitched and started to back away from Lavi slowly, Tiedoll turned to Gracia and hugged her tightly.

"Stay safe, my dear."

"You too, General." Gracia mumbled, hugging back, "You won't have me or Kanda around to baby-sit you, so don't get distracted by a flower or anything that 'needs' to be drawn, alright?"

When Kanda snorted, his fist buried in Lavi's gut at that point, and Marie smiled and shook his head, overhearing them, Tiedoll chuckled and nodded before pulling away.

Gracia stood back with her group, watching as the Tiedoll unit walked out of the room, the rest of the Socalo unit not far behind with Miranda and Krory giving Allen, Lavi and Lenalee nervous waves and Kiredori nodding in Madarao's direction.

After that, the rest of the Exorcists began to filter out of the room.

Before making to follow them, Gracia paused and glanced at Komui, getting worried again when she saw Brigitte directing him to fill out form after form… Despite looking exhausted and haggard, he had so much work…

When Komui glanced up at her, Gracia gave him a soft, warm smile…

He'd find a way to sneak out of the office to see her before she had to leave, and she'd comfort him then.

Komui sighed and gave her a tired smile, then reluctantly turned his attention back to Brigitte and nodded to whatever she was saying as she pointed to a few things on a particular document in front of him.

Gracia watched him a bit longer, then turned and walked out of the room.

* * *

Two hours later, the Socalo unit left for Russia.

After using a mild dose of Sleep to calm Miranda's nerves, wishing Krory luck and getting a last minute, angry lecture from Socalo, Gracia stood back with the few others who were taking the time to see everyone off and watched them leave.

* * *

One hour later, three after the meeting with Komui, the Nine unit left for Greece.

As Lorelei hugged her tightly, mumbling a few last minute well-wishes, Gracia glared harshly at Timothy as the brat looked between the three females he was partnered with with a sly grin.

Gracia then blinked when, when it came to her turn, Lenalee hugged her tightly, her eyes filled with tears and a wide smile on her face.

"…Lenalee?" Gracia blinked down at her, "What is it?"

"N-Nothing." Lenalee shook her head, looking up at Gracia with a wavering smile, "Just… Thank you… for making Brother so happy…" Without waiting for Gracia to say anything else, Lenalee pulled away and rushed about to say a few more goodbyes.

Gracia blinked after her, then turned to her fellow female General, "Klaud…"

"Hmm?" Klaud turned to her, blinking.

"…Take… care of them?" Gracia found herself asking numbly. Though she had no doubt in her mind that the General would, she still had to…

"…Of course." Klaud nodded, a firm, determined look on her face.

Not long after, the four Exorcists and Goushi walked through the Ark Gate.

* * *

Gracia was woken from her nap by the familiar prickly feeling of not being alone…

The moment she rolled over onto her back, Komui descended upon her, his lips meeting hers fiercely, almost desperately, his hands settling on her waist and trailing up before trailing down, only to trail back up again, as if he couldn't decide what to do.

And while it felt nice, Gracia shuddering as heat built up underneath her collar and moaning when his hips clashed against hers, making her shake, something about his abruptness… the lack of words and teasing after he'd been vocal so many times before… had her worried for him again.

"K-K-Komui…" Gracia gasped, pressing a hand to his chest and trying to push him back slightly, only to have him attack her neck when she turned her mouth away from his. Her whole body jerked when his teeth sank into her neck, her breath getting strangled in her throat and her mind going momentarily blank as something between pain an ecstasy flashed through her body.

As she forgot to stop him, Komui took the opportunity to slide his hands back up her body and over her chest, hands cupping and thumbs flicking over the cloth-covered flesh and making her gasp again. Satisfied with the sound and the feel of her body moving beneath his hands, Komui shuddered before trailing his palms up further, catching his fingers underneath the edges of her coat and starting to push it off.

It was only when he had her undressed from the waist up that Gracia, her mind swirling, remembered her worry.

"K-Komui, wait—"

"Whatever it is," His words were slightly muffled as he moved his mouth along the protruding bones of her collarbone, "It can wait." He bit down softly, then dragged the flat of his tongue across the marks his teeth left.

"N-No…" Gracia groaned softly and tipped her head back, closing her eyes as her hips canted up against his almost without her permission and fire ran up her body from her groin because of it, "Need… now…"

Komui stopped his motions and pulled back to look down at her wearily, one hand staying cupped on her chest and kneading, "What is it…"

Doing her best to swallow the soft gasps that kept rising at his continued actions, Gracia closed her eyes and breathed deeply before opening them again and looking up at him worriedly, reaching up and cupping his jaw, "What… is wrong…? You've looked… so tired… and afraid… since you had to assign these emergency missions… And now… ambushing me like this…? And not even cracking jokes about it?" She managed to stay the last sentence evenly as Komui's hand stopped its actions against her breast.

As he stared down at her after she had finished, Komui's expression slowly became colored with worry and apprehension.

"…Komui, please…" Gracia's other hand shook slightly as it reached out to cup the other side of his face, "Tell me… Don't make me leave worrying about you…"

Komui cringed at that, then sighed and pressed his face to her chest, making her flush as he nuzzled slightly.

"…I have a really… really bad feeling this time around…"

"…About the missions?" Gracia started combing her fingers through his hair gently, needing to do something with her hands.

"Yes… Well, the developments as a whole." Komui lifted his head, mumbling, "My Science Division heads are all at North American Branch for a meeting, all of my Exorcists, including the Thirds, are leaving because of a sudden upheaval of Akuma activity, Central has gone oddly silent again, I think Katherine is stalking me…"

Gracia twitched slightly at the last one.

"…I'm worried." Komui lifted his head enough to press his lips to her cheek, his eyes closed and his brow furrowed, "I'm afraid. I'm getting… the oddest feeling… that something is—"

Gracia couldn't listen to him anymore; now that she knew what the problem was, she could get back to letting him use her to comfort himself.

She laced her fingers through his hair and pulled him close, kissing him softly, at first, and then slowly getting harsher and harsher when he moved his hands to dig his fingers into her sides, clutching desperately.

This was… the only thing she could do…

She wasn't good at comforting people; finding the words was difficult, especially when they had to be found then and there, and as desperate as Komui looked and as… needy as her body was feeling, she didn't think she had the time…

No, she didn't have the time. Because she had to leave soon, for who knew how long.

As the thought of leaving him when he was distraught crossed her mind, Gracia got a bit desperate, herself, and started tugging at his clothes.

If this was what he wanted… what he thought he needed… she'd give it to him.

She just had to get his hands to stop shaking.

* * *

Gracia shook slightly as Komui held her close, his arms keeping her still pulsating body pressed tightly against his.

She sighed, panting, and closed her eyes, pressing her forehead to his shoulder and letting him cling.

When he started murmuring it over and over again, her earlier worry only returned full force.

"I love you," His voice was a bit weak as he kissed her temple, "I love you," His mouth moved down to her cheek, "I love you, I love you, I love you…" It got to the point where there wasn't an area on her face his lips hadn't brushed.

Swallowing and nervous, Gracia slowly wrapped her arms around him and hugged, nuzzling his cheek, "Shh… It'll be okay, alright? We'll all be fine… I mean, really, do you remember who the Generals are? Socalo, Tiedoll and Klaud? And do you remember who's on my team? Kanda and Allen?"

As if he'd actually forgotten who it was they were dealing with, Komui's tense body slowly relaxed in her arms.

"And what happened with Sleep last time won't happen again…" Gracia's lips brushed his cheek, "I promise. I know my limits now. I won't get that hurt again…"

After a pregnant pause, Komui heaved a shuddering sigh and nodded.

"Okay?" Gracia reached up and tipped his head to make him look at her, just to be sure.

"Okay." Komui murmured, nodding.

Gracia frowned when she noticed… his eyes wouldn't meet hers. His tone was sincere, but…

"…Is there something else?"

Komui's eyes widened marginally and darted to meet hers before he quickly looked away again, his lower lip sliding between his teeth as he pulled it there to gnaw slightly, "W-Well… there is… this… question I need to—"

"General Solidor!" Someone knocked on her door, "Your mission departure time is in ten minutes!"

Gracia sighed, hitting her forehead against Komui's shoulder lightly, "Thanks…!" As the footsteps of the person outside the door faded, Gracia reluctantly pulled away from Komui and stood, starting to sort out her clothes and get dressed, "Did you say you had a question…?"

"Well… I… ah…"

Glancing over from dressing at the odd, nervous choking noises he was making, Gracia blinked when she saw Komui, also standing, only wearing his boxers halfway up his legs, his uniform jacket clutched in his hands as he fiddled with something still in the pocket.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway outside of the room, and Gracia flinched and went back to dressing, finishing quickly and sitting on the edge of her bed to pull her boots on, "Komui, if you have a question, you need to ask it fast."

"Support unit!" Kanda's bark burst from outside the door, the door, itself, rattling as he banged on it, "Get moving!"

Gracia frowned, looking between Komui and the door. When Komui started to flush, stuttering, she sighed, getting annoyed.

Komui bit his lip, keening but not saying anything.

"I have to go." Gracia sighed again, picking up the duffel bag she'd packed hours ago and hurrying out the door, the scuffle of Komui's slippers not far behind.

By the time Gracia got to the Ark Gate that would take her and her group to Middle Eastern Branch, the last of the Finders had just finished trailing through, with Kanda, Allen, Link and the Third Exorcists being next in line.

Kanda and Allen (and Link, by extension) stopped when the saw her, Madarao, Tewaku and Tokusa glancing before they went through the Gate.

"Sorry, sorry." Gracia panted as she ran up to Allen, Link and Kanda, "Komui kept me stall—" When something warm with a vice-like grip clamped down on her wrist, Gracia looked back, frowning slightly when she saw it was Komui clutching at her, his lip between his teeth and a scared, needy look on his face. "Komui, seriously—" She sighed and started to turn away, only for Komui to lunge and wrap his arms around her tightly.

In the right of her periphery, she saw Kanda sneer and roll his eyes and Allen shake his head, Link sighing as the three started to walk to the Gate.

"Support unit, get him off of you and get your ass through the Gate in the next two minutes!" Kanda walked through last just so he could snap at her, throwing them both a sour look before he disappeared into to giant, floating, glowing plate of the Ark Gate.

"…I'm sorry…" Komui mumbled pathetically to her left, into her hair, "But I… I have to ask… before you go… It… It can't wait…"

After closing her eyes and staying in his arms for a moment, forcing herself to breathe deeply and calm down, Gracia turned to face Komui as he let her go and stepped back, "Alright, hurry up and as—"

Gracia's eyes widened and the color drained from her face, making her lightheaded, when she had to stare down at Komui as he dropped to one knee, holding out his hand and presenting her with a small, black velvet box.

* * *

_Had I known what would happen… I should have said yes, then and there._

…_I'm sorry, Komui._

_I'm so sorry._


	109. Protocol Stasis Recording: File XXIII

Last chapter of 2011.

^ . ^ Happy New Year, all~! See you again in 2012~!

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Kanda stood over Gracia and glared down at her harshly as she sat like a useless lump while the Finders around them began to set up Jordan Camp. Not that the Exorcists were being expected to do anything, though Allen, his 'tumor' (as the support unit called him), and the Thirds were all off securing the perimeter.

Still, Kanda never had been one to approve of idling when there was work to be done… Especially not from the woman. She had a tendency to fall asleep when she idled.

…Not to mention he was passively curious about the small black box in her hand she wouldn't stop staring at.

"Oi." He kicked her ankle, "The Finders already set your tent up. Go make your bed."

Gracia, her eyes glassy and her face a bit ashen (though somehow flushed at the same time), just continued to stare at the box in the middle of her palm, as if it held the answer to all of life's questions.

…Or, going with the look on her face, her soul.

"Hey." Kanda twitched and kicked her ankle again, harder, "Wake up."

Gracia's fingers just twitched, forming a loose cage around the box before they relaxed into a semi-flat state again.

Kanda twitched, his lips pressing into a thin line and his brow twitching several times as he glared down at her flatly. He then scruffed her like a cat, like he had so many times before, and jerked her to her feet, snatching her duffel bag up as he started to drag her over to her tent.

Used to it, Gracia absentmindedly let it happen, only cringing and whining when Kanda carelessly tossed her through the door flaps and into her tent, stumbling and falling to her knees when her duffel bag followed close behind and hit the back of her head.

When the black box was knocked from her hand, though, she came back to life, Kanda stepping in and watching with a blank face as she scrambled forward to scoop it back up and cradle it closer to her chest.

"…The flippy-haired idiot give that to you?" At the slow, blank look the woman gave him, Kanda sneered slightly and tipped his head, setting a hand on his hip.

Normally, he wouldn't be so inquisitive, but it had been a while since he'd seen her so out of it…

…He didn't like it.

If it continued and affected her on the mission, he'd have to kick Komui the next time he saw the dip-headed supervisor.

Honestly, all of these emotional shocks everyone around the woman kept putting her through affected how she participated in/handled missions, and it was beyond _starting_ to grate on Kanda's nerves.

It pissed him off, and not at her, he realized, even though he would have been justified in being angry at her for not being able to keep her personal life from affecting her professional life. No, he was pissed off at everyone around them detracting her attention from him when he actually needed it, out on the battlefield.

…No, that wasn't quite right, either, Kanda scowled.

…It pissed him off that everyone around them kept shocking her and detracting her attention from—

Kanda pointedly wouldn't let himself finish that thought, turning his attention back to Gracia as he waited (with more patience than he would give nearly anyone else… save Lenalee) for her to answer.

And she looked like she was on the verge of it.

She was looking up at him dully, opening and closing her mouth slightly, and she kept moving the box around in her hands.

Finally, she just closed her mouth and held out the box, opening it, and Kanda's eyes widened when he saw—

* * *

"_Y-You don't have to answer now…" Komui's smile was weak as he continued to stare into her, presumably, pale face, which she could only distantly guess was colorless if how cold her cheeks and sinuses and how lightheaded she felt were any indication._

_Gracia stared at him, wishing he would get up off of his knee…_

_Oh, thank god… He did._

"_Just… keep it, alright?" Komui closed the box and pressed it into her hands, closing them around it and kissing her forehead, "Think about it… I know… it hasn't been nearly long enough, not just by your social class' standards, but… I can assure you, it's quick by the standards of commoners, as well. But… after what happened… what could happen… What I feel now…"_

_Gracia just continued to stare at him, numb, her mind blank save the words he was saying as they formed on the blackboard she saw in her mind's eye. At least… they started to form… then her shock got to her thoughts and they just evaporated a few seconds later._

"…_You should go." Komui's voice was small as he pulled away slightly, "Your team is wai—"_

_Numb as she was, Gracia was still coherent enough to lean forward and press her mouth against his roughly, her tongue tangling with his when he kissed back half a shocked beat later._

"…_I-I__s that a yes?" Komui stuttered slightly when they pulled apart a moment later._

_Gracia stared at him, blinking slowly. She wasn't sure. She needed more time to think; literally. She needed more time to think. She still couldn't form a coherent train of thought._

_So, in the meantime…_

"_I love you."_

_Komui blinked, then beamed and smiled back, "You need to think. Alright. I love you, too, Gracia. Stay safe."_

_Gracia swallowed, hugging the small, black box to her chest, then turned and ran through the Ark Gate._

* * *

"…You say yes?" Kanda got over his shock enough to ask bluntly after a beat, outwardly staying calm and aloof.

It still felt a bit jarring as he stared at the engagement ring in the box in Gracia's hands; it was a simple, small, pear-shaped diamond set on a band that was either silver or white gold, Kanda couldn't tell which, he wasn't a damned expert. From his angle, though, the band might or might not have had some light designs carved into it… The lighting in the tent was all wrong from him to be able to tell.

And, frankly, when Gracia slowly looked down at the ring, a lost look settling on her face again, _what_ the ring looked like didn't matter as much as what was wrong with—

Then, it hit him.

"…This is what he stopped you at the Ark Gate for, isn't it?" When Gracia's lost look only worsened, Kanda ground his teeth, twitching.

He was going to beat that fucker's face in.

She didn't need this kind of shit dropped on her _right __before __a __fucking __mission_! !

"Put the fucking ring on."

Gracia looked up at Kanda, stunned, and he rolled his eyes and growled.

"You're going to say yes, alright? ! You'll spend the next three fucking days dwelling on it, and ultimately you'll say yes, so just put it on and get it off of your mind, alright? ! We're on a goddamned mission!" He then looked off to the side, exhaling slowly and seething, "'m gonna kick that moron in the throat…"

Kanda stiffened and looked down with a sullen glare when a thin, weak pair of arms wrapped around him tightly, Gracia's back heaving slightly with soft sobs as she nodded before pulling away. His expression then dulled as she fumbled on pulling the ring out of the box with shaking hands, and he finally just sighed heavily and rolled his eyes, taking her fragile left wrist in his hand, jerking the ring out of her grasp and shoving it onto a finger. It _was_ the one next to the pinky, right…?

"K-Kanda? !"

Gracia jolted and she and Kanda looked over to the entrance of the tent, Kanda quirking a fine brow when he saw Allen and Link staring at them in shock.

"D-Did you just _propose_ to Gracia? !" Allen gapped, pointing an accusatory, shaking finger in their direction, "Komui is going to _kill_ you! !"

"Honestly, I'm surprised." Link blinked, "I suspected you might have something of a mild crush on her, but to do this—"

"I didn't fucking propose, you morons! The idiot supervisor did!" Kanda bristled and snapped, his cheeks getting a bit pink.

"K-Kanda, my wrist…"

Kanda twitched and looked down, scowling when he saw Gracia's left hand was starting to turn red as he squeezed her still captured wrist in his grasp. He quickly let her go and took a large, _large_ step away from her.

"…Wait, Gracia, Komui proposed?" Allen's eyes widened as he caught on a moment later, his lips starting to twitching into a smile.

When the woman lowered her eyes as her face started to turn red, nodding shyly, Kanda rolled his eyes and made his way to the exit, passing Allen without a second glance as the white-haired boy rushed over to congratulate the woman and pointedly ignoring Link when the tumor (he liked that) glanced at him out of the corner of his oddly eyebrowed eye.

Outside of the tent, Kanda sighed and shook his head, rubbing his mouth while working his jaw to disguise the faintest flickerings of… something strange happening to his lips. He then deadpanned and walked off to his own tent.

* * *

That night, Gracia couldn't sleep… The air dry, no wind whatsoever in their area, she was left stripped down to a sports bra and a pair of underwear, lying flat on her back on her sleeping mat with the blankets thrown aside as she panted lightly. Though she'd traveled much of Europe, she'd always made sure to go north for the summer months…

But this wasn't summer. It was the beginning of January. And even though it wasn't particularly hot, the air in Jordan was dry and stuffy…

But that wasn't why Gracia couldn't sleep.

Gracia couldn't sleep because she had to keep holding her hand up over her face on occasion, palm facing the ceiling, so she could look at her engagement ring.

Having not really worn any form of jewelry over the last few years, save Sleep, obviously, she wasn't used to the unfamiliar, comfortably tight presence…

A thought hit her and, experimentally, she lifted her right hand, wrapping her left around her wrist so the band of the ring chimed softly as it bumped Sleep's flat, silver bracelet surface.

Gracia jolted slightly, Sleep flashing brightly but so briefly she blinked several times and wasn't sure it had happened at all.

When she slowly let go of Sleep and looked at it, nothing else happened, nothing looked different, nothing felt different…

Gracia sighed and let her right hand rest by her side again, going back to looking at her engagement ring.

…She was engaged.

She and Komui were… going to get married…

…Gracia smiled and rolled onto her side, closing her eyes and hugging her left hand to her chest as her eyes started to get wet.

Sure, he'd only asked her as soon as he had because he was still afraid that he wouldn't get the chance later, what had happened to her on her last mission obviously having scared him, but the fact that he had… the fact that it had even crossed his mind…

…Komui did some crazy things on impulse, yes, but he always thought over big decisions like this carefully.

…She and Komui were engaged.

There would, of course, be a few people who wouldn't like this; Mathilda, Katherine… most of the Solidor family head/members, really, not to mention Central…

…Most of those people, though, didn't particularly matter to Gracia (save Mathilda, maybe).

The ones she was worried about the most were Lenalee and Lorelei…

…Wait… Before she had left… Lenalee had been crying happily about something… She'd hugged Gracia and thanked her for making K—

Ahhhh, of course… Komui had told his sister.

Gracia smiled, then sighed.

That meant the only person she had left to tell was Lorelei.

That would be easy enough, Gracia realized with a small, wry grin; Lorelei had been rooting for them for months.

And, of course, she had to tell Komui that she accepted.

…That she wanted to marry him.

Gracia shuddered.

It was a hard concept to wrap her mind around; the idea of a marriage proposal she had accepted of her own free will.

A proposal that had been born out of her own actions and desires, that had been fostered between her and someone she genuinely cared about and loved, a situation that had been of _her_ choosing.

It was _nothing_ like what she had had with—

"No." Gracia muttered, squeezing her eyes shut and killing the thought before it finished.

She had said she wouldn't compare, and on _this_ subject, most of all, she refused to go back on that.

This was _hers_ and _Komui__'__s_, no one else's.

This was something they had been subconsciously working towards… had subconsciously been hoping for since they had agreed to be together.

…No… No, this wasn't even that. This was something… more genuine than that. They hadn't started this hoping they would end up liking one enough to become bonded for the rest of their lives; they were going to become bonded for the rest of their lives because of what they had started because they cared for one another as much as they did.

This wasn't a result… It was a milestone along the way. Their way.

Gracia smiled wryly; it was all… so sappy.

…But it was hers.

He was hers.

And she was his.

And, when this mission was over, she would tell him that she accepted. That she wanted nothing more than to be with him when this was all over, that she wanted to take his name.

That night, Gracia went to sleep with the ring Komui had given to her held close, closer than she had held Sleep in a while.

And… as she slept… Sleep loosened its hold on her wrist and finger; just slightly, but still…

* * *

_(For those who don't know gem cuts, "pear-shaped" cuts in gemstones doesn't mean the stone actually comes out looking like a pear. Pear-shaped cuts are actually shaped like teardrops, and some cutters do call them "drops" rather than "pears", but "pear" is typically the name used. For a better idea, Google "Zale's engagement rings", click on the first option, click on the "Design your own ring" in the middle of the page, then go with the "Start with a diamond" option closer to the right of the page. "Pear" is the fifth option over._

_…And, yes, I do like to check out the various online "Design your own"-type things. *sighs* I entertain far too easily.)_


	110. Protocol Stasis Recording: File XXIV

^ . ^ **SuperYuuki** has done a drawing of the proposal~! Head over to her dA gallery to check it out~! (Reminder, you head to her profile, then click on the "Link of Awesomeness". You all know how to navigate dA from there, ya?)

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia frowned out over the horizon, where the moon was rising in the clear, arid Arabian sky… while, to her right, Allen looked over the same scenery, his Pentacle Eye alive and screaming wildly.

"…Allen, Madarao, Tokusa," When the three looked at her, Gracia glanced at them and went on, "Go take care of it. Madarao, Tokusa… use your arms to the fullest extent you deem necessary."

Briefly, she wondered if Allen understood… just what it was that the Third Exorcists' arms did to the Akuma…

She didn't have time to gauge his reaction to find out when the three simply nodded and took off in a flash, Link not far behind.

Gracia sighed after them and tugged at the thin collar of the skin-tight black undershirt she was wearing; even without really talking about it, they'd all come to the conclusion that their regular uniforms just weren't practical for the hot Jordan environment and had kept their jackets off.

Even Kanda had switched his usual long jacket out in favor of the beige cape that the Order had provided for them that only went down to his hips, a cross fleury on the left shoulder.

Allen, Madarao, Tokusa and Tewaku had also all been wearing one, as had Link (though his didn't bear the cross), but Gracia had stuck with just wearing her underarmor, pants and boots. It was nighttime, so she didn't have to worry about burning, and she was a bit too underweight to wear the offered cape and not feel overheated, even though such things commonly kept one cool in desert-type environments.

"Kanda, Tewaku," She turned to the only two members of her team left, "We'll stay here and defend the camp with the Finders, in case they get this far…"

The two nodded silently, though Tewaku kept glancing after her the four that had just left nervously.

Gracia blinked.

"…Tewaku."

Tewaku looked back at her, blinking.

"…Your brother will be fine." Gracia smiled at the girl. Third or not, she was still just a teenager…

Tewaku blinked again, her pupil-less eyes widening marginally, then lowered her head ashamedly and nodded, a bit of color coming to her cheeks before she turned and, using her Third Exorcist strength and agility, leapt out of sight, reappearing at the top of a nearby, tall rock to keep watch.

Gracia blinked up at her, then sighed and shook her head. The Thirds were so withdrawn…

Speaking of the Thirds… A thought hit Gracia and she turned to Kanda, blinking.

"Kanda." When he glanced at her, she nodded to his chest, "You okay?"

"…Tch, of course I am." Kanda rolled his eyes, "Nothing's happened."

In other words, what was there to strain it?

"Of course." Gracia sighed, nodding, "Sorry…"

Kanda grunted and gave a barest hint of a single-shouldered shrug, then turned and walked towards the edge of the camp, sitting cross-legged on a rock and staring off into the distance as he started his unspoken assigned watch.

Gracia glanced between him and Tewaku, then walked over to the highest-ranking Finder and began to talk to him about coordinating the other Finders for the evening time watch. Once she was done, she went over to sit with Kanda.

As usual, he didn't bother to acknowledge her presence, his elbows resting on his legs as he stared off into space, bored.

With the silence and the prospect of a long night watch ahead, Gracia had time to think… After all, Kanda was diligent enough to keep watch for the both of them, and even as a General, she was more a support than a proactive unit.

And as she thought… something hit her…

"…Kanda, where will you go when all of this is over?"

Kanda tipped his head and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, blinking.

"…As a Second Exorcist… you don't have a family out there to go back to." Gracia glanced back at him, blinking, "So where…"

"…" Kanda snorted, rolling his eyes and looking outward again, "You talk like this'll be over before we die."

"Shouldn't we be hoping it will be?" Gracia sighed, though she couldn't quite bring herself to put much conviction in it.

"Pointless when history says it won't be." Kanda huffed, "This is the second time mankind has fought this war."

"You know what, let's cut out the pessimism." Gracia smiled wryly, rolling her eyes, "I won't be able to win that verbal battle against you… But that doesn't change my question: Where will you go?"

"Physically, I'm twenty." Kanda said dully, staring off into space with a look of disinterest on his face, "I don't need a family to go back to."

"And, in all actuality, how old are you?" Gracia quirked a brow at him slowly, "Nine? Ten? And up until now, your way has always been paid for by the Order."

At that, Kanda sneered and looked back over at her, glaring harshly, "Get to your point, woman, or shut up."

"Come stay with me and Komui."

Kanda twitched and blinked stupidly at that, his mouth opening and closing slightly, uselessly.

Not forcing him to suffer the indignity of bearing that expression for longer than a few seconds, Gracia tipped her head, "At least until you get a better idea of how to survive on your own in society." When Kanda's expression started to change again, she sighed and looked out over the distance, "Komui said something to me earlier… That life in the Order has become so ingrained into Lenalee that he doesn't know if she could survive on the outside anymore… And now I'm thinking… If Lenalee, who was born out there, would have problems adapting, what about you, who was born in the Order and trained to fight? How would you do out among people? And it makes me think… of all of the times you reacted to people angering you by drawing Mugen…" Gracia looked back at him, "You'll get arrested for that when you don't have the Order to bail you out, Kanda. The real world… won't care who you are and what you've done and gone through, and they won't see what I do. If you don't leave this place with someone who knows you, knows how to handle you, you won't last long."

Kanda, who was glaring at her harshly, snorted and looked back out over the horizon, "Tch, again, woman, you're speaking as if this'll be over before we're dead. Chances are, we'll all die before—"

"And what if we don't?" Gracia pressed firmly, frowning at him.

Kanda twitched, not used to her pursuing matters he didn't agree with her on.

"If we don't, it'll be none of your business what happens to me."

"…Oh, bull-_fucking_-shit, Kanda."

Kanda looked back at her, stunned to see Gracia rolling her eyes and sneering at him. …He really had been influencing her too much.

"I already told you, back when you let me find out you were a Second Exorcist," Gracia narrowed her eyes at Kanda flatly, "I'm not leaving you alone, and that carries over to this. I know a _lot_ of people in Europe, and in the event that you try to leave… I'll find you. And I'll keep finding you until I'm sure you're okay on your own." When his glare only got harsher, Gracia shrugged and went back to looking ahead of them.

"…You're getting to be a bigger pain in the ass than the _Moyashi_." Kanda grumbled after a moment, looking out, as well.

"If I have a spine, you're one of the ones who helped it develop…" Gracia noted in a low, wry murmur. She smiled slightly when Kanda sighed and (if his tone was any indication) cursed something in Japanese in a low murmur, as if realizing she was right.

After a lengthy stretch of silence, Gracia shifted, frowning down at her wrist when Sleep jingled louder than usual.

His senses ever sharp, Kanda heard it and glanced over, his lips twisting into a scowl.

"I don't know." Gracia murmured in response to his unasked question, lifting her hands and wrapping her left hand around Sleep's bracelet to judge just how loose it was around her wrist, "I just noticed it was a bit too loose… I can't tell if it just happened, or if it's been like this…"

"…It still work?" Kanda frowned.

"Yeah…" Gracia nodded slightly.

Kanda sighed and looked forward yet again, muttering, "Then there's nothing we can do until we head back."

Gracia nodded again, "I'll have Hevlaska look at it as soon as we get back."

Suddenly, a feeling of dread and coldness washed over Gracia's body and she sat upright, her eyes widening and Sleep burning hotly around her wrist as her breathing got shallow.

Vaguely, she heard Kanda snap at her, but she couldn't understand him as she stumbled to her feet and looked around.

She knew this feeling… It was… similar to the feeling she'd gotten around Skinn Bolic… Only it wasn't electric.

It was also similar to the feeling she got around Lulu Bell, Tyki and Road.

When Kanda grabbed her shoulders and jerked her towards him, shaking her slightly and opening his mouth as his brows furrowed with angry inquisitiveness, her lips were so numb she bit them as she answered.

"Noah…"

Somewhere around the camp's perimeter, a man screamed, and several other shouts quickly followed.

Kanda's eyes snapped in that direction, his frown deepening to a scowl once more, and pain bloomed along Gracia's shoulder and her view of the world snapped to the side as Kanda grabbed her wrist and pulled her along, Gracia barely able to stay on her feet with the speed Kanda was going at.

They ran past Tewaku, who had spell strip after spell strip flying out of her hands as she cast a protective paling around the camp, and jerked to a stop a ways from the tents, where a figure in white with familiar umber skin was flicking his wrist while a Finder held out his shield-like talisman in front of him protectively.

Gracia's eyes widened and she felt her dinner threaten to come up when blood suddenly spurted out of the Finder's ears, nose, mouth and eyes, his eyes bulging out of his head oddly as he collapsed, dead.

Growling, Kanda let Gracia's wrist go and set a hand on Mugen, stepping in front of her as the umber-skinned man turned towards them, the long ends of his turban swooping out in a brief, passing hot breeze.

"Are you Yu Kanda?"

Gracia tensed, taking in the appearance of the Noah who knew Kanda by name.

A bolero-like, skin-tight jacket, a striped turban-like headdress with its long ends left to hang out, somewhat loose pants that cinched at his ankles and had a long, extra flap of cloth hanging from the left side with strange black bands twining around his waist.

Standing, he crossed one leg over the other and set a hand on his hip, his other hand fisted and pressed to his forehead.

"…Who are you?" Kanda asked in a low voice after a moment.

Ignoring the question, the Noah slowly ran his hand down his face, his fingers laying against his lips as he bore the three, strange eyes on his forehead where the usual Noah stigmata were. The eyes twitched and darted around independently of one another, taking in everything they could see.

"Do you know the name… Alma?"

Gracia blinked when, in front of her, Kanda tensed.

The white-haired Noah smiled widely, "You do." On his forehead, the middle, largest eyeball locked on Kanda and widened, its pupil shrinking. "We'll use your brain… for our party."

…After that… Gracia's mind drew a blank.

Kanda drew his Mugen… but the nameless Noah just reached out lazily with his hand…

…Then… Kanda was suddenly falling backwards… his cloth string hairtie snapping effortlessly in response to the force of seemingly nothing, and his hair slid over his shoulders and seemed to float in the air as he fell straight back into Gracia's arms.

In shock, Gracia couldn't wrap her arms around Kanda properly to keep him up, and the sudden shock of his full, limp weight crashing against her body had her falling to the ground with him, landing with her knees bent painfully and sitting upright with Kanda's head on her lap.

…Then… she was screaming… at the sight of Kanda's lifeless eyes staring up at her, blood trickling from his eyes like macabre tears before it was also dribbling out of his ears and mouth, like it had those of the dead Finders…

…Dead…

Dead… no… No, Kanda couldn't be… It… it was impossible…

Kanda… was one of their most powerful…

A-And… his tattoo… His healing abilities…

…That's right… he'd be up soon…

…But he didn't get up.

He just… laid there… limp… The blood flow slowing as his no longer functioning heart stopped applying pressure…

Vaguely, Gracia was aware of the fact that she was still screaming… Tewaku and the rest of the Finders in the camp lining up in front of her defensively, a strong, multi-talisman barrier burning hotly and Tewaku's destructive and protective spell strips flying.

The Noah simply smiled and tipped his head, walking forward slowly as the heads of more Finders burst effortlessly at his approach.

And when she heard Tewaku scream in pain… Gracia's despair… quickly crossed the line and turned into a red haze that flooded her mind, Sleep burning white hot around her wrist as she looked up and locked her gaze on the Noah hatefully.

He would pay… Oh, God, he would pay—

Gracia screamed, this time in anger, and threw her arm forward, her free left hand wrapping around Kanda's shoulders and pressing his limp, unresponsive body to her chest, Sleep burning her skin once again.

The Noah's eyes widened and he crossed his arms in front of himself defensively, grunting and sliding back on his heels when an invisible force slammed into him.

Still keeping Kanda pressed to her chest, Gracia struggled to stand up, Kanda's head lolling back and blood from his ear and cheeks getting smeared on her bare shoulder, his feet twisting in the sand as her upright movement shifted his legs. Around her, the remaining Finders and Tewaku fell back to line up with her instead of standing in front of her, clearing her line of fire.

The Noah recovered and lowered his arms, smiling at her smoothly, "Aah… You must be the Sleeper Exorcist Road was going on about… Gracia, wasn't it?"

Gracia didn't answer, her lips curling into a scowl as she pointedly thrust her arm forward, Sleep's chain chiming.

"I'm Wisely." The Noah resumed walking towards them, "I have to say, after hearing about your Innocence from Road and Lulu, I'm interested in—"

"LEAVE! !" Gracia threw her arm forward again, sending out another wave of the nameless, invisible wave of anger towards the Noah.

Again, Wisely crossed his arms in front of himself and took it with a whine, his heels digging into the sand as he was sent sliding backwards. When he lowered his arms again, he pouted at her, "Really, I hate confrontation. The only one of you I really need right now is Yu Kanda, so why don't you—"

"JUDGE-SAL! !"

The Finders and Tewaku all fell back completely as the Judge-Sal crashed down behind Gracia, Gracia biting the inside of her mouth harshly and using the pain to keep herself conscious as the ethereal armored judge drew both of his swords slowly.

She didn't have long, though… She could feel sleep looming over her.

Wisely stared at her blankly, no longer advancing. Then, a frown crossed his face and his brow furrowed.

Gracia scowled and tensed when the extra three eyes on his forehead twitched and focused on her, bracing herself and waiting for the same kind of cranial attack that he'd hit Kanda and the Finders with.

After a moment, though, Wisely just blinked, then smiled slowly, disturbingly.

"Well… Road was right; you are interesting." His smile and eyes widened in a crazed grin, "I can't read your mind at all."

Gracia twitched and hunkered down, wrapping her other arm around Kanda and keeping him close as, behind her, Judge-Sal held out his swords and crossed them in front of the two defensively.

"But I don't need to read your mind to know that Yu Kanda is important to you." Wisely tipped his head, his smile softening but losing none of its passive malice, "So, if he means so much to you, I guess you can come along."

It was useless.

Gracia was about to give into the Judge-Sal completely and pass out, maybe even invoke Ultima, but when she went to throw her arm forward again, Wisely beat her to the punch, his arm and hand flashing out.

Gracia's eyes widened and her knees buckled when she tasted blood on the back of her tongue, a sudden, acute, overbearing _pain_ slamming into her forehead with the brunt force of a cement truck crashing into a wall.

Vaguely, she was aware of her legs crumpling underneath her, and the Finders and Tewaku running in front of her protectively again as the Judge-Sal dissipated.

Though her grip on him slackened as she slammed into the ground, Gracia blearily felt a faint, unfocused flicker of relief when she saw she still had Kanda close just before everything went black.


	111. Protocol Stasis Recording: File XXV

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"_Ooo~? Wisely, you seem to have brought someone extra along~! Is that the Lady Solidor~? Really, Wisely, we have to stay on schedule~…"_

"_Actually, Earl, I happen to approve of Wisely's decision…"_

"_Thank you, Sheril. And actually, Earl, I decided that I did have to bring her. She's interesting. I can't read her mind."_

"_Oh~? __Someone __whose __mind __you _can't _read, __Wisely~? __That _is _interesting~!__"_

"_See? You agree with me!"_

"_Hmm~… I suppose~…"_

"_Aww, really, Early, she's not instrumental, so it doesn't matter if she's here or not. Besides, I happen to like the fact that she's here, too! Maybe I can play with her dreams again~!"_

"_Now, now, all of you calm down~! We're not here for Lady Solidor, we're here for Yu Kanda and Alma Karma~."_

"_Aww, but not everyone is here yet! Can't I play with her just a little?"_

"_Well…"_

"_Pweeeeaaaaaase~?"_

"…_Hoho, I can't say 'no' to that face~! But you have to stop as soon as it's time to start~."_

"_Yay~!"_

As soon as she felt the familiar black fog rolling in, her brain getting prodded at, Sleep seemed to try to boil her skin off and Gracia snapped awake in response.

The moment she saw white cloth on umber skin out of the corner of her eye, something in her mind snapped and she lunged forward, slamming into a familiar, turban-headed figure head on and toppling with him across the floor as he screamed and struggled.

Her strength still augmented with her Judge-Sal, like it had done before during the Level 4's attack on the old European Branch, she grabbed the person's shoulders and rolled back to her feet, spinning her upper body around and throwing him across the room and into a wall.

Then, another white form closed in behind her and she spun around and lashed out with her leg, catching a Level 4 with oddly bulky arms in the shoulder and sending it crashing into another wall.

Then, the nausea and dizziness and a headache caught up with her and Gracia swayed and stumbled to the side, having no time to make sense of the scene before her as she fell to her knees and threw up blood on the odd, clear glass floor of the room she was in.

"Oh, ewww…" Gracia recognized Road's voice…

"Owie, owie, owie…! Where did you get that energy from? !" She recognized Wisely's voice through the whine… "Eeaaaaaarl! She huuuuurt me!"

"Well, then you shouldn't have brought her along~." A voice Gracia didn't recognize chuckled. Then, just as Gracia was going limp and collapsing as her temporary spurt of Judge-Sal's strength fled her body, someone with a large, gloved hand attached to an even thicker arm was jerking her upright, and, for the first time in her life, Gracia found herself face-to-face with the Millennium Earl.

His perfectly rounded eyes locked on her through the equally rounded, slightly larger glasses on his face, an excessively large top hat decorated with stripped balls resting on top of his head and balanced with long, pointed ears, and his perpetually grinning, cartoonish face turned up towards her as he held her up in the air.

"Hello, Lady Solidor~." The Earl greeted her in his slightly jovial tone, his mouth never moving, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person~. Unfortunately, though, after that display, I have to say I probably should have killed you years ago~. You seem to have become annoyingly powerful~."

Having no energy to struggle, or even answer, Gracia just stared at him through weakly lidded eyes and panted through her open mouth, starting to feel sick again as the taste of blood remained thick on her tongue.

Then… she remembered…

"Kan… da…"

Just as one of the Earl's brows twitched, Gracia turned her head slowly and started looking around the room, "Kand… a…"

What in the… There… Along the back wall… Malcolm C. Lvellie, Renny Esptain, Zu Mei Chang, Bak Chang, Mark Barrows and his assistant… were all lined up along the back wall, their arms held out and pressed against the wall and their expressions twisted in grim shock.

As soon as he saw her looking at them, Bak's lips twitched and his Adam's apple bobbed, but he didn't say anything, his jaw locked.

…They all were… being held hostage… by an invisible force…

…Well… he could still move his eyes…

"Kanda…" She mumbled again.

Immediately, Bak's eyes darted down, and Gracia slowly looked over to where Wisely had been sitting, her body relaxing slightly when she saw Kanda's prone form lying stomach-down on the ground.

Then, her vision became blurry with tears when she saw his back… his back was moving.

Dear god, he was breathing.

"Kanda…" Gracia finally started struggling weakly against the hand holding her up, "Kanda…"

It didn't cross her mind to find it odd when the Earl set her back on her feet; she just took the opportunity to stumble towards him, her legs giving out partway there and her body crashing to the ground, barely having time to lift her arms and take the force of falling on the ground with her elbows rather than her face.

Shaking with the pain that radiated up her elbows, she slowly lifted her head, just close enough to reach out and press her hand to Kanda's face.

He was breathing… His eyes were still wide open and unseeing, but the blood flow from his eyes, mouth and ears had stopped and he was breathing…

Panting and weak, Gracia dazedly allowed herself to lay her head down, the fact that she was in a room full of enemies fading from her mind temporarily as her headache blocked out her thoughts and made her feel sick again.

"Jeez, Wisely, you really did a number on her."

Gracia twitched, her eyes flickering up and watching as a small, spiky-haired doll with a wide, zigzagging mouth of stitching peeked up from Kanda's other side, teardrop-shaped little black eyes flashing as it looked at her.

"Did you attack her brain, too?" The doll bearing Road's voice tipped its head.

"K-Kinda, sorta." Wisely's voice stuttered a bit as it got closer. Gracia's eyes swung over to meet the white-haired Noah's as he looked back at her, walking over and sitting by Kanda while rubbing his chest where he'd, likely, collided with the wall she'd thrown him at, "I used it just enough to knock her out…"

"…" The doll Road's head swung around to look up at her fellow Noah, "So, you can attack her, but you can't read her mind?"

Wisely pursed his lips and crossed his arms and legs, staring down at Gracia contemplatively, "Yes… It's the strangest thing…"

"Well, she was able to hurt my dream world." The doll Road seemed to close her 'eyes,' tapping her chin contemplatively with her thick, fingerless hand-like appendage, "It's probably all because of her Innocence, Sleep."

"Sleep, huh…?" Wisely tapped his own chin.

"If it's such a problem," Sheril's voice was now getting closer… and she couldn't turn her head to look, "Then we should just destroy it now."

Gracia's eyes widened and she tensed, her heart leaping into her throat and thudding first faster, then gradually slower and slower as a long-sleeved arm came into her line of sight, reaching for Sleep, which was on the hand she had on Kanda's cheek…

Just as she was starting to gather strength to use Sleep, though, an equally umber hand shot out and grabbed Sheril's wrist.

Getting weak once more, Gracia slowly looked up and watched as Wisely frowned up over her, presumably at Sheril.

"Sheril, this one is mine! I have to figure out how she's blocking me from her mind!"

"She's troublesome." Sheril's voice was flat and not amused, "She's hurt Lulu Bell and my darling Road. It's best to end it now."

"If what she's doing really is being done because of her Innocence, I want to know how it works." Wisely insisted, scowling, "I don't want to run into an Innocence that can do this again and not have some idea of how to get around its defense."

"…Sheril, leave it~." The Earl's voice spoke up, "Wisely is right~."

"…" Sheril huffed, then his hand pulled away, his footsteps echoing as he walked back across the room.

"Just remember, Wisely~," The Earl's voice went on, "We're here for Alma Karma and Yu Kanda, first and foremost~. Any experiments you want to do with Lady Solidor will have to wait~."

"Of course, of course." Wisely crossed his arms and sighed, closing his eyes.

Gracia stared up at Wisely silently, still panting, then turned her attention back to Kanda and twitched her fingers against his cheek, trying to get him do wake up… and get that deadened glaze out of his eyes.

Her efforts, though, just wasted her energy; Kanda remained unresponsive and barely breathing.

When footsteps echoed in the glass floor pressed against her ear, Gracia's eyes twitched over to look over Wisely's knee, her body shaking again and her eyes widening when she saw Johnny, Reever, Regory and Regory's assistant all walk into the room, their arms held out like the arms of the ones behind her.

"Good evening~!" The Earl spoke up, his voice a bit more jovial than before as he addressed the newcomers, "Well now~… Come on, line up, line up~!"

_Shit__…_ Gracia's pulse dropped along with her heart as she watched helplessly as the four lined themselves up against the wall, their bodies being controlled like giant marionettes.

When she noticed their eyes widen as they saw her and Kanda as they passed, the doll form Road took notice of Kanda, too.

"Why'd you damage his head? !" She whined, mumbling, "He was so pretty…"

"Pretty, but a guy." Wisely rolled his eyes before going on, "He looked dangerous. Anyway, he's a Second."

Gracia jolted as her panic increased.

_The Noah knew about the Second Exorcists!_

"How reckless of you." She absently heard Road sigh.

Wisely just shrugged, then suddenly looked up and behind Gracia and spoke up, "That's right, Old Master. Love… and tragedy. You should know better than anyone. If you play with forbidden things… they're liable to blow up in your face." He then held out his hands, going on, "The Black Order will be destroyed… by its own creation… and by that which it hates most!"

Despite her training telling her she needed to focus on the safety of the humans in the room, Gracia's attention swung back to Kanda, her body just managing to jolt forward slightly and her hand cupping his cheek when she saw it…

…His eyes came back into focus.

Kanda's eyes flickered back and forth slightly before they met hers. He blinked slowly.

"True, Alma is closed up." Wisely spoke up, again talking in response to nothing (probably the thoughts of those in the room he could read, she blearily realized), "Even my Eyes can't see into him. But… we do have him."

As if watching him was giving her strength, Gracia found herself able to squirm a bit as Kanda slowly placed his hands on the glass floor and pushed himself up a bit, his hair spilling over his shoulders and his eyes blinking slowly against the blood crusted against his lids.

Then, Kanda looked down into the glass floor and saw something in it, his eyes widening and a… look Gracia had never seen his face bear overtaking his expression.

Gracia looked down at the glass floor she was lying on and focused, trying to make it out… Barely, she could see a… vaguely humanoid form somewhere down in there… She couldn't make it out properly, being too close. She closed her eyes and cringed, trying to focus on something so close up bringing even more pain to her ailing head.

"C'mon now~!" The Earl's voice suddenly rose behind her and echoed through the room loudly, his joviality soaring, "Alma Karma~! The morning of condemnation has arrived~! Cock-a-doodle-doo~!"

"Calm down, My Lord." Sheril's voice chuckled, "There are guests present. And after all the trouble we went to using the Thirds as bait…"

Gracia twitched.

The Thirds…

Her eyes widened.

_Where was Tewaku?_

When a loud, strange echoing sound came from behind her, Gracia groaned and barely managed to roll onto her side, her back to Wisely, and she watched with further widening eyes as a black vortex opened beneath the coffin Sheril was sitting on and the Earl (who was… dressed like a chicken?).

"Huh?" Sheril looked down, blinking, "What the…?"

"Oh~!" The chicken-form Earl clucked through his beak, his feathered wings ruffling, "My Ark~!"

When light started to pour up from the Ark, the ground shaking, Sheril's eyes widened and he held up his hands, squeaking, "What's down there?"

Suddenly, a great outward force came from within the Ark, and Sheril and the Earl were knocked back, the coffin upending and landing on top of Sheril and the Earl getting his hat knocked off as Tyki suddenly leapt back through the Ark, Allen close behind.

"Release my comrades!" Allen was shouting before he froze and looked around, realizing he wasn't where he had been.

"You came~!" The Earl stood back up behind Allen, horns obvious on his head now that his hat was gone, "The thorn in my side~!"

The Earl's dark moment, however, was ruined when Allen and Tyki came back down from the jumps they had been in the middle of upon coming through the Gate, both shouting a "Get out of the way!" but the Earl, who _didn__'__t_ get out of the way in time, getting knocked flat and landed on by both of them.

Tyki sighed and put a hand on his hip, staring down at the Earl flatly, "This is my fight, Earl."

"Eh?" Allen blinked, still stunned, "The Earl?" He then started looking around, his eyes widening.

"Welcome, Allen Walker." Tyki chuckled, looking around as well as he ran a hand through his hair. When he saw Gracia, he paused, twitching slightly.

Gracia stared back at him.

"What the…" Allen continued looking around, taking everyone in the room in with a shocked expression, "What's going on? !" He then looked along the back wall, his face falling, "Johnny… and Reever!"

"Sorry, Allen!" Reever apologized shamefacedly.

"We're hostages!" Johnny drooped as much as he could, shaking slightly.

Beside Johnny, though, Regory apparently found something more interesting to focus on. "Huh?" He blinked, "We can talk?"

"Oh!" Allen blinked as a sudden realization hit him, "That reminds me, we have a meeting today in North America! Didn't they say that…?"

Gracia twitched. North American Branch? But they'd been in Jordan…

"Then we're…" Allen's words were cut off when, above Gracia's head, Kanda suddenly stood. Allen looked over at him, blinking, "Kanda?" His eyes widened again when he saw Gracia, "Gracia! But why? Weren't you defending Jordan Camp?"

Gracia couldn't answer past the blood that had caked and dried in her throat from all of her panting.

Standing over her and looking down, presumably at the figure in the glass floor, Kanda was silent, his bangs shadowing his eyes and an unreadable look on his face.

"That camp was wiped out some time ago."

When there was a crash and thud, Gracia's eyes swung up and widened when she saw Sheril had dumped an armless Tokusa out of the coffin he had been sitting on.

Sheril chuckled, going on as Allen looked over at him, "Didn't you know? You came to rescue this Third, right?"

"Tokusa!" Allen called out.

Tokusa, half trapped under the coffin and in pain, barely managed to open an eye and look at Allen, "Apostle… What happened to Madarao? !"

"He's being seen to." Tyki replied with a bright smile.

Tokusa ground his teeth, then called out, "Be careful! I don't know how he does it, but this Noah can manipulate people's bodies! He broke my legs without touching them!"

Gracia twitched slightly, her eyes widening. That was how Sheril had managed to attack Mathilda back in Nalbina… And how he was keeping the Black Order personnel hostage now!

"Yep!" Sheril confirmed brightly, winking, "By that same token I, Dezaiasu, control the personnel of this Branch." He then giggled, "I warn you, I'm quite a sadist! If you don't want your companions to be sacrificed – or bent into horrible shapes – you will do as I say."

Allen's brow twitched, "…So we just shut up and let you kill us? !"

"Pfft, please…" Sheril waved his hand, "A Noah would never suggest that. However…" His expression then flattened as he pointed to Allen and Tyki, "Would you mind getting off of the Millennium Earl?"

Allen and Tyki blinked, then complied, Tyki glancing at Allen and smiling as he did, "Hey, boy… We came to welcome you."

Allen glanced at Tyki flatly, frowning, "Huh? Welcome me? But I'm your enemy—!"

Gracia's eyes widened and a hoarse cry got choked in her throat when, as the Earl stood, he took one of Allen's arms and bent it behind his back, grabbing the back of Allen's head and shoving him down onto the ground.

"Allen Walker~…" The Earl grinned down at Allen as he rolled onto his back, readjusting his grip to hold the boy's throat, "We shan't let you return to the Order~! You're not the Pianist by the Fourteenth's directive… You _are_ the Fourteenth~!"

Gracia started to shake and struggle again, trying to get up, trying to overcome her headache enough and gather enough energy to use Sleep.

If they started talking about the Fourteenth, then Allen would…! ! When she looked up to Kanda for help, he was still frozen in place, staring at whatever was down in the glass that she couldn't see.

"That's how it is." Tyki said as he stood behind the Earl and smiled down at the shocked look on Allen's face.

"I was completely taken in~!" The Earl chuckled, "As you know, I manufacture Akuma~. They are my arms and legs… and eyes~. You spoke to me through an Akuma that one time, didn't you~?"

"That… time?" Allen rasped through the Earl's grip on his throat.

"That was an awful shock~." The Earl chuckled, as if the fact that Allen's tone indicated he didn't know was he was talking about didn't matter.

"What are you talking about?" Allen croaked, "I never—"

Gracia felt her heart stop when, in a flash, Allen's hair curled slightly and he tipped his head to the side, smiling coyly and purring, "That's exactly right."

The Earl and Tyki behind him jolted in shock, and Gracia could feel the air around Wisely, behind her, twitch, as well.

"I wanted to tell you…" Not-Allen went on as the Earl's grip relented, Allen's gloved hand reaching up to cup the side of the Earl's face, "That I was back."

"The… Fourteenth!" The Earl was the one rasping now.

"I knew you'd come, Brother." Not-Allen purred, "This time… I'm going to kill you."

…A shock ran through the room.

Allen's body leaned up quickly, a crazed grin parting his lips as his bangs brushed the Earl's forehead, "I'm going to kill you and replace you as the Millennium Earl!"

…She couldn't take it anymore.

Her panting getting louder, more ragged, Gracia rolled back onto her stomach and slammed her hands against the ground, pushing herself upright, ignoring the way her screaming brain protested and tried to send out painful jolts to make her crash and be still again.

"Fourteenth…" She looked up slowly to find Not-Allen and the Earl had turned to look at her. Gracia ground her teeth and clenched her hand, then threw it forward, Sleep's chain chiming, "Go back to sleep!"


	112. PSR: Foreign HPPDxWILD Flashback Pt 1

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

The Earl pulled back from Allen slightly as Sleep's pulse ran through the air. "Is that… what you want, Fourteenth?"

As Sleep gave him leeway to regain control, Allen slammed his head back against the floor and pressed a hand to his forehead, groaning, "Noooo! ! I'm not the Fourteenth!"

"That's right, Allen…" Gracia panted heavily, her legs shaking as her arm fell back to her side limply. She watched, pained in more than one way, as Allen rolled over and coughed up blood, "You're… not… him… He died… a long time ago. You've held him back before… Now do it again!"

Allen threw his head back and screamed, then rolled over and slammed his forehead into the Earl's, gritting his teeth, "I can't let that happen again! !"

The Earl yelped as his nose was crushed, falling onto his back and rolling around as he grabbed his face, "Ow, ow, ow~!"

Allen stood, a dark aura crackling around him, "Listen to me, Earl… And you, too, Fourteenth…" He then stood straight and jerked his thumb towards his chest, "I am Allen Walker, Exorcist! And I'll never be anyone else!"

Gracia smiled, panting out a weak laugh.

"So don't try to drag me into your silly sibling quarrel!" Allen went on, biting out, "It's annoying!"

Gracia continued smiling, relieved, then jerked slightly when Kanda's presence suddenly disappeared from her side, her eyes widening when he reappeared in front of Allen with Mugen drawn and Road's doll form clamped between his teeth.

Kanda tired to deal a blow to the Earl, but Tyki interceded and blocked.

"Do something, Wisely!" Sheril shrieked.

"I'm not a fighter." Was Wisely's unsympathetic reply as Allen turned on Sheril and kicked the coffin, sending Sheril flying while Allen grabbed Tokusa and helped him to his feet, running back towards Gracia.

Gracia's eyes widened and she jumped slightly when Kanda suddenly reappeared right in front of her, crouched with one hand on the ground and the other holding Mugen out to the side as he skidded back slightly, stopping just shy of his feet hitting hers.

"Kanda!" Allen shouted as he ran up, "You can move? !"

Kanda snapped into an upright standing position, Road's doll still clamped in his mouth and his voice muffled as he asked, "Something wrong?"

Allen twitched slightly, glaring, "Not wrong… but you were still as a statue. What's made you active suddenly?"

"I got hit in the head and came to here." Kanda answered with a shrug, reaching up and pulling the ribbon off of Road's neck while ignoring her indignant shrieks, "Couldn't figure out what was happening at first." As he turned to Gracia, Kanda then snapped at Road, "Shut up! Your brother broke my hair ribbon, so I'm taking yours!"

As Kanda sheathed Mugen and carelessly let Road fall in favor of tying his hair back, he looked up at Gracia, quirking a brow when he saw her expression.

It was only when she saw the look on his face that Gracia realized she was starting to cry.

"Yu…" She mumbled weakly, reaching out.

Kanda just continued to stare at her, deadpanned, as she pressed her hand to his face again.

"…Look, we should withdraw and regroup." Tokusa mumbled from Allen's side.

Kanda grunted and nodded, then finished tying his hair up and reached out with his now free hand, taking Gracia's outstretched wrist and jerking her around when he ran past her.

Gracia just managed to keep her legs from giving out at how quickly Kanda spun around and jerked her along as he started running.

"Waking up, yet? !" He barked back at her with an irritated but worried, just barely worried, frown on his face.

"Getting there…" Gracia croaked back weakly, starting to get just enough energy to try to keep up as her adrenalin was forcibly jumpstarted.

Kanda grunted, then scowled and looked over her shoulder when there was an explosion.

Gracia would have looked back, herself, if she hadn't been passively worried about tripping, but she didn't have to look back; Kanda and Allen jerked to a stop when dozens of thick, wet tubes and pipes suddenly shot around and past them and filled up the archway exit they had been headed for.

"Do you worms even understand what's going on?" Sheril's voice purred as they looked back, his arms outstretched and dark shadows crossing his face as his lips parted in a dark grin, "Fourteenth… didn't you hear the Earl? You're not going back to the Order."

Gracia's eyes widened when, out of the middle of the pile of piping Sheril had made that the Noah were sitting on, the body of a person she didn't recognize and hadn't previously seen in the room shot up, two tubes wrapped around its arms and keeping it suspended in the air.

One side of the male form's head was bald, and the other side had long, white hair flowing down to its feet, a large, upside down triangle with circles in the center on its stomach and the bald side of its head, along with an oddly looping line down the left side of its chest, marred with jagged-edged scars.

And… on its chest was… the same mark as…

"Allen Walker, we're giving you the chance to abandon the Order of your own free will~." The Earl announced jovially, spreading his arms, "This is your retirement party~."

When Gracia glanced at Allen, shocked, his reaction was torn between confusion at the 'retirement' bit and the person hanging from the tubes behind the Noah. "…Who's that up there?" He finally settled on.

"Alma Karma, mother body of the Thirds." Tokusa answered between suppressed, pained pants, "He was originally an Artificial Apostle like Yu Kanda."

Gracia's eyes widened and a jolt ran through her body as she slowly looked up at Kanda, who had jerked her close and was holding onto her wrist with a now painful grip.

Kanda's grip on her wrist twitched slightly, getting a bit more painful, but he kept his expression flat as he raised his free hand and scratched his neck.

"Who's that?"

…It obviously wasn't the reaction those in the room who knew about what was going on had expected; the Earl, Sheril and Wisely all gapped at him, and behind the monolith of tubes, the Black Order personnel were all staring at Kanda in disbelief.

"…What did you just say~?" The Earl asked slowly, his tone flat.

"You heard me." Kanda countered dully, nodding to Alma Karma when Wisely leaned in and pointed to him, "Who's that?"

Gracia twitched and stared at Kanda, trying to figure out of he was serious or not. If Alma Karma was part of the same Second Exorcist Program he had been in, then they had probably grown up together. If that person really was Alma Karma, and the marking on his chest that looked so like Kanda's tattoo said he was, then there would be no way Kanda wouldn't know him.

"…Kanda?" Gracia mumbled up at him, "Is that him or isn't it?"

Kanda just glanced at her flatly from under his fringe, his expression firm.

Gracia blinked, "It isn't." Or he firmly believed it couldn't be.

"What's wrong with you? ! Aaaagh!" Road's doll form, which had apparently been holding onto Kanda's cloak the whole time, groaned as she crawled up over his shoulder, "That's the failed Apostle you killed nine years ago!"

Gracia's eyes widened and she gasped sharply when Kanda's hand tightened it's already painful grip on her wrist, her bones grating together as Kanda's other hand lashed out and grabbed Road, holding her at arm's length by her face.

"He died." Kanda said simply, flatly, a dark tone in his voice but no warning inflection in it whatsoever. He was pissed, but there was no need for him to warn them to agree with him; he believed Alma was dead. It was that simple. Anyone who said otherwise was just trying to piss him off.

"…But he was alive!" Road insisted after a pregnant pause. "He was changed, but he lived! The Order hid him!"

"You want me to crush you?" Kanda asked coldly even as Road went on, his grip on Gracia's wrist only getting tighter and tighter until she cried out, doing her best to keep Sleep from lashing out at him.

"They blamed you for killing Alma, hiding him for nine years," Road went on, her words making Kanda shake, "They used the Holy War as an excuse! On top of that, they implanted the nucleus of an Akuma Egg in him. He's now a living puppet being devoured by the Order." She then paused before asking, "Aren't you happy to see Alma again?"

Kanda crushed the doll form Road's head in his hand, his grip on Gracia's wrist finally relenting. He didn't react at all when she slumped against his side, panting and clamping her free hand over his to apply pressure again to alleviate the pain in her now bruising wrist.

"…Does the person that Alma killed… have anything to do with this?" Road's voice continued to issue from the now headless doll.

Gracia's eyes widened and she stared down at Kanda in numbed shock as he drew Mugen and knelt by Road's side, holding the tip of his sword poised over her body even as her head started to grow back.

"Calm down, Kanda!" Allen let Tokusa go and fell to his knees beside Road and Kanda, grabbing Mugen's blade with his bare left hand to keep Kanda from stabbing her, "You know an attack like this won't work on Road! Don't let her provoke you! They're trying to involve you in some sort of plot!" Allen threw Gracia a desperate look, going on, "They've caught us, but we still have to help the others! We have to focus on that!"

In response to Allen's silent plea for assistance, Gracia cautiously stepped forward and knelt beside and a little behind Kanda, reaching out and setting her hands on his back.

"Kanda…"

That didn't get her a response, Mugen's blade still shaking as Kanda tried to stab Road and his eyes still narrowed down at her darkly as her head continued reforming.

"…Yu."

As always, when one name didn't work, the other did; Kanda twitched, glancing over at her.

"You remember what Wisely said back in Jordan Camp." Gracia mumbled, keeping her voice low, "We have to get Alma away from them, even if it's not him."

Kanda twitched at that, his grip on Mugen loosening slightly a moment later.

"…That's alright." The now fully reformed Road doll spoke up, "If you don't believe this is Alma…"

Gracia's eyes widened when, suddenly, a giant eye, just like the one on Wisely's forehead, opened up beneath them.

"Let Alma himself convince you!" Road finished.

"Remember what I said, Kanda?" Wisely chimed in, though Gracia heard the rest of his words echo in her head, '_We__'__re __going __to __use __your __brain __for __our __party._'

"What do you mean? !" Gracia looked up at Allen as he spoke, her eyes widening when she saw a dark outline of Wisely's three eyes on not just his, but Kanda's forehead, as well. She imagined she had the same on her own forehead…

Vaguely, Gracia heard first Tokusa, then Zu Mei's voice call out, but before she could make out what either of them were say—

* * *

"Hey… are you awake?"

Gracia's eyes twitched open and she looked up, confused when the world… rippled and swayed, as if she were underwater.

"Are you awake? Huh?"

She blinked again and squinted upward, confused when she saw a kid with short black hair, save two longer strands that framed the sides of his face, and a line of a scar across the bridge of his nose leaning over the watery space she was in, his voice a bit wavy as it carried through the water.

"If you're awake, raise your hand." The boy said simply, trying to make answering easier.

Gracia twitched slightly and was shocked when she found her hand being raised without her permission, shivering when her hand breeched the surface of the cold water and emerged into even colder air.

The boy blinked, then his eyes got watery and he smiled widely as he fell to his knees, gripping the ledge he was leaning over as Gracia's hand retracted, again without her permission.

"Yay!" The boy cried out, "Yay! Yay! I'm so happy! I thought I was all alone!" The boy giggled and smiled down at her happily, going on, "I heard… your name is Yu!"

Gracia felt a shock run through her, barely noticing when, again, her hand was raised without her moving it, her child-small hand with its long, uncut fingernails breeching the water and pointing to the boy inquisitively.

"Huh? Me?" The boy pointed to himself, blushing slightly and smiling sheepishly, "I'm a bit shy. I'm… uh…" He rubbed the back of his head, finishing, "Alma." He then lowered his hand and smiled down at her warmly, "Happy birthday, Yu!"

Gracia was still in shock when Alma reached into the water to help 'her' out, barely noticing when people in lab coats began rushing around behind Alma. She was more focused on 'her' reflection in Alma's eye when they were close enough.

…Holy shit, she was in tiny Kanda's body.

* * *

As she rode along in tiny Kanda's body, Gracia came to several conclusions:

1) Wisely's ability was directly related to memories.

2) Tiny Kanda wasn't aware of her presence.

3) Though she could still think and feel independently, she had no control over tiny Kanda's body.

4) Kanda was going to kill her when they snapped out of this and he found out she'd seen his memories from his point of view.

5) Holding onto Kanda's back while they had been on Wisely's 'eyeball platform' hadn't been a good idea.

6) And finally… tiny Kanda was absolutely adorable.

If she could take control, if only for a moment, and make him hug himself, she would.

But she didn't have time for that.

She had to get out of here and get Wisely out of Kanda's brain.

If she could do it with Road, then…

So, while tiny Kanda, who had just 'woken up,' was sat down for a haircut, Gracia focused on where she knew Sleep should be and started struggling.

* * *

"We'll show no mercy to the likes of you." Wisely was just saying when, on the floor below, that strange and annoying woman's body, slumped against Yu Kanda's back, started to struggle. Wisely's eyes widened, "…Earl…"

"…Wisely," The Earl started slowly, "Get her back in~."

"…I don't know how she's getting out." Wisely muttered, his hand twitching slightly when Gracia managed to stumble to her feet, breathing harshly.

"I told you, we should have destroyed her Innocence." Sheril sighed.

"G-Gracia!" Johnny shouted from in between Reever and Regory, struggling uselessly, "Gracia, wake up!"

Sheril threw a withering glare in the young scientist's direction and was about to use his threads on him to make him shut up again when Gracia's eyes suddenly snapped open, her harsh breathing getting louder as she looked towards the Noah.

Straddling the edge of watching Kanda's memories from the point of view of his tiny body and actually being awake, Gracia turned and started to stumble towards Wisely slowly, used to straddling the edge from all of the times she'd had her consciousness torn when Judge-Sal had been damaged.

Blearily, she saw the same mark that was on Allen and Kanda's heads, that she knew was on her own, on Alma Karma's head, and suddenly it… made sense…

"…Leave… them… alone…" Gracia croaked slowly, stumbling and almost falling.

"General Solidor!" Lvellie barked, making her shake her head and catch herself at the last moment.

"…General, huh?" Wisely stared at Gracia, "No wonder you're so annoyingly persistent…"

"Akuma… shard… Alma… body…" Gracia rasped brokenly, her head spinning as her headache worsened and she felt something pulling at the back of her brain, trying to get her to collapse and slip back in, "Regenerative… seal… If you… wake… then… Alma… body…"

Even through her broken speech… it made some sense. It made _enough_ sense.

Reever's eyes widened, the color draining from his face.

Renny inhaled sharply, her skin turning ashen.

Bak's jaw dropped, his head starting to shake slowly.

Zu Mei's eyes widened and his jaw tensed, tears forming in his eyes.

"…Solidors can be so annoyingly perceptive~." The Earl chuckled, "You should be careful with that… Your father met his early end for the same reasons, you know~."

Gracia froze and stared at the Earl, her eyes widening as what he said slowly started to sink in. "Wh… What…"

"Ohh~?" The Earl tipped his head, "You didn't know~? I had just assumed, since you inherited his Inno—"

Before he finished, the force tugging on her brain gave a particularly sharp jerk, taking advantage of her shock to catch her off guard and pull her back into the black.

* * *

_(If you guys are trying to read chapter 113 and can't seem to load it because of that error message telling you to wait 15 minutes [even though it's _clearly_ been over 15 minutes], just… keep reloading the page. F F's been a real b**** about that the last few days; I think they jacked something up when they did that last string of updates. You know, the one that kept us all out of the login and review area for a few hours 2-3 days ago?)_


	113. PSR: Foreign HPPDxWILD Flashback Pt 2

Did y'all know you were in a race? Did y'all know ya already finished it?

Well, ya did.

And the winner is **KizunaCho**, my 600th reviewer~!

*nervous laughter* Holy crap, six hundred reviews? Really? ! You've gotta be kidding me… Of course, I thought the same thing when I realized this was gonna be over a hundred chapters, but reviews are so very different. I've gained dozens of new readers, lost a few along the way, have gotten encouragement from people all around the world… You guys are the ones who make it all worth it, and I wanna thank you for not just reading, but giving your (sometimes candid) opinions and suggestions.

In a few chapters, this arc is gonna end in a way that will see me probably getting more hate mail than encouragement, but you guys gotta keep trusting me, 'kay? ^ . ^' Just like you've trusted me for the last one hundred and twelve chapters.

Jeez, one-twelve… Here's to many more, eh? And don't forget to keep an eye out for updates for _Daydreams_~!

Love ya, and let the angst begin~!

(P.S. If you've been getting errors when trying to load stories and you get that message that tells you to wait 15 minutes, just keep trying. Those errors have been flickering on and off for recently updated stories [recently updated including ones that were updated several hours prior]; I think they might have messed something up with their servers when they updated the other day.)

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"He really threw him!" One of the scientists of Laboratory 6 screamed as she clambered up over the busted remains of the table she'd broken in her struggle to hurt Alma Karma, sneering when she reached the top and saw Alma, across the room, stumbling back to his feet and staring at her in teary shock.

She stuck her tongue out at him, feeling unparalleled levels of disgusts and hatred, and when Alma's teary face contorted in indignation and he lunged at her, she fought back, screaming incoherently at him.

"Yaaa! !"

"Stop it, you two! !"

The dozens of techs and scientists that fell on top of them and tried to pull them apart became collateral damage as she and Alma lashed out at anyone who tried to separate them as they rolled around on the floor, their beyond human strength leading to them splitting skin and breaking bones with every hit, kick and bite.

It was only when the number of personnel doubled that they finally managed to get her and Alma separated, Alma bursting into tears and her sneering and stomping to their medical care/bedroom in disgust over his crying.

Stubbornly, she plopped down on her bed and pulled her legs up to her chest, hugging them and sneering when Renny Epstain came in once she was bandaged to check on her and, to her annoyance, Alma as he came into the room, as well.

If that fucker tried to hug her or touch her hair one more time, she'd beat his ass again…

"Cripes!" She heard Twi Chang's voice burst from the other side of the glass in the observation room to her right as the woman slammed the door and stormed into the room, "Fighting again? ! Are they hurt?"

"Three minutes ago they had bloody noses and lots of bruises and cuts…" She glared down at her arms as they finished healing while Twi's husband, Edgar Chang Martin, narrated, "But now they're healed up and healthy."

"Behave, you two!" Renny hissed from behind her as she finished her examinations.

"Their regenerative ability isn't an excuse for all of this brawling." Twi seemed to direct the comment through the glass and right at her, tapping the glass window between them with her clipboard. Then, her voice faded a bit as she turned her head away, "The collateral damage is still quite evident, I see…"

"Well… ha ha ha!" Edgar laughed nervously, "It's not just me… They cleaned _all_ our clocks."

She glanced over to see Twi glaring at the bruised and bandaged scientists who had gotten in between her and Alma's fight, and she felt no pity.

Idiots should have just let her kill the creepy, useless worm.

"This isn't good, Alma."

She tensed when a new voice came into the room, scowling and hugging her knees tighter.

Saarinzu Epstain… She didn't like him.

"You have no control over your emotions." Saarinzu went on firmly, "Remember, you're Apostles. You exist to save the human race."

She felt bile rise up in the back of her throat and resisted the urge to gag.

Humans were such pathetic creatures… She was glad she wasn't one.

"An Apostle has dignity," Saarinzu continued, his voice swelling with pride, "And doesn't lash out at the first provocation."

"…Sorry, Doctor… I…" She had to resist the urge to gag again at the sound of Alma's pathetic, teary voice, looking over and glaring at him. "Just wanted to be with Yu."

She sneered, turning towards Alma more and snapping, "You're creepy! You follow me around like a stalker! Weirdos like you should just die!"

Saarinzu twitched and a crestfallen look crossed Alma's face, his tears thickening.

"Waaaah!" Alma wailed as he turned and tired to throw himself at her, Saarinzu quickly wrapping his arms around Alma but not before Alma's hand lashed out and scratched her cheek.

"Calm down, Alma." Saarinzu said firmly as the boy struggled against his chest.

Enraged at the pain in her cheek, she tried to take advantage of the fact that Alma was being held still and tried to lunge back at him, "I'll get you! ! Gaaah! !" She flailed when someone dove at her from behind and grabbed her.

"Stop that, Yu!" The person behind her commanded firmly.

"You're stupid, Yu!" Alma screamed/cried, lashing out with his leg and kicking her in the stomach.

"Stop gawking and break them up!" Renny barked, dropping her clipboard and rushing forward to grab Alma's legs, only to get kicked in the hip, "Gaaah!"

Unfortunately for Renny, she tried to kick Alma back at the same—

_Wait… my name… isn't Yu…_

_Gracia shuddered and tried to separate her thoughts from Kanda's memories…_

_**I woke up in a strange place.**_

_Gracia stopped her struggling at the sound of younger Kanda's voice._

_**They call it Black Order Asian Branch Laboratory 6.**_

_**Demonic creatures called Akuma…**_

_**The Millennium Earl…**_

_**Exorcists…**_

_**Innocence…**_

_**The reason I was born…**_

_Gracia shuddered again as the scene changed from 'her' in Kanda's body struggling and trying to get at Alma to 'her' in Kanda's body walking alongside Edgar Chang Martin into a large, dark room with glowing, water-filled holes in the floor and a strange shrine along the back wall._

_The room…was freezing…_

_**The reason I live…**_

_**The world is a field in which everything has been prepared by God.**_

"So all these holes are…" She heard 'her' voice start.

"That's right." Edgar's voice confirmed as he set a hand on 'her' shoulder, "Apostles like you sleep in them."

_'Second Exorcists…' Gracia realized in numb shock._

"Are you humans born out of holes, too?" She heard 'herself' ask, feeling a dull spike of curiosity. 'She' then glanced over when Edgar crouched beside her, smiling.

"No, we come from our mothers."

"Mothers?" 'She' felt confusion even though _she_ knew what a mother was, "What are they?"

"Well, Director Twi's one…"

At that, 'she' felt shock. "The Branch Head gave birth to you?"

_Despite the situation, Gracia still found herself wanting to smile. Tiny Kanda really was so adorable…_

"Huh? !" A look of shock and embarrassment crossed Edgar's face, "No, not me! She gave birth to our child. I'm the father!"

Now 'she' was genuinely curious and confused. "Father? How does it work?"

Edgar looked mortified at the idea of having to give the young 'her' 'The Talk.'

"Eh?" He laughed nervously, "Um… You see… Humans are created when a man and a woman love each other. But…"

When Edgar's explanation was cut short by someone calling to him on his golem, 'she' looked out over the room, feeling oddly… nostalgic.

_**Love each other?**_

'…That's… just like us.'

_Gracia was shocked when she heard the female voice and vaguely saw a female form out of the corner of the younger Kanda's periphery._

_As the memory continued to play in front of her, younger Kanda looking over and seeing nothing, Gracia absently realized…_

…_It was a hallucination._

_Even this young… Kanda was having hallucinations?_

_**Alma… He's creepy.**_

_Gracia watched numbly as younger Kanda ran away from the bane of his young existence, Alma Karma, leaving him to cry._

_**How can he laugh like that?**_

_**And in… in a place like this?**_

_Gracia suddenly screamed out in Kanda's shared pain when, dramatically, the scene changed._

_They weren't in the birthing room of the Second Exorcists anymore…_

_They were somewhere else, and Kanda was hooked up to electrodes and crying out as his body simply… burst open and sprayed blood from random places across his body._

"_Yu!_" 'She' vaguely heard someone call out over a loudspeaker.

'She' wasn't able to answer as 'she' collapsed and shook violently, the sudden pain sending 'her' small body into shock, the taste of blood and electricity thick on 'her' tongue.

"_It__'__s __just __shock. __He __hasn__'__t __fallen._" She vaguely recognized Saarinzu's voice speak up next, "_How __are __his __injuries?_"

"_Recovery __in __five __hundred __and __ten __seconds. __He__'__ll __be __active __in __three __hundred __and __eight __seconds._"

"_Dr. __Epstain!_"

"_Can __you __hear __me, __Yu?_" Saarinzu's voice called out to 'her,' "_One __more __time!_"

_Gracia, her consciousness flickering between being combined with Kanda's and being her own, separately recognizable entity as the pain rattled her around, could only watch… and not control or do a damned thing as the CROWs stepped forward and pulled 'her,' pulled the young Kanda, back to his feet._

Too dangerous!

He hasn't fallen!

Excellent results!

Synchronize…

Fallen One!

Alma!

Cardiac arrest!

Recovery in four hundred and twenty seconds…

A Second is sure to be an Accommodator!

_**Al… ma? He's… doing this too?**_

Hope of humanity!

"…Damn you Innocence." The headless, winged form the CROW made Kanda stand in front of lashed out at him as soon as he touched it, its wings bending towards him and piercing his body.

"_Yu __will __recover __in __approximately __five __hundred __and __eighty __seconds._"

_Gracia tried to cover her eyes with her hands, but in this form, she didn't have any._

_She could only pray… that it ended soon._

When the thought crossed the younger Kanda's mind, like him, she could only hope that 'they' died soon.

* * *

'_Feh__… __I __can__'__t __sleep._' 'She' stumbled along, alone, in pain, towards the birthing room of the Second Exorcists, '_Saarinzu__'__s __voice __is __pounding __in __my __head._'

When 'she' came to the birthing room, 'she' stopped and leaned against a pillar, the coldness of the stone and the air soothing 'her' aching body.

'_This __is __the __quietest __place__… __but __it__'__s __so __cold._' 'She' looked down at the holes where the other Second Exorcists laid, sleeping, "…You guys are sound asleep… in the water."

_**Maybe… I should go back and try to sleep.**_

_**This world is dark.**_

_**It's terribly hard to breathe.**_

_**What am I?**_

_Gracia, who had almost forgotten her own existence in Kanda's pain and sorrow, jerked slightly and remembered who she was when the younger Kanda saw, out in the mist rising from the water of the suspension tubes in the ground, the cloudy figure of a young woman in a dress._

_**Who is that?**_

_Gracia watched as the younger Kanda call out to her, then started to run towards her when she turned to him and smiled._

"Yu! Look out! Below you!"

'She' didn't have time to react before 'she' realized that she'd run out directly over one of the holes in the ground and fell into the water.

A moment later, Alma was leaning over and taking 'her' hand, pulling 'her' out as 'she' coughed and sputtered.

"What're you doing here so late at night?" Alma asked, his voice torn between curiosity and concern.

Immediately, 'she' looked up at him and snapped, "You! Did you follow me again? !"

Alma twitched and glared down at 'her,' indignantly snapping back, "No! I was just eating snacks and reading!"

"Is this your room? !" 'She' snapped in disbelief before 'she' remembered what 'she' had seen, "Oh! Where'd she go?"

"Huh?" Alma stopped pulling and blinked down at 'her' in confusion.

"Wasn't there a lady here just now? !" 'She' barked up at Alma, annoyed, before 'she' went back to looking around, twitching when 'she' didn't see anyone, "She's gone."

"…A lady?" Alma suddenly perked, "Maybe it was—Ow!"

'She' jolted and looked back over at Alma, shocked as 'she' watched him sink to his knees as his right arm just fell off. Briefly… very briefly… 'she' felt a flash of concern.

"Haha, sorry…" Alma laughed up at 'her' sheepishly, "I regenerated too many times in the synchro tests. I'm still a bit brittle. …Are you alright, Yu?" Alma tacked on as an afterthought.

'She' snorted and stood, "I'm fi—" Before 'she' could finish, 'her' own right arm fell off and 'she' knelt and slammed her forehead to the ground in pain, cursing.

Overhead, Alma laughed sheepishly.

"…Everyone's sleeping." Alma pointed out, making 'her' realize they couldn't go to the scientists for help with their fallen limbs, "Let's sit here 'till we heal."

_As the two boys sat and talked (Gracia absently realizing through his descriptions that the 'lady' Alma had been referring to was actually For, who wasn't who Kanda had seen), Gracia managed to pull herself away from Kanda's thoughts and consciousness again._

…_This was… this was just disgusting…_

_How__… __How __could __the __Order __do __this__… __to _children_? !_

_What they'd done…_

…_The younger Kanda didn't even think of himself as human._

_What __did __the __older __Kanda, _her _Kanda, __think?_

"_We don't see you as expendable." Bak had once told Kanda._

_Because of this… that… Did Kanda think… that it didn't matter if he died or not? Because the Order could just 'grow' new Exorcists if they needed to?_

_Kanda…_

_As Gracia watched as Kanda and Alma actually bonded through a result of another one of their spats, both boys bursting into laughter as they lay prone on the ground soaked in their own blood, she felt—_

_**The world is dark.**_

_**It's hard to breathe here.**_

_**But that time… when I tried laughing like you… it seemed like it got a little easier.**_

**…**_**It was… one hundred and ninety-three days later that…**_

**…**_**I destroyed you, Alma.**_

…_Gracia wanted nothing more than to be able to block it all out, curl up and cry._


	114. PSR: Foreign HPPDxWILD Flashback Pt 3

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

_Gracia struggled and tried to 'slam' her way around, trying to pick out the boundaries again so she could force her body back into consciousness and try to get at Wisely once more._

_She tried to not think about what the Earl had said._

_She tried to not think about the sorrow she could feel pouring into her from Kanda's end of their connection._

_She __tried __not __to __let __his __memories __suck __her __into __riding __in __the __passenger__'__s __seat __again, __even __though __it __was __so __hard __to __keep __herself __separated __when __all __of __the _memories _made __her __feel __such _genuine _and _powerful _emotions._

_She __tried __to __remember __that __she __didn__'__t __want __to __find __out __about __Kanda__'__s __past __like __this, __that __she __wanted _him _to __tell __her __when __and __if __he __was __ever __ready._

_She tried to remember the feeling of Sleep around her wrist and right middle finger._

…_She tried to remember the feeling of… Komui's ring… on her left ring finger._

_Komui…_

_Komui…_

_But she cared about Kanda, too, and while it wasn't the same kind of caring, Komui was safe, back in the European Branch, and Kanda was right in front of her._

…_She __was _in _him._

_But that was why she had to wake up._

_Escaping Wisely, though… wasn't like escaping Road._

_Road dealt in dreams. Gracia was good with dreams._

_Wisely dealt in memories. Gracia had always dreamed her memories, trying to keep her conscious mind from being able to remember them._

_Sleep… had done its best… for so long… to keep her from remembering._

_She was easily influenced by those who tampered with memories; she had conditioned herself to allow such things so Sleep could work more effectively._

_And with Wisely working to keep her below the surface… and Kanda's memories latching onto her, pulling, begging…_

…_Wait…_

_Pulling…_

_Something… other than Wisely… was pulling at her…_

_Kanda's memories._

Kanda_._

_Even if they were memories… Kanda still existed beyond them._

_He was still in there…_

_Was it possible… Could he be…?_

…_After thinking about it, Gracia went back to trying to focus on Sleep._

_And, vaguely, she could feel something… burning… off in the distance a bit…_

_Right about… where her wrist…_

_Gracia stopped struggling and fell backwards, deeper into Kanda's subconscious, down past the memories and into what lay benea—_

* * *

Gracia blinked her eyes open.

She was back in Alma Karma's containment room in the North American Branch… Only the Noah and everyone else were gone.

…Save Kanda and Alma.

Gracia's eyes widened as worry spiked in her chest and she rushed towards where Kanda lay facedown on the glass floor, his head turned to the side and his cheek pressed against the floor.

His body, Gracia realized as she fell to her knees beside him, was parallel to Alma's, who was still down in the containment space below the glass, as he had been before the Noah had pulled him out…

"Kanda." Gracia grabbed his shoulder and shook it, "Kanda, wake up." She reached down and brushed his hair out of his face, frowning when she saw the markings similar to Wisely's 'eyes' still on his forehead.

As she moved his hair, Kanda twitched and stirred, Gracia shuddering in relief when his eyes flickered open. He looked around slowly before pressing his hands to the ground, pushing himself upright.

"Kanda," Gracia breathed, reaching out and grabbing his shoulder again, "Are you—" She flinched and cried out in pain when Kanda turned on her and lashed out with his hand, wrapping his fingers around her throat and squeezing.

"Who are you? !" Kanda seethed, glaring at her harshly and slamming her down onto her back before hovering over her, pinning her to the ground, "Where in the fuck are we? !"

"K-Kanda…" Gracia croaked past his hand, flinching when she felt the veins and tendons in her neck rubbing against one another as he squeezed, "T-Take… a moment… t-to calm down… 'nd think…"

Kanda's brow furrowed and he glared down at her harshly, but confusedly, for several long moments.

As he did, though, his grip didn't relent, and Gracia gasped desperately but uselessly for air, her head getting light and fuzzy and the world turning gray and getting spotted with black as her vision started to tunnel—

She inhaled deeply and rolled onto her side, gasping when the grip let up and let her breathe. Lightheaded, she let the person who grabbed her help her upright, her vision still flashing gray as she looked up into Kanda's face as realization dawned on him.

"Support unit…" He mumbled, almost sounding… guilty, for once. Then, he blinked and looked her over before blushing darkly and looking away.

Not really noticing, Gracia shook her head slowly and mumbled, "'s okay…" As her vision slowly returned to normal, she coughed a few times before noticing he pointedly wasn't looking at her. She blinked, "What?"

"…Why in the fuck are you naked?"

Gracia blinked, then looked down at herself. Her eyes widened and she yelped weakly, covering herself when she found she was, indeed, nude, wearing nothing but Sleep.

In front of her, Kanda sighed harshly before reaching up and removing the cloak of the uniform he was still wearing, shoving it in her direction roughly.

"…It's probably because we're in your subconscious." Gracia tried to rationalize weakly as she reached out and took it, quickly wrapping it around herself, "I left all that I was, save Sleep, behind when I dove in." When Kanda threw a flat glare at her once she was covered, she pursed her lips and quirked a brow at him, "Unless you spend your time in your subconscious imagining me naked."

Kanda twitched and his lips parted as his face twisted into a look of indignant shock, his entire face flashing red before he looked away and turned a light shade of green.

Gracia couldn't help it; she snickered.

Kanda scowled and threw a glare at her, then stood and looked around, "How in the fuck do we get out of here?"

"…I don't think we do." Gracia sighed, staying sitting as she looked around so the short cloak would continue to cover her. Though the room mirrored the room back in the actual North American Branch perfectly, it didn't have a door; they were trapped in the small, cement room.

"Tch." Kanda's scowl deepened and he rubbed his neck, still looking around, "What in the hell is going on…"

"…Wisely's forcing the rest of your mind to replay your earliest memories." When Kanda twitched and looked down at her, Gracia calmly went on, "The ones from back when you and Alma were in Laboratory 6. He's got Allen watching it, too, though I don't think that one was intentional. …He's also got Alma watching."

Kanda's eyes flashed and he tensed up, his hands curling into tight fists at his sides as his teeth ground audibly.

"…You saw it, too, then?"

"Only some." Gracia admitted in a low mumble, looking at the back wall of the room, "I saw your 'birth,' your fight with Alma when you told him 'people like him should just die,' your attempted synchronizations and what they did to you… That time you and Alma bonded in the Second Exorcist birthing room after you fought again and ended up collapsing and bleeding because the synchronization tests had made you so weak…" When Kanda stayed silent, Gracia sighed and mumbled, "And I… I saw 'her.'"

She flinched when Kanda dropped down to one knee in front of her and grabbed her jaw harshly, making her look at him. Forcing herself to stay calm, she met his eyes evenly as he searched her expression.

"…She was a hallucination." Kanda seethed, "If you were just watching, how could you have seen her?"

"…Well, it was a replay of _your_ memories." Gracia sighed, "Even if no one else in the memories saw her, you did, thus she was visible." When Kanda clenched his jaw, the tendons in his neck standing out, Gracia sighed again and admitted, "And I… I saw things directly from your perspective, from within your body. I overheard some of your thoughts."

Briefly, Gracia was afraid that Kanda would hit her.

Even if it hadn't been her fault, it was all still… so _deeply_ personal…

She only blinked in shock, though, when after a long moment, Kanda sighed heavily and let her go, sitting back and crossing his legs.

Gracia blinked and stared at him, then relaxed. She really shouldn't be questioning why he _didn__'__t_ hit her, after all…

…It crossed Gracia's mind… that if he wasn't hitting her… and while they were there, anyway… there were some things… she didn't get about all of this.

She understood that Kanda was an artificially created human, that the Chang Family had used their magic to bestow him and Alma with regenerative seals so they could survive the heavy toll that came with their attempts at synchronizing, that Kanda hallucinated because he was in an ongoing state of a complete cerebral breakdown, but…

"…Kanda."

Kanda glanced at her, giving her a dull, questioning blink.

Gracia paused, then asked, "How exactly… was the Order able to make it so you and Alma were capable of synchronizing with Innocence?"

That part just didn't make sense with what she understood of the situation.

Kanda was an artificial human, right? A test tube baby. So, what, the Order had just grown human after human and crossed their fingers, hoping one would be born that would be able to—

"My brain belonged to a former Exorcist."

…Gracia's mind drew a blank and she stared at Kanda with slowly widening eyes, breathing starting to get hard again.

Kanda sighed and looked away from her, looking down at Alma through the glass. "Both of our brains belonged to Exorcists who died in the field. That was the Second Exorcist Project; transplant the brains of proven Exorcists who could no longer fight into new, healthy bodies and see if the synchronization couldn't be transferred, as well."

Gracia felt lightheaded, her world slowly starting to turn gray again and the corners of her vision fuzzing.

"…So… your hallucinations…" She didn't know how she managed to form a coherent enough thought to start talking again.

Kanda nodded slightly, "Memories."

"…Yu…" He twitched slightly. "…What happened… to you and Alma?"

Kanda glanced at her, looking as tired as his child form had felt in those memories, then sighed and closed his eyes.

Gracia felt herself falling as the world around her flickered and—

* * *

This time, she was in her own body.

She was in her own body, and standing beside the child Kanda as he screamed and thrashed against the magic arrays that held him down to the stone table rising out of the ground as bolts of electricity surged through his body, Saarinzu and Renny Epstain and Twi Chang standing around him and watching as the spell killed—

* * *

The scene changed; Kanda was still on the table, but he was alone, and his body was jerking back to life and he was screaming and struggling again.

"WHY CAN'T I STOP WANTING TO MEET HER? !"

In front of his left hand, a glowing circle formed, and a sword rose up from it.

Kanda glared at it for a moment, then clamped his eyes shut and reached out, taking it—

* * *

The scene changed yet again; Kanda was standing at the entrance of the Second Exorcist birthing room and… was that… Marie on his back?

Kanda was looking into the room, smiling happily when he saw Alma, "Alma!"

"Yu!" Alma smiled back, "You're alright!"

Kanda beamed and started to walk towards him, "Alma, I—" Kanda froze and looked down, noticing the ground… was spattered… with blood… and littered… with bodies… and the water in the Second Exorcist's holes… was red…

Around Alma, the smoke that had been rising from the water cleared, showing his right arm had mutated into some bladed appendage, and that Edgar's lifeless body was speared on one of the back blades.

"It's good to see you again, Yu." Alma smiled sadly, tearing, "I have to kill you now."

* * *

One more scene change; Kanda was missing an arm and lunging at Alma, the unrefined Mugen in his hand cutting through a shocked Alma diagonally.

"I want to live… even if that means destroying you!" Kanda screamed.

Alma shed a tear, then cried out as Kanda cut through him again—

* * *

Gracia fell forward onto her hands and knees and retched, nothing but bile and clear stomach acid coming up and dribbling onto the glass floor of Alma Karma's containment room.

Absently, she felt someone grab most of her hair and pull it back, and when she looked up, her eyes watering, she was met with the sight of an uncharacteristically jaded Kanda.

He looked… so…

"…If you didn't want to relive it," Gracia croaked, her voice hoarse, "Then why—"

"Just shut up and get to work on figuring out how we're gonna get out of her so we can kick some Noah ass."

Gracia stared at Kanda as he sat back and crossed his legs and his arms, then sighed and sat up and down, herself, resting her elbows on her legs.

He was right… If either of them was going to be able to find a way out of this, it was her…

Sighing again, she looked down and pulled her right arm out from underneath the cloak, looking down at Sleep.

Its silver surface shown dully, not even the slightest flash reflecting off of the metal, even when she focused on it and mentally called out.

She frowned.

"…Hey."

Gracia looked up at Kanda, blinking when she saw him staring down at Alma blankly, his face drawn and lines standing out against his skin, making him look far older than he was.

"…You shouldn't bother with me." Kanda muttered, "You have the idiot supervisor; focus on him. Someone as weak as you… can only save one person at a time."

"…You don't need me to save you, Kanda."

He twitched and looked over at her, blinking slowly.

Gracia stared at him calmly, evenly, "You just need someone who won't leave you. And I don't plan to; not because I feel like I have to, but because you need me. Earlier… when I was trying to break out of here… whether you realize it or not, you called out to me. And I plan on answering."

Kanda stared at her, then opened his mouth.

Before he could say anything, though, the world around them shattered like glass, and she heard an enraged Allen bellow,

"DUMBASS _BA_KANDA! !"


	115. Protocol Stasis Recording: File XXVI

My Dear Readers,

Today, on top of giving you a chapter, I also present you with a news update: On this day, January 18th 2012, many US-based websites will be blacking themselves out for the 24 hours to protest the SOPA/PIPA bills (note that some are executing a "soft" blackout rather than the hard blackout Wikipedia has done, and some are only doing it for 12 hours). These sites include: **Google**, **Wikipedia** (only the English-based servers), **Reddit**, **Mozilla**, and many others. To learn more, about what SOPA/PIPA are, go to my userpage and click on the link there, and, while you're at Change . org, sign the petition (if you're 13 and older). You can also visit "sopastrike . com" to view the full list of websites that will be blacking out their content.

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia eyes snapped open and she watched with wide eyes as Allen punched Kanda in the forehead, "WHERE DID THAT INCREDIBLY SHORT TEMPER OF YOURS GO? ! TELL ME THAT, KANDA! !"

…Gracia could have sworn she felt a bead of sweat run down the back of her head, but as she had previously noted when she'd felt similar things… it wasn't physically possible.

When she felt something on her forehead crumble, she flinched and reached up, blinking down at her palm when little bits of… something… sprinkled down into it.

…Wisely's 'eye' seal?

A sudden, agonized scream from the side caught her attention, and she looked over and blinked when she saw Wisely lying on his back and flailing, clutching at his forehead as he wailed.

Then, out of the corner of her periphery, she saw something white flutter, and she looked back, exasperated when she saw Allen had not only invoked his Crowned Clown, but that he'd also followed his punch on Kanda through with it and sent him tumbling across the ground.

…Well, that was one way to wake them up.

"…Smashing someone in the forehead with your Innocence… That's pretty brutal, Allen." Road's doll form noted as Kanda flew across the room and crashed into a wall.

"We've always been like this." Allen responded, breathing heavily.

"You may have been a little late, though."

At Road's comment, Gracia's eyes widened and she stumbled to her feet, looking over at Alma Karma.

He was—

"Walker! ! Solidor! !"

Gracia and Allen looked up in shock when Tokusa, wrapped up in the tubing that had once irrigated Alma's containment area, flew overhead, the Third calling down to them.

"Th-The Womb! ! Stop Alma Karma! !"

Gracia inhaled sharply and went to turn to Alma again, but before she could the ground beneath them suddenly collapsed, more bunched up tubes flying around with the Black Order personnel wrapped up in them tightly.

An arm wrapped around her waist to keep her upright and Gracia wrapped her arms around Allen's neck, both of them looking upwards when a bright light shone overhead.

Gracia's eyes widened and a ball of ice formed in her stomach at what she saw, "N-No…"

Around Alma, the tubes that had been holding him up and formed some sort of… giant, humanoid, melting face, with Alma, now moving and curled into a fetal position, floating in the middle of the mouth, clutching at his head and screaming.

"Wh-What the hell is…" Allen had just started to say from beside her when the air started to become heavy and hot, smelling strongly of blood. "Alma? !"

"As Alma awakens, his hate is converting into Dark Matter energy!" Bak called out from somewhere overhead.

"ALLEN! !" Johnny called out right after, "GRACIA! ! ALMA KARMA'S TURNING INTO AN AKUMA! !"

Gracia's eyes widened as her earlier realization was confirmed, and as she stared at Alma and the light that started to emit from hi—

Sleep reacted before the first wave of Alma's energy washed over her and Allen, feeling like it was trying to boil the skin off of her wrist.

Words came to her, Sleep calling out for her to command it, and—

"JUDGE-SAL : FULL INVOCATION! ! LIBRA EXCHANGE : ULTIMA! !"

As her body grew, Allen becoming small against her, she spread out her arms towards the non-Exorcist humans around her and—

"EVERYONE! !" Allen's scream echoed before the roar of Alma Karma's growing energy blocked out all else.

* * *

As her invocation was extinguished, her body returning to normal, Gracia smelt something familiar… Something she had been hoping she wouldn't have to smell again so soon…

Burning hair and skin.

She fell down – or was it up? – onto her hands and knees, her body rolling along her spine with a heaving motion, her mouth opening, something bubbling up in the back of her throat, then something wet splattering on the ground beneath her—

Blood.

She tasted blood.

"Gra… cia…? G-Gracia! !"

Someone was beside her, hands easing her upright.

Weak once again, she peeled her blurry eyes open and looked around, but she couldn't see well enough to make anything out… She could just barely make out a figure in black with a head of white—

Wait… head of white…

"Al… len…"

"Tokusa, she's over here!"

"Oh… Then she survived shielding the humans…"

"_Gracia's okay? !_" She could barely make out Johnny's voice over Allen's earring communicator, "_Oh, thank god…_"

…Thank God?

Gracia twitched.

What was there to thank God for… during such inhuman and convoluted events as these…?

"Gracia, can you get up?" Allen spoke to her, "You and Tokusa… You both managed to shield everyone from the Akuma Virus Alma's awakening unleashed, but we still have to find him and Kanda."

Gracia blinked slowly, her vision starting to clear, and she stared up at Allen as he came into focus.

Get up…?

Could she…

When Gracia tried to sit up a bit more than what Allen had lifted her up to, she flinched and closed her eyes. Her skin cracked and she could feel blood… Her stomach… felt like she'd swallowed nails…

"You're burned." Allen mumbled, "But… not as bad as last time. I'm sorry… but if you can… we have to find Kanda…"

…Kanda…

…When she stopped to think about it… it didn't hurt as much as it had last time.

She could at least…

"…try…" Gracia croaked, clamping her eyes shut when Allen helped her to her feet but letting it happen, despite the shocks of pain it sent from her skin inwards and from her stomach outwards.

Just as they got her to her feet, though, Tokusa's voice cried out from nearby, and they both looked over, Gracia's eyes widening and ice running through her body when she saw his stump of an arm was… melting… and devolving… into Akuma-like creatures…

"T-Toku—" Allen started, pulling away from Gracia and leaving her standing on unstable feet to head over to the Third.

Before he made it to him, though, the creatures burst out of the side of Tokusa's body, and Gracia watched, numb, as one of the creatures lashed out and hit Allen, sending him crashing back into a pile of debris.

Absently… she noticed… the sky overhead…

North American Branch was destro—

"T-Tokusa!" Gracia found herself screaming when more of his body devolved, the creatures taking the vague shape of Alma's head.

"_Can't… fooorgiiiiive…_" They seethed.

Tokusa's body bubbled and swelled until almost all of it was made up of the mouthy creatures, something eerily similar to Alma's face taking up center on his abdomen and continuing to scream out.

When Tokusa's form turned towards her, instinct kicked in and Gracia threw her arm forward, "DROW POI—"

One of Tokusa's monstrous appendages lashed out at her before she could finish and slammed into the length of her body, and Gracia blacked out briefly as the air was forcibly expelled from her lungs and she was sent flying.

When she regained consciousness, it was just enough for her to be aware of her body painfully skipping and rolling across the debris-strewn ground, and something snapped and pain overtook her side and she blacked out again.

…

…

…

"…Forbidden Spell : Triple Illusion."

…She knew that voice… she knew that command.

Blearily, Gracia opened her eyes, not feeling like she was in her body at all as she watched Kanda rush at the newly reformed Alma Karma.

Alma dodged the initial blow and leaped up into the air, his left arm turning into a blade just as Kanda jumped after him, Mugen clashing against Alma's bladed arm.

…Kanda… was fighting Alma…

…She had to stop… or help… one or the other…

But her body… was a mass of pain.

When she realized how hard breathing was, she instinctually opened her mouth to try to make it easier, and when she heard her lungs rattling, felt the pain from the earlier snap localize…

…Broken rib.

Collapsed lung.

But when Kanda suddenly accelerated and cut Alma, Alma's blood spilling, she found herself trying to move again, only to feel the same pains and come to the same conclusion as before.

She was burned.

She was broken.

She couldn't breathe.

She couldn't command her body.

Her body…

She needed… a different body…

"…J-Judge… -S-Sal…"

She could only hope… she still had… enough left…

* * *

"Yu Kanda must die! !" Alma bellowed, holding out his hands.

Kanda's eyes widened and he wasn't able to dodge before the—

When two giant, transparent swords suddenly crossed in front of him, one a claymore and the other a flame-bladed Zweihander, Kanda looked back to see the Judge-Sal standing over him, caging him in protectively with its arms and crossing its swords in front of him.

It then held its swords out parallel with the ground, the blades still crossed, and sharply swung them outwards, the blades screaming as the ran along one another and forming an outward arc of light that raced towards Alma, dissipating his attack as it went.

Alma shot skyward and dodged the blow, grinning down at Kanda, "Well, Yu, seems you do have friends."

"Tch." Kanda sneered, looking up at the Judge and seething, "Woman, this is my business."

The Judge-Sal's head tipped down towards him slightly, the empty helm seeming to regard him.

"**…Dumbass.**"

Kanda's brow twitched.

Snickering overhead made both Kanda and the Judge-Sal look upwards, Kanda's brow twitching again when he saw Alma watching them amusedly, giggling sharply.

"Well, that thing's got you pegged, doesn't it, Yu?" Alma smirked.

Then, faster than either Kanda or the Judge-Sal could react, Alma opened his mouth and clenched his hands, a spike quickly forming on his tongue and shooting out as he snapped his body forward.

The Judge-Sal waved its sword to block too late, and Kanda's body jerked and he stumbled back a few steps as the spike pierced him through the chest. He then coughed up blood when a second quickly followed, running him through a bit below the first.

"KANDA! !" Zu Mei cried out from somewhere over to the side.

When Kanda just stared down, first in shock, then with an unreadable expression as his bangs shadowed his eyes, which vaguely flickered back and forth as he saw something, Alma laughed.

"What are you thinking about, Yu? !" Alma taunted as he landed and held out his hand, an eyeball-like appendage opening on his palm and starting to gather energy.

Above Kanda, the Jude-Sal looked down at him for a moment, then turned towards Alma and started to lumber forward, giant hands tightening on the grips of their swords and arms moving backwards as it prepared to swing.

Alma scowled, letting the attack die in favor of leaping up just as the ethereal armored knight swung its first blade low.

When the second blade was swung high, he grinned and ducked his head and curled in slightly, dodging again… just for the Judge-Sal to lift its foot and kick out towards him.

Alma cried out shortly and struggled when the Judge-Sal pinned him against a flat wall of debris with its foot, looking up and scowling at it when it drew its Zweihander back and prepared to thrust.

"GRACIA, NO!" Allen called out from somewhere nearby.

It was enough to make the Judge-Sal falter, and Alma took the opportunity to open his mouth and shoot another spike, this one running straight through the Judge-Sal's chest.

…And that was it.

Gracia didn't have anything else to give.

The Judge-Sal stumbled back and tottered as the spike went clean through its chest, and then it fell backwards and collapsed, its body shattering as soon as it hit the ground, the broken pieces smoking and slowly disappearing.

A sudden, piercing, nearby scream caught Alma's attention, and he turned from watching the giant, ethereal form break to look over at a woman lying on the ground nearby, her auburn hair heavily singed, her skin darkened, cracked and bloody as if she'd been burned, and her hands clutching at her chest as she screamed out in croaky agony, her cry rattling and her lungs not sounding quite right.

When he noticed she was clutching at the same place he'd just pierced the giant ghost suit of armor, Alma glared at her and slowly started to grin, landing on his feet and walking towards her slowly.

"Oh, so that thing was yours?"

Gracia twitched as her screaming tapered off when she ran out of air, barely managing to peel her eyes open and look up at the Akuma-esque Alma Karma standing over her.

He looked… so much like a Level 4…

"Are you one of Yu's new friends?" Alma tipped his head and smiled down at her, "Funny… I didn't think he'd associate with someone so weak."

"…You… loved… him…"

Alma's eyes flashed lividly and his grin sharpened, "…What did you say?"

"…What… ever… happened… you can… still… talk it… out…" Gracia wheezed, getting lightheaded when talking kept her from inhaling the oxygen she desperately needed with her one good lung, "Can't have… been… so bad… that… someone… like you… would… stop… loving…him… Please… stop…"

Alma twitched, his grin sharpening further until he was grinding his teeth and his nails digging into his palms harshly enough to make a faint red from blood start to stain the cracks between his fingers.

"Someone as weak as you," Alma unclenched one hand and aimed his bloody palm down at Gracia, the eyeball-like growth glowing as it started to gather energy, "Shouldn't talk so much."

Gracia just stared up at him weakly, helplessly, her left hand clenching so the diamond of the ring Komui had given her, which had gotten flipped around during the confrontation, dug into her palm.

"FIFTH ILLUSION STYLE! !"

Alma twitched and turned, and Gracia slowly looked up as Kanda appeared beside them in a flash, Mugen's blade glowing black.

"DISAPPEAR, ALMA! !" Kanda bellowed before he swung, Alma's right leg and left arm getting cut off.

Alma, knocked back by the force, just smirked and fired a beam of concentrated Dark Matter back a Kanda from his mouth, blowing Kanda's left arm clear off.

"Ha ha…!" Alma cackled as he recovered and his limbs began to regenerate, Gracia looking back at him and shaking slightly from the tension and pressure in the air as a panting and tense Kanda slowly moved to stand over her, like he had so many times before. "Akuma evolve as the soul inside them festers…" Alma held up his arm pointedly as it healed, as if showing off, "This is much easier than using Innocence. The more I hate, the more my power overflows."

Overhead, Kanda muttered something, but Gracia couldn't make out what as static rung in her ears with slowly increasing volume.

Blearily, she heard Alma call out to Kanda in a questioning tone, and as she continued to stare up at Kanda, lightheaded with her vision flashing gray and tunneling, Gracia heard Kanda's words as he spoke up.

"Destroy… Destroy… Destroy…" Kanda lifted his head and focused his slitting eyes on Alma, hissing through clenched teeth as his hair started to thicken and spike up wildly behind him, the raven black tresses starting to glow a faint purple.

"_**DESTROY.**_"

As Kanda disappeared in a flash with his accelerated speed, Gracia blacked out yet again.


	116. Protocol Stasis Recording: Fil—ERROR

Okay, so you're all gonna do something for me, nyah?

1) Yer gonna go to my profile and click on my homepage link, which is gonna take you to my deviantART.

2) Yer gonna scroll down to my favorites and click on the one entitled "DON'T MESS WITH MY BOY! ! !" by "ms-sternenhagel" (known here as RighteousHate). (Those exclamation points should be bunched together, but FF has problems with bunched punctuation like the double exclamation points and the interrobang [? !])

3) Yer gonna bask in the glorience (glory+brilliance) that is Gracia's ANGRYface~!

4) Yer gonna bow before ms-sternenhagle/RighteousHate's prowess.

And now… I'm gonna run before all of you get to the end of this chapter and get out your torches and pitchforks and try to lynch me. *takes off*

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

When she woke again… all was silent.

And it took her a moment… to realize… that the silence was heavy.

Shocked.

Terrified.

Laced with… guilt… and disbelief.

She just barely managed… to lift her head… and see Kanda and Allen… standing close together…

…With Mugen jutting out of Allen's back.

As they stood still against one another, Kanda was panting heavily, though Allen was barely breathing…

Gracia couldn't see their faces, but she could see the muscles in Kanda's bare back as they slowly relaxed, his hair going limp as he… as he…

…As he seemed to realize what he had done.

"…Why… does he look like that…?" Allen's soft, somewhat shaky voice echoed through the silence. He coughed up some blood, then laughed weakly, "I have… no idea…"

When Allen pushed away from Kanda, pulling his body off of Mugen's blade… his skin…

…Allen's skin was umber.

"…_Moya_…_ shi_?" Kanda's voice was stunned, incredulous. His shoulders hunched and one of his hands barely flickered out towards Allen, as if reaching for him, as Allen collapsed.

And as Kanda just… stood there… Alma slowly got back to his feet… his body shaking… as he held out his hand… and aimed his palm at Kanda again.

"…Al… ma…?" Kanda mumbled as he lifted his head slightly.

"…This is the end, Yu." Alma grinned, tears pouring down his face as another beam of Dark Matter condensed, "DIE! !"

…Before he could fire, though… Allen's hand suddenly, but slowly, raised skyward, his body emanating a—

Gracia choked on a weak exhale and closed her eyes against the bright flash of light that pulse out from Allen's body, and when she managed to open her eyes again she saw that Kanda, Alma in his arms, was now standing on front of her.

She looked past him, her eyes widening when she saw Allen surrounded by a dark, transparent bubble, a large cloaked figure with an impossibly wide grin looming over him and… cackling.

"_Thanks, Yu Kanda~!_"

The Earl's voice echoed in her head as the ground started to shake, Kanda's head jerking back and forth as he, apparently, heard it, too.

"_He's awakened~!_" The Earl's voice went on, crying out ecstatically, "_It's all thanks to you wounding Allen Walker with your Innocence~! Now the Fourteenth lurking within in him has completely awakened~! The Noah's hatred of Innocence is eternal~! The more they're injured by it, the stronger it gets~!_"

When Kanda's head jerked the side, Gracia got a good look at his face…

…She'd never seen him look more openly shocked… or guilty…

"**Thank you! !**" The Earl concluded from somewhere in a booming voice, "**Allen Walker is now gone~! !**"

"…Kan… da…"

Kanda twitched and slowly looked back and down at her, his already wide eyes widening further when he saw her.

Panting heavily, painfully, Gracia rasped, "Get me… up… to Allen… I… can still…" She closed her eyes against the tears as she coughed, an invisible sword stabbing her chest every time as her broken rib bounced along/stabbed at her lungs. When she was finally done coughing, she couldn't stop a short, loud cry from bursting out of her mouth.

"…Idiot… support unit…" When she opened her eyes, Kanda was staring down at her in disbelief, slowly shaking his head, "You can't do anything… like that…"

"_That's right, Gracia Amberley Solidor~._" They both cringed as the Earl's voice echoed in their heads again, "_Your Innocence won't save him this time… Give up~!_"

Overhead, a giant bubble surrounding the North American Branch that Gracia hadn't known was there burst… And Allen's eyes opened, his Pentacle Eye activating and his body turning white again.

Kanda jerked and looked back at Allen, still holding Alma close when he saw Allen landing on the ground and looking at them.

When a shocked look crossed Allen's face, Kanda blinked, "…_Moyashi_?"

"…Alma…" Gracia could barely hear Allen mutter, "You're…"

"DON'T SAY IT! !" Alma suddenly screamed from Kanda's arms before his body started glowing brightly.

Gracia ground her teeth and squinted, her heart skipping a beat when Alma turned on Kanda and wrapped his hands around Kanda's neck.

…When Alma's skin started to bubble… the boils glowing brighter than the rest of his already brightly glowing body… Gracia realized what was happening.

She'd seen Akuma do it before.

…Alma Karma was self-destructing.

And he was going to take her and Kanda with him.

Her adrenalin and panic making her forget her pain, Gracia crossed her arms in front of herself and screamed.

…And she did it not realizing that she was screaming Komui's name.

* * *

…It was only when she'd opened her eyes that Gracia realized that… she'd passed out again.

And that… while she had been out… Kanda had thrown himself on top of her.

Barely able to breathe from the pain of having Kanda's weight pressed down on her chest, Gracia stared up at the sky through the black strands that were draped across her eyes, wheezing, "Kan… da…"

She didn't get an answer.

"Kan—" Gracia froze as, when she shifted, she heard a crackle and a crumble, Kanda's weight on her… getting a bit lighter…

…And one of his legs breaking off of his body.

"…Kanda?"

…She couldn't disguise the terrified tremor in her voice as she slowly lifted her hand and pressed it to Kanda's back, her fingers applying the slightest bit of pressure—

Kanda's body gave in under her fingers, part of his brittle side crumbling and falling away.

"…Kanda… Kanda, say something…"

As her own breathing started to echo in her ears, she realized that… she couldn't feel Kanda breathing.

Her body went numb and her mind went blank.

K-Kanda…? Kanda, say something… Say something, please.

_From the backseat of her own mind, she watched as her weak, damaged body rolled them over, her hands automatically cradling Kanda's head so it didn't break off of his neck._

_He was cracked… His body had no moisture left…_

_He was crumbling… like dried mud._

Kanda… Kanda, come on… This… this isn't funny. Goddamn it, Yu, wake up.

_Allen stumbled over and fell to his knees beside them, reaching out and weakly touching the pulsing, glowing ball that bore the same symbol that Kanda and Alma had on their chests._

_Alma's regenerative core…_

_He watched her for a moment as she shakily ran her hands over Kanda's body, then bowed his head, tears spilling when one of Kanda's arms broke away under the lightest touch of her fingers._

…Yu… Yu, this really… really isn't funny. Wake up. Now. …Goddamn you, wake up! !

"Gracia!"

Gracia buckled and leaned against Allen when he leaned over Kanda's body and wrapped his arms around her tightly, her voice cracking as she screamed, tears pouring down her face and mixing with the blood on his shoulder.

Around her, Allen's arms shook as he fought his own internal battle, "Why… What's going to happen to Kanda… How will Kanda… who knew nothing these nine years… feel about this? !"

"…I can't tell him…"

Gracia and Allen froze, looking over to where the weak voice had come from and tensing when they saw Alma's regenerative core regrowing Alma's body…

"If Yu learns I was her…" Alma muttered, "Then he won't… search for me anymore. Our promise that day… as long as Yu's promise to her binds him… he will always belong to her…" Alma looked over at them and smiled, "Forever…"

Gracia stared down at Alma, realizing…

…The woman… Kanda had hallucinated… the one he had wanted to meet… was a former Exorcist.

And her brain… had been the one… transplanted into Alma's body.

And while Kanda had remembered her… he couldn't recognize her in Alma's body…

He'd 'killed' Alma in order to stay alive for her… but she'd been in front of him all along…

Kanda… hadn't… known… for nine… years…

"…You idiot."

Allen twitched against Gracia and Alma looked at her, Gracia grinding her teeth and shaking slightly.

"Do you really think Kanda… is the kind of person… who would give up… when he found what he was looking for?" Gracia felt herself smile, tears still trailing down her face, "He'd hold it… and protect it… with all of his being."

Alma stared at her, then bit his lip and started to tear up.

Then, Alma rolled onto his stomach and began crawling around with his one partially formed arm. "Where is… Yu's body…? Where is it? I want to be by his side… Where…? Yu…? Yu… No matter what happened…" Alma shuddered and lowered his head, sobbing, "I didn't want to lose him!"

Gracia sat back on her own legs as Allen left her side to walk over and gently pick up the torso of Alma.

"Kanda is over here." Allen mumbled as he cradled Alma to his chest, turning and starting to carry him back over to Kanda.

"You're so kind…" Alma smiled.

Then, Alma's body suddenly… burst out from the bottom, a dark black goo dribbling down and making him start to crack from the inside out.

"The Dark Matter? !" Gracia heard Allen cry out, her eyes widening and her breath hitching in her chest.

Without really realizing what she was doing, she fell forward and braced her arms against the ground on either side of Kanda's unresponsive, crumbling body, crouching over him protectively.

"This is good enough…" Alma said weakly, looking down at Allen and giving him a smile even as his face started to break, "Thank… you…"

"…Support unit."

Gracia's eyes widened and she looked down at Kanda, biting her lip harshly as her breathing hitched again when she saw his eyes open and locked on Alma.

Slowly, he looked back at her, his face as serious as ever, "Let me up."

"…You have to stay still." Gracia whispered, shaking her head slightly, "Your seal… You've strained it. Y-You have to… give it time to—"

Gracia's eyes widened when Kanda leaned up and wrapped his arms around her tightly, hugging her.

"…Let me go to him." His voice was… softer… kinder than she'd ever heard it, "Let me go."

Gracia paused, shaking, then choked on a broken noise and hugged him back as tightly as she dared, Kanda having never been more fragile against her.

"Stay safe…"

"…Thank you… for trying. You would have made… a good parent."

Gracia bit her lip again, then helped Kanda sit upright, reaching out and grabbing the hilt-less Mugen.

"_Moyashi_…"

When Allen arrived beside them a moment later, his eyes were tearing slightly as he looked at Kanda.

"I need your help." Kanda said firmly, nodding in Alma's direction, "Take me to him."

Allen nodded and took Kanda from Gracia, taking Mugen from her, as well, before turning and looking up, his Clown Belt lashing out.

Gracia met Kanda's eye one more time…

…And he smiled at her…

…Then the space he and Allen had occupied was empty, and Gracia looked up and watched as Allen, his Clown Belt wrapped around the Earl, used Earl as a counterweight to throw himself and Kanda skyward.

Once they were up high enough, Kanda broke away from Allen and fell towards Alma…

…Briefly, Kanda looked back at Allen and smiled… and Gracia wasn't quite sure, but she thought she saw him word Allen's name in full…

…Then Kanda turned back and landed on Alma's swollen body, wrapping his arms around him in a tight embrace.

And as Alma's body broke away from the waist down, Allen landed below them and looked up, opening a large, circular Ark Gate with a question mark in the middle below them.

Kanda, holding Alma close, fell through…

…Happy as she was that Kanda and Alma were free, Gracia felt something inside of herself break when Allen closed his hand and shattered the Ark Gate behind Alma and Kanda, permanently closing off the door that led to wherever Allen had sent them.

And just like that… Kanda was gone.

And, once again, all was silent.

* * *

…After that… Gracia wasn't entirely sure… what happened next…

With Kanda's departure… it was as if her drive for the battle was gone.

She collapsed, in pain and weak once again, and the only thing she could really think about was… surviving long enough to get back to Komui.

She still… had to tell him… that she accepted his proposal…

Vaguely… very vaguely… she was aware of fighting resuming off to the side…

But when she saw Sheril standing over her… that was really all she could focus on.

He regarded her with a sinister smile, saying something she couldn't hear… and then he was picking her up, holding her with her waist draped over his arm as if she was a burlap sack and turning, leaping off.

She lifted her head weakly when she saw his feet touch down, feeling a faint flicker of fear and protest when she saw him walking towards a black, swirling Ark Gate…

One of the Earl's Ark Gates.

She tried to struggle… but her broken rib(s?) made her chest catch on fire with pain and, already having problems breathing, the additional oxygen deprivation kept her from moving.

She heard screams behind her—

"GENERAL! !"

"LADY SOLIDOR! !"

"GRACIA! !"

She tried to call on Sleep… but she didn't have the energy to invoke.

It… couldn't even heat up for her…

As the burning pain in her chest worsened with each (purposefully harsh) step Sheril took, Gracia's already oxygen-starved brain died a little more, died a little more…

As they slipped through the black Ark Gate, Gracia passed out one more time.

And this time… she didn't wake up.


	117. Focus Shift: Line Break

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

The phone fell from Komui's hand, and the color drained from his face as he tried to wrap his mind around the news.

North American Branch… Gone.

All of it.

Even the personnel…

He didn't hear Brigitte call out to him as he jumped to his feet and bolted out of his office, running to the Ark Gate the survivors of the attack would be coming through.

He looked at each face that came through, shaking as his legs got weak when he saw Reever and Johnny.

Injured, but alive.

"R-Reever, Johnny!"

Komui numbly looked back and watched as an injured Lenalee and Lorelei ran up, Lenalee running straight into Reever and Johnny and hugging them tightly as she burst into tears.

She even turned to Bak and hugged him, and Bak, too out of it to break out into hives and/or have a heart attack, weakly hugged back.

Komui was too busy ticking names off of his mental checklist as people stumbled through the Ark Gate and were swarmed with medical personnel.

Reever…

Johnny…

Regory…

Mark…

Renny…

Bak…

Zu Mei Chang…

Lvellie…

…Link?

A-Allen? !

"Why is Allen with you? !" Komui finally spoke up, the fact that Allen was heavily bound in CROW talismans not really crossing his mind, "And Link! You're supposed to be in Jordan with Gracia! !" It also didn't really cross his mind that, in front of Lvellie, it would have been wiser to say 'Solidor unit.'

"…In order to awaken Alma Karma, the Noah kidnapped several members of the Solidor unit from Jordan and brought them to North America." Lvellie turned to Komui, speaking evenly, "Allen Walker and Howard Link arrived later to participate in the struggle that ensued."

"Several members…" Komui felt numb as he turned to Reever, "Reever… who—" His breath died in his throat when Reever lowered his eyes.

"…Where is my sister?"

Slowly, several people turned their attention to Lorelei, who was staring at the group, but not any one person in particular, with a blank look on her face.

"The Nine unit, the Socalo unit, and what was left of the Tiedoll unit have all come back…" Lorelei mumbled, "The Solidor unit's mission should be over, as well… So where is my sister?"

"…General Solidor…" Reever mumbled, his eyes still lowered and his hands clenched at his sides, "Was brought to the North American Branch along with Yu Kanda. She… fought alongside him and Allen there…"

"…Okay, so she's not in Jordan." Lorelei's breath got thin as she went on, "She should be back with you all. Where is she? Is she still over there? Is she hurt? Is someone going to have to get a stretcher and bring her back?"

"Gener—" Reever twitched, then firmed his voice, as if to spite a 'certain member' of their company, and amended, "Gracia… spent almost all of her energy using Ultima to protect all of us."

Lenalee slowly covered her mouth with her hands.

Komui felt like his body was made of lead.

"…Then she's burned again." Lorelei's voice started to shake, "You really should have brought her back so she can go back to the burn ward. Where is she? I'll get her. She needs—"

"Gracia isn't coming back."

Lorelei tensed and clenched her hands at her sides, glaring at Reever harshly.

"Don't say that. Don't you dare. Where is she? Where is my sister? !"

"…Komui, I'm so sorry." Reever, who couldn't bear facing Lorelei anymore, turned to Komui, instead. He regretted it. It wasn't any easier. "Gracia… she… the Noah… they… they took her."

Komui… didn't say anything.

Lorelei, though, was on the edge of bursting. "WHERE IN THE HELL IS MY—"

"Earlier this day," Lvellie cut in firmly, formally, silencing everyone in the corridor, "Several members of the Noah Family, including the Millennium Earl, kidnapped Exorcists Yu Kanda and General Gracia Solidor from their posts in Jordan and brought them to North American Branch. General Solidor awoke not long after arriving and fought valiantly, but was obviously weakened by a previous injury. Not long after, Allen Walker arrived, and one of the Noah forced the three to submerge into Exorcist Kanda's memories to awaken Alma Karma. Upon awakening, Alma Karma turned into an Akuma." Lvellie glanced at Link and nodded, and Link, his expression dull and distant, grabbed Allen by his upper arm and marched him down the hall, several members of CROW coming out of connected hallways to surround them as Lvellie went on, "In the ensuing struggle, General Solidor expended herself greatly to shield the survivors of the North American Branch from the Akuma Virus Alma Karma attempted to infect us with. Also during that time, Third Exorcist Tokusa began to display signs of being overtaken by the Alma cells within his body.

"General Solidor and Exorcist Kanda fought together to subdue Alma Karma. Allen Walker interrupted this and saved the Akuma, and after his Noah side had been released, he then allowed the Akuma and Exorcist Kanda to escape. Allen Walker is no longer an Exorcist, and Kanda is a deserter who fled without his Anti-Akuma Weapon, Mugen. Regrettably, General Solidor was accosted by the Noah, and her Anti-Akuma Weapon, Sleep, is no longer in the Order's reach. For the time being, all Exorcists are to remain at Headquarters until Allen Walker can be tried. Allen Walker will be bound and locked away in the dungeons. For now, that is all." Finished, the man walked away, heading to the medical ward.

In his wake, he left Lenalee staring off into space, her eyes dull and lifeless and tears gathering.

Reever and Johnny had their heads bowed, their hands clenched tightly at their sides.

Renny stared at the ground blankly for a moment, then limped off as a nurse started leading her away, and Bak ground his teeth and punched a wall before one of the doctors grabbed his shoulders and led him away, as well.

Zu Mei stumbled off, clutching what could only be what was left of Mugen to his chest.

When it was just the five of them, Komui, Lenalee, Lorelei, Reever and Johnny, there was silence.

"…Komui…"

Komui twitched and looked at Lorelei, still feeling numb as she stared up at him with a lost gaze.

"What… happened?" Lorelei whispered, "Just… a few days ago… we were all… B-But now… this… What… What happened?"

"…A natural course of war." The words that left his mouth were numb, hollow, not his; the words of those who had come before him and who had learned to accept losses in their line of work.

It wasn't his answer; it was something he said automatically, without thinking.

His words, however, still made Lorelei's eyes flash and her jaw clench, and even if he'd seen the fist coming, Komui wasn't sure if he would have dodged it or not as he took the punch to the gut.

As he doubled over, coughing harshly as the small, tight pain constricted the movement of his diaphragm, Komui was vaguely aware of Reever and Johnny crying out and shouting after Lorelei as she ran down the hall.

The pain, though… served as a reminder that what was going on… wasn't a dream.

This… was really happening.

Gracia… had been taken…

Slowly, Komui sank to his knees, hugging his stomach as it sank in.

Gracia was gone.

She'd been taken.

She might not come back.

Despite how anxious he'd felt before the recent string of missions had started… Despite having had a feeling that something was going to go wrong… Despite having proposed to Gracia before she left because he'd been afraid something would happen—

Oh god… Oh god, _why hadn't he stopped her from leaving_? !

It had all been a trap, spreading the Exorcists across the eastern continents! They had spread their forces, their forces had been met by Noah who had kept them busy, and while their forces had been out of contact, North American Branch had been annihilated and Kanda and Gracia were _gone_! !

And Allen… Allen was…

Gracia…

_Gracia_…

Komui didn't realize he was shaking violently until a pair of hands gently cupped his face and made him look up, his shaking only getting worse when he was met with his sister's soft but tearful face.

"…Lenalee…" Komui started hoarsely, reaching up and gently brushing her cheek with his fingers, "You're hurt… You need to go to the medical ward."

"_You're hurt more, Brother._" Lenalee murmured in their mother tongue, "_You need me here._"

Komui twitched slightly, and when he spoke again he'd switched to Mandarin, as well, "_Lenalee… She's gone. She's really… really…_"

"_She'll be fine, Brother._" Lenalee insisted firmly, her hands pressing closer and straining against his face slightly as her voice wavered, "_She trained with Kanda. She survived her marriage with Vincent, and life with Mathilda. If the Noah wanted her dead, they would have killed her rather than kidnapped her. But they did kidnap her, and as soon as she regains enough energy, she'll make them regret not killing her. And then… and then she'll come home._"

Komui just stared at her, a bit of hope flickering through him.

"_Right now…_" Lenalee paused as she choked, swallowing before going on, "_Right now we have to do our best to help Allen. That's what she would want us to do._"

Komui nodded slowly, realizing that she was right.

Allen… Allen was in big trouble. And, if Gracia was there, the first thing she would be doing, her injuries aside, would involve marching up to Lvellie and demanding that Allen's wounds be treated and his case be heard before anyone even considered locking him up.

Still…

"…_I didn't get a clear answer from her._" When Lenalee blinked at him, Komui smiled bitterly, "_I made a mistake. I didn't ask her at a moment when she had enough time to think. I panicked, and I proposed just before she went through the Ark Gate for her mission. She looked so… lost and shocked that I told her I could wait… I didn't… I didn't get an answer, Lenalee._"

"Oh, Brother." Lenalee murmured, switching back to English as she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulders tightly.

Komui wrapped his arms around her waist, grinding his teeth and burying his face in her hair.

"You know what her answer will be." Lenalee murmured, "_I_ know what her answer will be. And she'll be thinking about it the whole time she's away; as soon as she sees you again, she'll say yes. I know it. And then she'll… she'll use Alucinari on you for dropping that kind of thing on her at such an inopportune moment, you idiot…"

Komui laughed weakly at that and nodded.

Lenalee kept talking… like she would come back.

…And, at that point in time, Komui was following her suggested line of thought without questioning it.

"_The whole time she's away."_

"_As soon as she sees you again."_

"_She'll come back home."_

…It almost sounded like… she was on vacation… or a business trip… or another mission.

It was so much friendlier, _easier_, than thinking of her as _gone_.

She'd come back home.

She had to.

* * *

Later that night, when he was alone in his room, Komui broke down.

She wasn't in his bed.

She wasn't in his bed when she was _supposed_ to be there.

Her mission was _over_; she should be _back home_, with him.

But she wasn't there.

She was gone.

When he was alone, with no one to give him assurances, he quickly ran out of ways to rationalize the idea that she would return.

Who was he kidding; she'd been captured by the _Noah_. In the presence of the _Millennium Earl_.

She was as good as dead, and if she wasn't already, it wouldn't be long.

And there was nothing he could do.

Even if he could get the clearance to organize a rescue party, where would he send them? The Noah Family had been hiding from the Order for _decades_. Besides… he didn't have anyone to send out… they were all still recovering…

Still… part of him refused to give up.

And that part of him kept making him remember…

her smile,

the way she curled around his pillow when he had to leave her in bed alone,

the way she tended to trip on the sheets (or anything, really) when she first woke up in the morning,

the way she considered going to bed at 8 'late,' and rising at 7 'way too damned early,'

the way she leaned towards the mirror and furrowed her brow when she put on lip balm,

the way she sometimes purposely wore more clothes, and dear lord those times when she purposely wore less, sometimes to tease him and sometimes to try to fend him off (though it never worked),

the look that crossed her face when she was worried about him and the way her lips twisted as she carefully considered what to say to him, and, when she said it, the way she worded things, sometimes with such obvious awkwardness, but still made him feel better,

the way she could read him without needing to think at all,

her adorable expressions when he had her pinned and writhing beneath him, and how she always did her best and failed to stifle herself,

how elegant and graceful she could get when she wore a dress and heels,

how sexy she could get when she fought with her family or when she got angry at him,

how she could just walk into the building straight after a mission, walk right into his room without realizing it, and collapse on his bed and fall into a deep sleep, her head turned to the side, her hair splayed out against her back, one arm bent at the elbow and her hand resting near her face, her fingers curled and her nails brushing her lips as she breathed…

At that, Komui slowly lifted his head from his hand, his eyes rimmed with red and his face wet. He wipe his cheeks off slowly, and sat up straight as he removed the weight of his elbows from his knees and rubbed his hands on his pants.

He wouldn't give up on her.

Never.

He'd get her back, even if he had to have someone meet her halfway and carry her home.

One way or another, he would see her in her uniform, sleeping between his sheets again.

It was where she belonged; in arm's reach, at all times.

But who did he send out…?

At that moment, someone knocked on Komui's door.

He blinked and looked over, then stood and started walking across the room, rubbing his eyes on his sleeves but being as gentle as he could so he didn't make his eyes even redder.

When he opened the door, he blinked, then relaxed when he was met with the sight of Renault and Katherine—

Wait…

_Renault_.

"…Komui," Katherine started slowly, carefully, frowning as she took in his appearance, "I have my younger head Solidor cousin in my bedroom, passed out on my bed from crying for five solid hours… Where is my older, favorite cousin?"

Komui's eyes were on Renault, and had been ever since he'd realized that they _still had Renault at hand_.

"…Renault… she's gone." Komui muttered, not bothering to do anything about the croak in his dry throat, "The Noah… They took her. I don't know where she is… and I can't send anyone to look for her."

Though his face remained stoic, Renault's eyes widened marginally. Then, his expression smoothed and flattened. He took one step back, bowing to Komui lowly, as if he had given him an order, then turned on his heel and walked off without a word.

"…Renault is one of the most competent bodyguards I've ever met." Katherine murmured as she watched the large man walk away, "He'll find her, no doubt and no questions asked."

Komui nodded, swallowing harshly. Renault hadn't found Gracia when she had first disappeared for those four years because Mathilda had kept him close by her side, but… he considered Gracia to be his one and only mistress.

And Komui was placing all of his hope in Renault's loyalty to Gracia.

"In the meantime…" Katherine turned back to Komui slowly, her face blank, "Lorelei will have to go back to Nalbina. With one daughter gone, even if it is the reserve daughter, Mathilda will want her successor where she knows she will be safe."

Komui nodded again. That would also mean the removal of Blood Ice from Lorelei's body… It would take them down yet another Exorcist, the sixth in two days, but with the destruction of North American Branch, they needed to be on the Solidor House's good side now more than ever, and sending their remaining daughter left after they'd lost one would assure that ill feelings would be kept to a minimum.

"…Komui."

He blinked and snapped out of his daze, staring at the woman in front of him as she regarded him with cool inquisitiveness.

"…How far along did your relationship get before she disappeared?"

A cold, dangerous, perceptive woman… "…I proposed to her."

"…And she said yes?" Calm. Unfazed.

"I accidentally caught her off guard and stunned her. I told her I would wait, but… I believe she will say yes."

"Will." Not a question. A statement, and one accompanied by a quirked brow. "Despite recently crying and obviously having broken down and questioned her fate, so quickly you're already back to being convinced that she'll be fine."

"Yes." Komui nodded firmly, "She'll be fine. And it's not because she's a Solidor; it's because she's Gracia."

"…I'm convinced." Katherine smiled at Komui warmly and tipped her head slightly, "You have my blessing. When she returns and gives you her answer, and you approach the Solidor matriarch properly and lay out your intentions, know I will be supporting you every step of the way. If you need council on how to approach Mathilda, feel free to look to me at any time."

Komui blinked and stared at her, floored. "…Th-Thank—"

He was cut off in a flash when Katherine leaned in and pressed him against the doorframe, her lips curving upwards into a cruel smile as she pressed the length of her artificial and delicately painted crimson forefinger fingernail to his neck, right over his jugular.

Komui froze, automatically noticing that there was _no way_ normal acrylic nails were that_ hard_ or that _**sharp**_.

"Know this, though, my future cousin…" Katherine purred, "If you hurt her in any mentally or physically scaring way… I'll do to you what I would have and _should_ have been allowed to do to Vincent Carter."

Not daring to swallow or even nod, Komui let the barest breath of an affirmation leave his mouth.

Katherine smiled, satisfied, then patted his cheek and kissed the corner of his mouth before pulling away and walking off.

Komui stared after her, rubbing his neck and swallowing slowly.

…If Gracia had even a fraction of the poison that that woman had in her body… she would be fine.

* * *

Later that night, without saying a single word or leaving a note, Renault packed his bags and walked out of the European Branch Headquarters.

He headed into town, bought a ticket for the first steamer to the mainland, and within six hours Renault fell off of the face of the earth, dutifully beginning his search for his mistress.


	118. Protocol Stasis Recording: File ? ? ?

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia sighed heavily and rubbed her temples, twitching.

As if it wasn't enough that she had to suffer the indignity of being forced to lay back and accept the medical treatment her enemies were practically forcing down her throat, the Earl hadn't stopped crying.

For two. Fucking. Days.

She couldn't sleep.

She refused to eat.

She was so delirious that, when Tyki pouted at her, she almost felt _bad_, until she remembered the part he had played in Alma Karma's awakening.

She could live without eating, though. She'd gone for way longer than two days without eating back when she'd been a wanderer.

But now this guy was messing with her sleep, and to make matters worse, he was interrupting Sleep-induced sleep.

And no one ever got away with that without having her jump down their throats.

The only thing that kept her from jumping down his was the fact that… well, he was the _Earl_.

It would take a bit more than just two days to get her sleepy and angry enough to chew out _the_ Millennium Earl.

"Why, Rooooooad? !" She heard him wail through the black 'walls' that she couldn't really make out.

Were they in the Ark in the Noah's possession? Or was this Road's dream world? She was betting on the former.

"Why would Nea do this to meeeeee? !" The Earl wailed on, "I loved him sooo muuuuch! ! I just want to be by his side again! ! So why? ! Why would he want to dethrone meeee? !"

Gracia glared up at the nonexistent ceiling, twitching.

This was beyond ridiculous… He was the _Earl_, for Christ's sake.

While their initial meeting had been within what she had expected it to be like upon meeting a 'bad guy,' his home life was far from intimidating.

It was pathetic, and it was grating on her last nerve.

_Finally_, he stopped speaking and just stuck with sobbing, and she could ignore that.

Gracia closed her eyes and focused on Sleep, the slave bracelet letting out a soft pulse and dulling her thoughts.

She was just drifting off when—

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAH! !"

Gracia's eyes snapped open.

Well, there it was.

She'd snapped.

Ignoring the pain in her chest as she irritated her still broken rib and the tight pull from her still slightly charred skin, the nice medicated cloud they had her on not enough to block out such deep pain, Gracia threw the blankets aside and swung her legs over the edge of her bed, standing up and storming out of the room.

The twins, Jasdero and Devit, who had been assigned to watch her, sputtered and barked after her as she stormed down the hall, but she ignored them and stormed straight past Lulu Bell, Maashiima, Wisely and, right outside the doorway of the Earl's room, Tyki and into the room, kicking an in-the-way present wrapped in colorful wrapping paper and a big bow aside.

Ignoring Road when the girl looked up from soothing the Earl to quirk a brow at her, Gracia leaned over the human form Earl (who looked oddly normal, almost handsome, with his somewhat pale skin, slicked back dark hair, scant beard/moustache and pinstriped pajamas) and took his ears in her hands, pulling and making him whine and struggle.

"Take a FUCKING nap! !" Gracia barked down at the Earl as he opened his eyes and glared at her upon realizing who she was.

Sleep flashed, and the Earl shuddered, his eyes rolling back into his head before he went limp and fell silent.

Gracia twitched and scowled down at him, letting his ears go and pulling away to mutter some colorful curses (all of which she'd learned from… someone rather foul-mouthed, she was sure) under her breath.

"…Tyki, did you give her pain meds?" Road asked amusedly after a moment of silence.

"Yep." Tyki confirmed from the doorway, "Though I can see I probably should have asked for advice on what to give her rather than just giving her a cocktail."

Gracia twitched, deadpanning, and slowly directed her glare at Tyki, hissing, "You do _not_ make _cocktails_ out of _pill-form pain medications_! That is _dangerous_ if you _don't_ know what you're _doing_! !"

"I can see that now." Tyki smiled at her brightly. "I'll have Sheril do it from now on; he's much more versed in prescriptions than I am."

"…On second thought, I'll risk it." Gracia mumbled, deflating. She'd take an uneducated Tyki's medicinal concoctions over whatever 'medicines'(poisons) Sheril would try to slip her any day.

Tyki chuckled and Road tittered.

Gracia twitched and tried to stand straight, but only ended up groaning and pressing a hand to her forehead, swaying as the world tried to flip over and take her stomach with it.

Before she realized what was happening, Tyki was at her side and gently leading her across the room.

Not for the first time, Gracia felt a flash of panic at having one of _them_ so close to her.

She didn't get the game they were playing at.

Though she was an Exorcist, none of them had removed Sleep or made any attempts to destroy it; either they wanted her to have the option for whatever game/torture/dangerous task they might possibly want her to do if the fancy hit them, or they just didn't think she was a threat.

…And, actually, with as drugged as Tyki kept her, she really wasn't much of a threat; beyond being able to use Sleep to ease herself (and the Earl, apparently) into a nap, she couldn't use Sleep at all.

When she tried, she couldn't remember a single command; wasn't there one that… summoned a suit of armor, or something?

She just… couldn't recall…

And, even though none of them were actively trying to torture and/or kill her, none of them were particularly doing much to keep her alive, either.

In fact, if it hadn't been for Tyki, she probably would have died where Sheril dropped her the day they had kidnapped her.

Tyki had been the one to arrange for some human-form Akuma to tend to her wounds and set her up in a room, and he was the one who, personally, kept her medicated and brought her food, even though she never ate it. He had even made sure that the worst of her burns had been tended to. While she had trusted Tyki as a human, she had no idea what in the hell he would try to do to her as a Noah…

Tyki did, though, purposely keep her broken rib in a fairly bad state; while he kept her medicated against the pain and had someone check on it on occasion, he didn't let them make any attempts to bind it and, when he visited her, purposefully jostled her while pressing a hand against her chest, just to make sure it was still broken.

As if a rib could heal in a matter of a few days, though… It was probably some sadistic form of control.

So far, she hadn't particularly… made any effort to escape; beyond having no clue as to how to navigate whatever building they were in and the fact that her broken rib kept her from going to far before she went into respiratory distress, which would increase her chances of having a bradycardia attack, she had… no idea where she was supposed to go once she got out.

She knew she was an Exorcist, and she knew the Noah were the enemies, but… who did she serve? Who did she work for? And where was their base located?

She'd forgotten, just like she had Sleep's commands.

She got a horrible, aching feeling in her chest every time she thought about it that she'd forgotten… those she was sure were the most important people in her life, but… for the life of her, she just couldn't remember.

The things she did remember…

…She was Gracia Amberley Solidor, daughter of Mathilda and Silas Solidor, who were the heads of the Solidor Family and a Marchioness and Marquiess, respectively. That made her the heir of the Solidor family.

But she'd… given that up… to become an Exorcist…

…Something was missing in between those two, she knew it. And it probably had something to do with the memories she had of being a hobo, though she couldn't quite fit it in.

She also remembered a few other things she couldn't quite fit in and weren't particularly linking events.

She remembered going to Singapore once and meeting a nice aunt and niece who she had never gotten the names of.

She remembered fighting an Akuma named Alma Karma, and though she couldn't remember who she had been fighting alongside, she knew the incidents revolving around Alma's awakening had hurt someone she was _very_ close to.

She remembered the people she had met and places she had gone while she had been a wanderer, but, as an Exorcist, she also knew they were no longer part of her current life.

But _who_ was?

She didn't know, and that was what hurt the most.

And, as Tyki laid her back down on her bed and walked out, Gracia looked, not for the first time, at the diamond ring on the ring finger of her left hand.

Engaged.

She was _engaged_.

There was someone out there she either loved enough to marry, or someone she was betrothed to (and even though her status said it should be the latter, some niggling force in her brain kept telling her it was the former).

There was someone out there for her who was probably worried sick… And she _couldn't remember who they were_.

Shit, what had the Noah done to her…

Maybe it had something to do with all of those pain medications she kept letting Tyki give her. Or maybe one of the Noah had…

…Whatever the reason, she knew she had to get out.

Some way, somehow… And, even if she didn't know who, exactly, it was she worked for, she could always just find a church; she was an _Exorcist_, after all, even if it wasn't by the commonly accepted definition, not to mention the clothes she had come in wearing had crosses, so that was a hint…

Shaking her head when thinking too much made her mind fog, and deciding to take advantage of the quite while she still had it, Gracia snuggled down into her bedding and pulled the covers up, going to sleep.

* * *

Gracia was woken by the most… uncomfortable prickly feeling.

…A prickly feeling that told her that someone was hovering over her.

For some reason, it was a familiar feeling.

And one she didn't like.

"Goddamn it, Komu—" She started to cry out as she rolled over, holding out her hand equipped with Sleep.

Her cry was derailed, though, when, in a flash, she had the tips of someone's middle, ring and forefingers pressed against her neck warningly, the Earl in his human form glaring down at her dully.

Gracia twitched and glared back at him.

"…Mistake me for someone?" He asked flatly after a moment.

"I guess so." Gracia answered, her tone just as flat.

"Remember who?"

"…No." Unfortunately. She sighed.

After staring down at her for a moment longer, the Earl slowly removed his fingers from her neck.

"…So, finally going to kill me?" Gracia asked calmly, then looked down at his body and quirked a brow, "In your nightclothes?"

"No." The Earl frowned at her, his glare getting harsher, "I came to make you make me sleepy again."

"…Eh?" Gracia blinked up at him, confused.

The Earl twitched and glanced away, "I haven't… been able to sleep without having nightmares lately. What you did…"

"…Sleep's nonspecific pulse gives people dreamless sleeps." Gracia filled in, biting her tongue when a scathing remark about how the Noah couldn't actually be _considered_ people rose on the back of it. "And I'm probably too weak right now to do any damage to you, so you just had yourself a pleasant nap."

"Yes." The Earl confirmed, looking back down at her, "And I want another one, so make me sleepy."

"…Sorry, but I'm pretty doped up on pain meds right now." Gracia shrugged, rolling away and turning her back to him, "Try me again tomorrow."

In a flash, she was rolled back onto her back and the Earl was sitting on the edge of her bed, his large, now umber hand wrapped around her small neck and squeezing, quickly making her blue, painful pressure building up in her head and her lips, the latter feeling fat and throbbing.

"Need I remind you…" He started to grin, his voice getting that typical, creepy 'Earl' feeling back to it and his previously pale face starting to turn as umber as his hand, "That the only person really allowed to give the orders to keep you alive is me~? Don't let your medications make you so comfortable that you forget you're a prisoner~."

Gasping and squirming, Gracia nodded as best she could and held out her hands, gesturing for a time out.

He pressed down a bit harder, nearly making her pass out, then let up, staying seated and going back to watching her with a flat expression as she clutched at her throat and rolled away from him again, hacking and breathing desperately.

When she had enough air, she cried out and pressed a hand to her broken rib, then forced herself to stop breathing so it would settle.

"…Tyki-pon making sure that rib stays broken?" When she nodded, the Earl chuckled behind her, "What a good boy…"

"You guys… have way too much time on your hands." Gracia mumbled when she dared to talk and breathe again, sitting up flinchingly and keeping a hand pressed to her chest as she turned to face the Earl. When he just continued to stare at her expectantly, his skin turning white again, she frowned, "I can't do it here. You'll drop flat as soon as I use it."

The Earl blinked, then nodded and stood, stepping back and watching pitilessly as she stumbled to her feet with a pained whimper. He did, though, reach out and catch her by the back of the frilly, ribbony nightgown she was wearing (something Road had probably forced her into while she was unconscious) when she started coughing so badly that the pain nearly made her legs give out.

"Didn't someone address you as 'General'?" He sighed once she'd recovered, rolling his eyes slightly as he turned and walked to the door, "I didn't think they'd let someone so weak become a General."

"I'm not a melee unit, so my physical strength doesn't matter." Gracia mumbled as she limped after him, "I'm just a support u—" She froze.

"_**Support unit.**_"

_Kanda. Kanda Yu._

When the Earl looked back at her once he'd noticed she'd stopped, Gracia had a hand pressed to her mouth and was shaking, tears pouring down her face.

"K… Kanda…" She lowered her head, shaking.

"…Doesn't feel good to lose a member of your family, now does it?"

When the Earl went back to walking back to his room, Gracia rubbed her eyes and scowled at his back before following, "I won't feel any pity for you. You've taken the family members of people who don't even know your name without any remorse; don't you dare try to make yourselves the victims."

In front of her, the Earl's shoulders sagged a bit and he tipped his head from side to side as he exhaled dramatically, "Such an _Exorcist_ response…"

Gracia ground her teeth but refused to answer the jab, knowing arguing with the _Earl_, of all people, wouldn't get her anywhere. She'd probably have better luck with _Sheril_.

When they were back in his room and the Earl was lying on his bed, her standing at his side, Gracia stared down at him, pausing.

The Earl slowly quirked a brow up at her.

"…What are you going to give me for this?"

The Earl's brow twitched, "How about I change my mind about my newest decision to go against Wisely and Tyki's wishes and let Sheril near you?"

"I just want you to clarify something you said earlier." Gracia hissed, glaring back at him.

"Oh?" The Earl's other brow slid up smoothly to join the first, his eyes now staring at her guardedly.

"…You mentioned… my father's 'early' death." Gracia mumbled, it being one of the details she remembered about the fight with Alma Karma, "You said I… inherited his Innocence."

"Hmm…" The Earl pursed his lips, "Surprised you remember that, considering you were tottering so close to the edge of plunging back behind the line of Wisely's control…"

"Will you just… tell me what you meant?" Gracia pressed, starting to squirm in her own skin, "Were you teasing me or something? To give Wisely the chance to catch me off guard so he could get me back in Kanda's memories?" The fact that she said that so _easily_ after having just remembered who Kanda was didn't even cross her mind.

"While that _was_ the general idea," The Earl started to smirk at her, "It wasn't a _lie_."

"So… you're telling me my dad wielded Sleep before I did?"

"Oh, I wouldn't call what he did 'wielding.'" The Earl looked away from her, lifting a hand and flapping it nonchalantly, "Silas was an incompetent bumbler from beginning to end. _You_ use, Sleep, you named it?, _much_ better than he did. If the Innocence let him use it at all, it was only so it could get closer to its real target; you."

Gracia stared at him, starting to feel… incensed over the air of familiarity with which he was talking about her father and Sleep with.

She already knew the Noah Family had a history of trying to infiltrate hers (her marriage to one of their Brokers and Sheril Kamelot's marriage to a distant relative of hers, Tricia), but… just how long had they been watching, really _watching_, the Solidor Family?

"You see…" The Earl closed his eyes, pressing the tips of his fingers together and tapping them contemplatively, "Sleep had been considered a family heirloom by the Solidors for at least a few generations, as far as I could tell… A forgettable one, being a simple silver band, but one nonetheless. However, not only had no Solidor ever synchronized with it before, even if they had it wasn't as if the Solidors back then would have said anything." His lips twisted into a small smirk, "Oh, the old Solidor Family's policy against allowing their children to become Exorcists… Thus, the Innocence was hidden from the Order in plain sight, and I didn't have to expend the energy to fetch it and risk the Solidor Family and the Order being alerted to my interest in the Solidor Family. At least…" Here, his eyes opened slightly, "That was until Silas inherited the ring."

Gracia twitched and continued listening to him silently.

She was tempted… so strongly tempted… to hurt him… to fight…

But this was more than she had hoped for. Not only was she getting more information on the Noah's level of infiltration into her family… but she also had a better idea of who she probably worked for.

The 'Order'… Yes, that… sounded familiar…

"…Silas was such a clever fellow." The Earl chuckled wryly, "But a coward. He noticed the moment Sleep synchronized with him, even though it was just slightly. He was, however, afraid to join the Order, so he stopped wearing it as a ring and put it on a chain necklace, instead. Never took it off. He also, though, never turned it over to the Order… That was about the time he started to fiddle with gadgets he was hoping would help the Order; probably some pathetic attempt to make up for hiding a piece of Innocence that his frail human mind cooked up out of guilt."

Gracia's hands clenched at her side as her anger swelled.

Just a bit longer… Listen just a bit longer…

She had… She had to know…

"As soon as he married Mathilda, though, the idea of joining the Order seemed all the more tempting; who would want to be married to that harpy of a woman and stay at home all of the time?" The Earl shuddered, which amused Gracia. Even the Earl found Mathilda unbearable… "Just as he was seriously considering joining, though, something happened that stopped him."

When he stopped talking, Gracia stayed silent. He _wanted_ her to ask, and she wasn't about to do that.

After several moments, the Earl glanced at her and smirked slightly.

"You were born."

Gracia twitched, feeling something… other than anger stab at her chest.

"You were born…" The Earl went on slowly, "And with your birth came a whole new slew of responsibilities and reasons to closely interact with his wife. Silas couldn't escape anymore. So, he went back to tinkering with his childish little gadgets, burying himself in his depression and starting to waste away. And when you got old enough to start wanting to interact with him more than your mother… I suspect it was at some point during that time that Sleep started to react with you better than it did with him. And it wasn't long after that that Silas Solidor lost his most treasured possession."

…And Gracia had found it some time after.

"_I have been watching you… for quite some time… Waiting for the opportunity to take care of you…"_

"_I love you."_

"…He didn't just have problems loving me because he was emotionally damaged." Gracia mumbled, "He had problems loving me because I had taken his one way out away from him."

The Earl smiled up at her pleasantly, "And because of that, when it got to be too much, he simply ended his own li—"

"Why are you doing this to me?" Gracia cut him off, clenching her hands at her side and lowering her head so she didn't have to look at him, "Why am I alive? Why haven't any of you tried to destroy Sleep? For all you know, Sleep could be the Heart…"

She didn't want to think about her father… doing _that_ to himself so badly… that she was on the verge of putting Sleep on the firing line.

When… had they drifted so far apart…

"Sleep isn't the Heart." The Earl rolled his eyes, "If it was, I would know; you've been captured by the Noah Family, after all, and nothing has happened. There are forces on the Heart's side protecting it that are beyond your wildest dreams." He glanced at her wryly, "And I'm sure you've had some pretty strange dreams."

"…Goodnight."

As Gracia turned and walked out of the room as the Earl fell asleep behind her, Sleep burned around her wrist a bit longer than usual, in the same comforting way it always had when she was upset.

…She wasn't sure she wanted to let it work anymore.

And at the same time, she had never wanted to let it work more.

"Oh, hello, _Lady_ Solidor."

Gracia paused, Sleep's burning intensifying slightly in response to the fear she had started to feel even before she looked over.

Sheril Kamelot tipped his head and smiled at her 'pleasantly.'

"I'm sorry I haven't been able to greet you properly; I've been a bit preoccupied. At the moment, however, I do have a bit of time to spare…"


	119. Protocol Stasis Recording: File ? ? … !

So I finally gave in and bought Final Fantasy XIII. I had been refusing to (even though I really wanted to) because I was boycotting the PS3 because it doesn't have a slot for an external Memory Card (seriously, _why _in the_ f***_ wouldn't they have a slot for the Memory Card when all previous PlayStations use Memory Cards? ! the fact that the PS3 is backwards compatible [meaning it can play PS1 and PS2 games] doesn't count for _**s*****_ if I can't pick up where I left off with my PS2 and PS1 games! !). All of these promos for FFXIII-2 have really been getting to me, though, so I asked my sister to bring over her PS3, then bought the game to try it out (no point in even considering the sequel if I haven't played the first one, right?)…

…I literally stared at my TV for eight hours yesterday playing it. I hadn't even realized I had missed dinner until my e-mail pinged me and I looked at the clock. When I managed to peel myself away from the controller, my eyeballs felt funny and my body was so heavy it was hard to breathe.

Square Enix is trying to kill me. And I'm going to let them. Right after I finish XIII (and probably XIII-2).

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"…I beg your pardon?"

"Brigitte, would you mind getting us some water?" Komui said as he quickly stood and hurried around his desk to grab Mathilda by her upper arms as the color washed from her face, carefully easing her down onto the sofa in front of his desk.

As Brigitte hurried out of the room, Komui slowly knelt in front of Mathilda, keeping an eye on her coloring, taking a hand to monitor her temperature, studying her breathing, all to make sure this news didn't give her another heart att—

A sharp slap rang through the now silent office and Komui, now staring at the wall, didn't move, his glasses askew and the side of his face already starting to swell slightly and smart.

Damn, the woman had a strong arm…

"I trusted you." Mathilda's voice broke slightly, "With _both_ of my daughters. I didn't fight harder than I did to keep her in Nalbina because, after you stood up to me, I thought you, who knew the person she had become better than I did, would be able to keep a closer eye on her. I _trusted you_ to step up and do what I_ couldn't_."

"…I did what I could." Komui mumbled, "But losing Exorcists isn't something uncom—"

"_Are you or are you not in a relationship with my daughter? !_"

At that, Komui froze, his eyes widening slightly and his head still turned towards the wall, his cheek hurting more than before.

How did she…

Had Katherine already…?

"And after seeing what I did of how you and your sister interacted," Mathilda went on in a low, seething voice without waiting for him to get over his shock enough to answer, "And after doing a thorough background search on you… I _trusted_ you to be able to _take care_ of her. _I trusted you to be someone she could trust with her life._"

…He couldn't even think anymore, torn between reeling in confusion and drowning in guilt.

"And now… now she's gone again…"

When Komui looked up to see Mathilda had closed her eyes and clenched her jaw so tightly the tendons in her neck stood out… to see wetness peeking out from between her eyelids… he swallowed harshly, his throat suddenly dry.

"I can't do anything right by her." Mathilda's voice was hoarse, "When I gave birth to her, I was ready to cultivate a strong young woman to succeed me. I wasn't ready for a sickly, weak-willed child who needed to be raised with a gentle hand. My… My mother didn't teach me how to deal with—" She cut herself off, her hands fisting against her dress-covered knees.

Komui stared at Mathilda silently.

Generation after generation of women failing to teach their daughters some vital—

"…I'm sorry."

Mathilda didn't respond.

Komui sighed, lowering his head slightly, "I'm sorry. You're right; I wasn't able to protect her… From the moment all of those reports came flooding in, I was suspicious. I was worried. We'd been waiting for the Noah to do something for months… And, when they did act, despite my suspicions, I sent her – all of them – out anyway. I had made sure the strongest non-General Exorcists were assigned to her unit, thinking that would be enough, but it… it wasn't."

"…Her unit?"

Komui looked back up at Mathilda to find her regarding him with damp, slightly bloodshot eyes.

"…She was recently promoted." He mumbled, "To General."

"…And did any members of her unit come back?"

"…One." Komui inclined his head slightly, "He is… currently being detained for… suspicious acts." He wasn't allowed to tell her more than that…

Mathilda stared at him, "Would he know where the Noah took her to?"

"No." Komui shook his head. As an afterthought, he added, "Renault left the evening she disappeared to go find her. We haven't heard from him since."

Mathilda sat a bit straighter at that, the dampness from her eyes becoming less noticeable as her eyes flashed slightly. She nodded, "Good. Very good." She then looked back down at Komui, "I want to see this young man. Immediately."

"…You can't." Komui paused, then went on carefully, "He has been charged… with some very… very serious crimes by the Vatic—"

"Tell Cardinal Frederico Sotelli if he has a problem with it, he can talk to me about it directly at his earliest convenience." Mathilda stood and slipped past Komui, starting to walk to the door, "You said detained? In the old dungeons, then."

Komui gapped, then stood and hurried after her, "L-Lady Mathilda, wait!" When he went to dash out of the room after her, he bumped into Brigitte on his way out, squeaking and wrapping his arms around her quickly when he nearly knocked the woman over, the tray with cups and a pitcher of iced water falling from her hands and shattering against the ground.

"_Supervisor!_" Brigitte hissed.

"Sorry – gotta stop Mathilda!" Komui said quickly as he danced around Brigitte and took off down the hall.

Ahead of him, the skirt of Mathilda's dress swished as she turned a corner sharply. How was she that fast in a dress and heels? !

After just barely managing to keep up with Mathilda's skirt end for several hallways, dancing around people, Komui knew he was in trouble when he danced around Lvellie.

"What the… Lee? What are you doing? !"

Komui acted like he answered as he kept running, even though he'd really just babbled a few random words in Mandarin. He had to stop Mathilda before—

Nope. Too late.

After descending a final short flight of stairs, Mathilda was below the ground level of Barheim and storming past several protesting CROWs and one of Cross' old, bald guards.

Komui flinched as she all but kicked the door open and stormed inside.

"Mathilda! !"

Inside of the cell, a pale, somewhat gaunt Allen looked up with wide eyes and a shocked expression, blinking up at Mathilda in confusion when she came to a stop in front of him.

"Stand, boy."

Komui was stopped in the doorway by the already flustered and confused bald guard, biting his lip and watching as Allen obeyed, uncertainty clear on his face.

"What is your name?" Mathilda asked, looking down at Allen levelly.

"…A-Allen Walker…" Allen answered, glancing at Komui unsurely.

"I am the one talking to you, Allen Walker." When Allen's attention snapped back to her, Mathilda's expression was a bit more stern than before, "Do you know who I am?"

"…Gracia's mother."

Mathilda nodded shortly, "Very good."

"Lady Mathilda, you cannot be in there! That boy is not safe to be around!" Komui glanced back as Lvellie stormed forward, then man's lips pressed into a thin, severe line and his brow furrowed.

Komui's attention then snapped back to Mathilda when she pressed on, ignoring the Inspector.

"What state was my daughter in when you last saw her?"

"Injured. Badly." Allen mumbled, "She'd used Ultima to protect the Black Order personnel… It burned her. I think she might have had a few broken bones…"

"Was she conscious?" Mathilda asked firmly.

"Yes." Allen nodded.

"Did she say anything?"

"…I don't think she could have." Allen shook his head, "When I last saw her, she'd been flung over one of the Noah's arms; I think something about the position really hurt her, because her face was white and kinda sweaty, and she looked sick."

Lvellie jerked to a stop beside Komui as Mathilda got Allen to speak more in five minutes than the boy had been in two days.

"Which Noah had her?" Mathilda pressed.

"Sheril." Allen answered immediately, "Sheril Kamelot."

Mathilda's eyes widened slightly in recognition before she schooled her expression again. "…Did you do your best to serve and fight alongside my daughter?"

"…Until the end." Allen mumbled.

Mathilda studied Allen's expression intently for a moment, then nodded slowly, "…Thank you, Allen Walker, for your time." She then turned and started to leave.

Allen nodded after her slightly, then asked, his voice weak, "Have… Have they done anything to try to find her?"

Mathilda paused in the doorway, ignoring the CROW as they tried to herd her out of the room, then glanced back and nodded, "Renault has gone to get her."

Relief flooded Allen's face and he gave Mathilda a wide, wavering smile.

Mathilda nodded to him again, then turned and walked out of the room, ignoring Lvellie when he tried to talk to her.

The Inspector glared after her, then turned to Komui, "Supervisor…"

Komui flinched, glancing at him before looking back at Allen guiltily. It was the first time in a while he'd been able to see Allen… He felt bad for having to leave him.

Allen, though, just smiled and nodded.

Komui sighed and offered a weak smile before starting to turn away.

"…Komui, wait!"

Despite the two CROW closing in on him, trying to herd him back towards the stairs without touching him, Komui looked back again.

Allen smiled at him widely, "That night; she decided to say yes."

Komui's eyes widened and he froze, staring at Allen even as the door shut.

After a moment… his heart started to race, and even though his eyes were watering as he made his way back to his office he couldn't stop smiling.

* * *

"You'll understand, of course," Mathilda started as she set her teacup back down on the saucer in her other hand, "When I inform you that I will be taking Lorelei back with me."

"Of course." Komui nodded, fingering the handle of his untouched tea, "We started setting up ways to deal with the additional loss of manpower the moment we learned that Gracia was gone."

"…I see." Mathilda blinked, looking mildly shocked and pleased before she nodded and lifted her tea for another sip, "Thank you for your understanding in this matter."

Komui only nodded and hummed, his mind elsewhere.

On the inside, he was doing a little dance and cheering _She said yes! She said yes! !_

It should have depressed him that Gracia (his _fiancée_! !) wasn't the one to give him the news, and that his newly realized fiancée (_fiancée~! !_) was still missing, and it probably would depress him… Later.

But for now, Komui was too busy mentally hugging himself, cackling like a mad man and rolling around on the 'floor' inside of his head.

His only real world focus at the moment was keeping his composure in front of Mathilda.

"…What would my daughter have done about the boy's situation if she were here?"

Komui blinked, snapping back to reality at that. "…One of the main reasons Gracia decided to actively work on getting her promotion was so she could use her influence to protect Allen." He answered seriously after a moment, "If Gracia were here… she'd be doing everything she could to make sure he was comfortable and that he had a fair trial, at the very least. If she got angry enough, she'd be standing up to the Vatican officials who have him in the state he's in now."

"…I see." Mathilda fell silent for a time, taking another sip of tea.

Komui nodded slowly, finally picking up his cup and drinking.

"…I'll see if I can't do anything for him, then." Mathilda nodded, setting her cup back down on its saucer as she stood, setting both on his desk, "I have a few friends in the Vatican who might be able to help."

Komui stared at Mathilda in shock, "Th… Thank you…" It was almost a miracle, how much Mathilda had mellowed out… Either the shock of Gracia's disappearance had really gotten to her, or her heart attack had made her 'see the light' and she'd decided to try to be… nicer.

…Or Gracia just rubbed her in the wrong way so thoroughly that the person Komui was talking to now was the person Mathilda normally was when she didn't have to deal with her daughter.

Mathilda just nodded, then sighed, "Now, to find my daughter and her fiancé—"

"And Katherine." Komui sighed.

Mathilda froze, glancing back at him and twitching, "…Katherine is _here_?"

Komui nodded slowly, "She's _been_ here."

"…My most sincere apologies." Mathilda deadpanned, looking scary and making Komui swallow and shrink in his seat, "I will remove her _immediately_."

"Thanks." Komui nodded shortly, his voice a squeak.

"…She didn't touch you, did she?" When Komui just blinked at her, Mathilda's scary expression only got scarier, "I see." She then turned and stormed out of the room, a dark aura around her.

Komui shuddered as the door closed behind her.

He could now see where Gracia got her occasional aura and anger from.

* * *

"…YOU DID _WHAT_? !"

Komui jumped and squeaked, dropping his tray and splattering food all over his slippers. He stared down at his now ruined footwear and barbequed ribs mournfully, then realized that had been _Mathilda's_ screech and hurried to the doorway, joining the throng that had already gathered and peeking out and down the hall.

He blinked when he saw Mathilda glaring down at Lorelei and Christopher, the former looking calm and collected and the latter clinging to the former's arm and shaking slightly.

"Brother?" Komui glanced over briefly then looked back as Lenalee sidled up beside him, taking his arm and peeking out, as well, "What's going on?"

Komui shook his head, "I don't—"

"We went into town and got married."

Komui's eyes nearly bugged out of his head, his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose and his jaw dropping.

Around him, several others who knew of Mathilda, Lorelei and Christopher reacted similarly to Lorelei's calm, even statement.

"And Chris has taken the Solidor name." Lorelei went on, still calm, "Now that he's my husband and a member of the main Solidor line by marriage, he can go back and continue learning how to run the family in my stead while I stay here and keep up with my duties as an Exorcist."

"Lorelei… this… is…"

"There's no way you can stop it." Lorelei went on, staring up at Mathilda dully, "I made sure I went through all of the proper legal procedures, I have been in contact with a few of the family lawyers, and I got Aunt Katherine to give me council. She also bore witness to our unity."

Katherine seemed to… congeal out of a shadow behind the newly married couple, smiling at Mathilda brightly and waving.

"_Katherine_…"

All of the observers shuddered and shrank back at the subarctic chill that seemed to permeate the air as Mathilda hissed that.

"Well, my work is done here." Katherine smiled, waving to Mathilda again before starting to turn, "I'll go pack my things now!" She turned away completely and walked off, leaving Mathilda with a nonchalant (married) daughter and a terrified and trembling (son-in-law) boy.

"…Are you trying to put me into an early grave?"

Despite her mother's seething, hissing and shadowy, threatening aura, Lorelei managed to stay calm and flat. "Yes." When Mathilda twitched, her hands clenching at he sides, Lorelei sighed and walked over to her, wrapping her arms around her tightly, "Much as I can't believe it sometimes, I love you, Mum. I also love Grace, and you know what? I'm starting to get what she meant when she said she chose this place over us because of the people here, so I'm not gonna abandon them. They need me now more than ever, and there's a good chance I'll be able to find Sister along the way, so I'm staying. Take care of Chris for me, alright?"

Mathilda tensed, drawing herself up a bit taller, then let out a long, low sigh, pressing her hand against Lorelei's back and not saying anything.

"Don't worry." Lorelei pulled back and smiled up at her, "I'll be okay, and I'll find her."

Again, Mathilda didn't say anything, her eyes staying closed.

After staring up at her mother for a moment, Lorelei pulled away and turned to Christopher, walking over and taking his hand, "C'mon, let's visit while we can, 'kay?"

Christopher nodded, throwing Mathilda a weak, apologetic smile as Lorelei dragged him off.

Once they were gone, Mathilda sighed again and pinched the bridge of her nose, scowling and rubbing before turning around. When she saw the crowd that had gathered in the cafeteria doorway, she narrowed her eyes dangerously and the group scattered almost instantly.

Komui tried to flee with them, but—

"Supervisor, I need to talk to you."

His back already to her and his shoulders hunched as he tried to 'sneakily' tiptoe away, Komui sagged and whined before turning to Mathilda, pouting slightly, "Yeah?"

Mathilda quirked a brow at the sudden slack in his professionalism, then seemed to decide to play hardball, if the way her face went blank and her eyes narrowed slightly were any indication, "Earlier, when Walker told you 'she' said 'yes'… What had he been talking about?"

Komui's eyes widened slightly and he paled, swallowing harshly.

Uh-oh…

* * *

"Lady _Graaaaaciaaaa_… Wakey wakey~!"

"No… That can't be…"

"Oh, but it is, Old Man."

"N-No… G… Gra… cia…"

"Oh, the Jr. can still talk… Such a resilient boy. But be quiet, really; we'll continue your interrogation soon enough. For now, I want to deal with the Lady. Lady Gracia… wake _up_."

Gracia's eyes snapped open and she tried to curl in on herself against the pain that had suddenly bloomed along her abdomen. She didn't get far, realizing as she woke up more and more that she was hanging from the ceiling from her wrists, which stretched out her body, which, her dulled nerve endings were slowly noticing, aggravated her broken rib.

So, not only could she not curl in on herself because she was weak from hanging and didn't have the body strength/trying to use that much stomach muscle hurt her chest and now injured stomach, she also couldn't breathe for several moments.

Going limp, Gracia gasped rapidly, desperately, but uselessly, her body trembling and her head swimming in a matter of seconds.

If Sleep was reacting to all of this, she couldn't tell, her arms numbed from the shoulders up from the lack of blood.

"Oh, really, _she_ is one of your _Generals_? How pathetic."

When she finally managed to force herself to just go limp and breathe deeper, Gracia simply hung there until she stopped feeling nauseous, slowly peeling her eyes open and looking up.

Sheril Kamelot smiled at her coldly and tipped his head, "_Thank you_, My Lady, for _deigning_ to grace us with your presence."

"Gra… cia…"

She twitched and looked over, blinking slowly when she saw an old man and an older teenager with red hair sitting in armchairs a ways to her left, the old man with his hands clasped against his lap and a severe expression and the redhead… slumped forward, his skin pale and sweaty.

She recognized them…

She recognized that uniform…

The redhead twitched and shakily lifted his head slightly, one green eye locking on her hazily.

"Gra… ci… a…"

…Con… cern…

She didn't know him… but she recognized him… and it went deep… Deep enough for her to worry for him, despite having Sheril in front of her.

He was part of the blank spaces in he recent past. They both were.

"Am I boring you, Lady Gracia?"

She looked back at Sheril, twitching slightly, "What… have you done… to him…?"

"Hmm?" Sheril quirked a brow, "You mean to Jr.? Oh, that's really none of your concern for the moment. You should be more concerned about yourself."

"What do you want from her?" Gracia looked over as the old man spoke up, a deep frown on his wrinkled face, "She can't answer your questions."

"Well, it's not as if you're being entirely forthcoming." Sheril answered wryly as he slowly, meticulously, took off his gloves and unbuttoned the cuffs of his sleeves, rolling them up, "Besides, I don't need her to answer any _questions_…" He paused as he set his gloves aside before turning to Gracia and smiling, his lips stretching out to an impossibly wide length, the corners becoming impossibly sharp… "The only thing she needs to _answer_ for is the _crime_ she committed in harming my darling Road."

Gracia blinked slowly, an incredulous look settling on her face, "Are you… kidding m—"

Before she could finish, there was a ripping sound, and through the ensuing flames of pain she couldn't tell if it was fabric… or skin.

…She also couldn't immediately tell that the ensuing, piercing screams were hers.

* * *

_(I've given this message before, and it seems I have to give it again… If you have problems loading the new chapter [as in it says to wait 15 minutes or it says that the ID you're looking for doesn't exist], give it a few hours and try again; F F has been having some archiving issues over the last few days.)_


	120. Protocol Stasis Recording: File ! !— …

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"Sheril, have you— _Sheril_! !"

"Eh?"

Gracia went limp and nearly passed out when the lashing/tearing/beating/stabbing/whatever it was he was doing to her abruptly stopped, not sure if the rivulets of hotness that were trailing down her body were sweat or blood…

"May I help you with something, Lulu Bell?" Gracia blearily heard Sheril's slick voice ask as her head lolled forward, her eyelids heavy now that she had stopped struggling and lost the strength to stay alert. "I'm in the middle of some private business…"

"Not with her, you're not."

Each sharp, reverberating click that followed as soon as the female voice (_Lulu…?_) said that felt like an additional stab to her already tender brain.

Heels…?

After that, the voices got sharp, hissing, angry, and Gracia couldn't stand to listen to it anymore; she especially couldn't stand to focus on outside conversations when her arms suddenly went limp and fell to her sides, gravity jerking her downward.

She was screaming hoarsely even before the long, thin but strong arms wrapped around her and cradled her close to a protruding, soft chest, and when her legs were swept up and she was held, she was gasping for more air as her body tried to continue to make her scream.

Despite how gentle the arms holding her seemed to be trying to be, the sharp turn the owner of the arms made had pain sparking through her busted and bruised body.

And that much pain spread so widely over her person made her nauseous.

Fortunately, her stomach was empty and her broken rib kept her diaphragm from hiccupping too much…

After some time (moments, minutes, hours…) of mind-numbing pain, it all suddenly… floated away on a dry, stuffy, warm but soothing cloud.

When her scrambled mind was able to organize what she was perceiving, she realized she was back in 'her room,' lying on a bed with a human-form Akuma in a nurse's uniform with a pentagram on her forehead hovering over her, tending to—

Wounds she didn't want to look at. Gracia shuddered and closed her eyes.

"Sheril… I can't believe him. Getting so upset over all of this he'd willingly go against the Earl's orders…"

Gracia opened her eyes slowly and looked over, blinking, "Lulu…?"

Lulu Bell, standing off to the side and glaring off into space, glanced over before turning and walking to the side of the bed. "Gracia…" She murmured, leaning over and looking her up and down slowly.

"…Why…?" Gracia mumbled, closing her eyes dizzily as the drugs started to make her feel a bit sick, "Why did you…?"

"…I guess I can't brush of the old inclination to protect you." Lulu Bell sighed, closing her eyes as her lips curled slightly against her Noah umber skin, "Especially when you look so… weak and pathetic."

Gracia stared. She knew she had recognized Lulu as a friend before she had come to know she was a Noah, but where did she fit into her past?

"Though you have come a long way from being bullied and neglected by your husband—"

Gracia's left hand twitched slightly, her ears starting to ring. Around her left ring finger, the engagement ring suddenly seemed cold.

…Husband?

She didn't remember having a husband… And what was on her finger was an engagement ring, not a wedding band.

…Was this… what fit into the space between being the heir of the Solidor Family and being an Exorcist? An abusive husband?

Lulu Bell must have seen the blank look on her face, because she trailed off on whatever she had been saying (Gracia couldn't hear her over the static) and stared at her.

"…You don't remember Vincent?"

A jolt ran through her body at that.

_Vincent. Vincent Carter._

Lulu Bell went silent as Gracia's eyes started to tear. Then, without divulging further, the Noah turned and walked to the door, leaving the Akuma to attend to Gracia.

"L-Lu—"

"I'll speak to Lord Earl about keeping a better eye on Sheril." Lulu Bell's words cut Gracia's croak off curtly before the door shut behind her.

Gracia stared after her, thoughts, questions, confusion and hurt swirling in her head as the memories came back; memories of Vincent's passively abusive behavior, his infidelity, his murd—

Something sharp pricked her arm and the world sank into the thick blankets as everything went dark.

* * *

"…_Supervisor_?"

His movements slowed because of the cotton in his head making his perception sluggish, it took Komui a moment to look up at whoever had spoken to him, and he blinked slowly when he saw Brigitte standing in the doorway of his office, her eyes wide.

…She hadn't been wearing that dress shirt with her uniform when he'd last seen her.

"Did…" Brigitte paused, then shook her head before going on with the same incredulous tone in her voice, "Did you stay up working _all night_? !"

…Eh?

Really?

…_Really_?

Komui blinked at Brigitte slowly again, "…Are you serious?"

"…" Brigitte stared at him, mumbling, "I thought you had just wanted to finish off the document you were working on when I left… _seven hours ago_."

Komui stared back at her a bit longer, then slowly set down his pen, flinching and hissing when his fingers crackled as they straightened after being curved for so long. He cracked his knuckles properly, then sighed and closed his burning eyes, keening and taking his glasses off so he could rub them.

He really had stayed up all night…

"…Supervisor," Brigitte sighed heavily, and when Komui cracked an eye open to look at her he saw she also had her eyes closed and was rubbing the bridge of her nose, "Go to your room and take a nap; you have another meeting with the Vatican officials this afternoon and you look terrible."

Komui slowly looked down at the top of his desk and searched the papers… for anything he could keep working on.

He didn't want to go to bed.

Going to bed meant seeing, once more, that Gracia wasn't there.

Maybe that had been why he hadn't even bothered to look at the clock and, subsequently, had ended up working all night…

…There had to be something he still needed to do.

"Komui."

When the backside of a clipboard blocked his view of the desk, Komui twitched slightly and looked up at Brigitte, who was standing in front of him and looking down at him with a gentler but still firm expression.

"Go try to get some sleep." Brigitte said in a tone that brooked no argument, "Now."

Komui stared up at her dully for a moment, then, not having the energy to argue, stood and silently walked out of the room.

He did not, however, head back to his room… Instead, he wandered down the hall, slowly, blearily going down the list of people in the building he could go talk to.

Reever…? No… First, he wouldn't believe that Brigitte had given him time off, then he would drag Komui back to his office for a confirmation, then Brigitte would know Komui hadn't gone to bed, and then both Reever and Brigitte would escort him to his room… And probably post a guard outside the door.

Jeryy… No. The chef was always busy all day long, and it was early in the morning; he was elbows-deep in the breakfast rush.

Lenalee… He didn't want to worry her by letting her know he was still worrying over Gracia to the point of losing sleep. She and the other Exorcists were so harried as it was…

By that vein, he also couldn't go to any of the Generals.

Hevlaska…

Komui perked.

Actually, he'd absently been meaning to go visit Hevlaska when he had the time; the thought had come to him that, being the holder of the Cube and being a prophet, she might be able to tell him where Gracia was… Or, at least, give a general location.

Hopefully…

Komui dashed down to the lower levels where Hevlaska's chamber was, the lights dimming the further down he got and the air getting cooler. When he finally arrived at her chamber, he hopped from stepping stone to stepping stone to reach the platform that stood in the water before the large Exorcist, knowing the water wasn't so shallow he could fall and hurt himself but also not caring to get wet. Absently, he wondered what the Solidor Family had used this room for before it had been converted for Hevlaska's use…

The natural glow Hevlaska gave off bounced off of the water she was in and illuminated the darkness in a way that some would have found eerie; having known Hevlaska for as long as he had, Komui wasn't bothered by it at all. In fact sometimes, when he was distraught, it was comforting.

Though the softly glowing lanterns that floated on the surface of the water weren't a hindrance, either.

"Komui…" Hevlaska began in her slow, smooth tone when he came to a stop in front of her, "I… was not expecting company… with how busy we have been lately… Is everything alright…?"

"Everything's fine." Komui assured her brightly, feeling a stab of guilt. Since things had gotten so busy, he hadn't been able to visit her like he used to, and now that she was getting what was likely the first bit of proper human contact she'd had in days, he just wanted to make a request of her… "I just came to visit you!"

"…Komui," Hevlaska's lips twisted into a smile, "You… are a terrible liar…"

"…No, you can just see through me so well after all of these years." Komui laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

Hevlaska chuckled and hummed in agreement, then sobered and asked in a gentle voice, "What is it…?"

His cheerful sheepishness dissipating in a flash, Komui glanced off to the side, using the thumb of one hand to crack the fingers on that same hand while his other hand went up to adjust his glasses. "I… Can you track Exorcists with your connection to their Innocence?"

"…You know I cannot…" Hevlaska murmured.

"Not even if they're Generals?" Komui looked back up at Hevlaska desperately, the hand on his glasses going down to join his other hand in its knuckle cracking, "You can sense Exorcists from unlimited distances when they exceed the one hundred percent synchronization limit…"

"That is because an Accommodator reaching the Critical Point… causes a ripple through all Innocence…" Hevlaska explained gently, "Individual… normal use, however… in both regular Exorcists… and Generals alike… is a personal… isolated interaction between that Accommodator… and their Innocence…" She paused, then went on, even gentler than before, "Komui… I cannot locate Gracia for you."

Komui cringed and lowered his hands, stepping back and looking down guiltily. He really was getting transparent with his desperation…

"It has only been less than a handful of days…" Hevlaska went on softly after a pause, "And you sent Renault after her… He will find her… and Sleep will not let her come to harm."

Komui sighed, running a hand through his hair, "While I will admit Sleep has a few… unusual tendencies, it's still just a piece of Innocence. And an equipment type, at that. I don't think it would be able to save her if—"

"Komui… Sleep is… unique."

Komui blinked up at Hevlaska. He knew that… more than he would let on. But what did she…?

"I sensed it the first time I examined Sleep…" Hevlaska admitted, "Though I didn't say anything at the time… as I wasn't sure what I was feeling… Sleep has an… awareness about it. Several times… what we believed to be 'hair trigger invocations'… could have really been the Innocence acting on its own."

Komui thought back to the times Sleep had amplified Gracia's anger, to the time when he had had it in his possession and it had seemed to… hint that it had wanted him to propose… to all of the times Gracia had spoken about it as if it were awake.

…The possibility that it had at least something of a sentience wasn't all that shocking of a revelation.

"What you foretold when you first examined Sleep and Gracia," Komui started slowly, looking back at Hevlaska from the space of black off to the side he had been staring at thoughtfully, "You weren't talking about the end of the war, or even the possibility of Sleep being destroyed… Sleep is going to leave her of its own free will."

"…Yes…" Hevlaska nodded, "I believe so… Ever since she joined the Order… Sleep has slowly been distancing itself from her… and Gracia has slowly become less dependent on it. Before she was taken… during her occasional checkup visits with me… When I last saw her, she was no longer communicating with Sleep like she had when she first came to us. Sleep… no longer needs to protect her…"

"But Innocence wouldn't just leave its Accommodator because they worked out their personal issues." Komui pressed, getting concerned in more than just one way, "Its primary directive is to destroy Akuma and fight the Earl, not protect its Accommodator."

"Hmm… But protecting Gracia… is what Sleep's unique awareness wants to do…"

"Then…" Komui shuddered as an… empty feeling took over his body from the legs up, "Is Sleep… the Heart?"

"No… I do not believe that this awareness was originally apart of Sleep." When Komui's eyes widened, Hevlaska nodded slightly, "I believe… that Sleep's previous Accommodator… left something behind when Sleep withdrew from his mind."

The numbness increased, along with Komui's shock, "…Sleep's… previous Accommodator?"

"Aah…" Hevlaska shuddered and bowed in on herself slightly.

"Hevlaska!" Komui's eyes widened and he jolted forward, reaching out for her uselessly and standing on the edge of the platform.

"…I… am fine…" Hevlaska murmured after a moment, straightening only slightly, "I just… suddenly felt a surge of sleepiness… when I tried to think about your question…"

Komui twitched at that.

Sleep had left something behind in Hevlaska. Something to keep her from thinking about the knowledge she had obtained about Sleep's previous Accommodator.

"…Don't worry about it, then." Komui murmured soothingly, stepping back, "Thank you, Hev."

"…It is not as though I haven't tried." Hevlaska admitted softly, "I try… every time an Exorcist goes missing…"

Komui bit his lip, his earlier guilt coming back, "I… I'm so sorry, Hev. I didn't think…"

"It is… fine, Komui." Hevlaska smiled at him sadly, "You are not the first person who loved an Exorcist… to come to me for something like this…"

Komui flushed and looked away sheepishly, biting his lip a bit harder.

"…I can assure you though, Komui… that you will see her again." When Komui blinked up at her, Hevlaska nodded firmly, "Sleep… or rather, the awareness within it… will not let her come to harm… and will make sure she is returned to the Order… one way or another."

* * *

Not long after he left Hevlaska's chamber, satisfied in some ways and discontented in others, Komui was sitting in a chair he had pulled up to the end of Gracia's bed, his elbows resting on his knees and his chin resting on his clasped hands as he stared at her pillows and blankets.

He probably should have been in his own room so that, when he had to go to that day's meeting with the Central officials, he could be found easily, but… He wasn't really comfortable sleeping in his own room anymore.

This was the first time he'd been in her room since she'd been abducted… And, being surrounded by her scent, he felt closer to experiencing contentment with his exhaustion than he had since before he'd had to assign that last mission to the Exorcists.

Her scent… Lavender scented mothballs, the faintest hint of a very expensive perfume (a fougère, if he wasn't mistaken) that Lorelei wore (and probably spritzed her sister's clothes with on occasion), the lip balm Renault had gotten for her when she had passively suggested that she needed some one day, which she probably hadn't even known was expensive, all-natural and plant-based and only made her smell more like the woods she tended to fall asleep in when she went for walks, either around the Headquarters or on missions…

Earthy.

Floral.

Sylvan.

Like some kind of ancient woodland nymph or spirit…

She probably didn't even know she smelled so pleasant…

…Of course, Komui sighed, he was probably just being poetic because of his bias.

…Regardless of whether or not others found Gracia's scent pleasant, though, Komui liked it, and smelling it now, when he hadn't smelled it in days… it was working.

He was well past being drowsy.

Komui stood and put the chair back before walking over to the side of the bed Gracia usually slept on, bracing his hands against the mattress and toeing his slippers off. He then slipped his jacket, glasses and beret off, laying them on the nightstand next to the bed before lifting the comforter and sheets and slipping inside. Once settled down, he nuzzled her pillow and hugged it close, inhaling deeply.

…He wasn't being poetic.

She smelled wonderful.

Komui ground his teeth and hugged the pillow tighter.

Four days.

Four days and nothing.

It wasn't the first time she'd gone missing… but it was the first time she'd been abducted.

How would she handle an abduction?

Would she be able to seize an opportunity to escape?

Bak, Reever and Johnny had all said that one of the Noah, Wisely, had wanted to keep her alive so he could find out why he couldn't read her mind… And something like that would be Sleep's doing.

And as much as Komui would like to say that Sleep would defend Gracia's mind to the end, no matter how much of her energy it had to use… her connection with Sleep had been waning, despite her high synchronization rate.

What had started off as a slightly abnormal piece of Innocence had slowly become more and more equipment type-like; distant, somewhat hard to control and dangerous when invoked too far.

…At least, that was what it wanted to seem like.

Because even though Gracia had been seriously injured when she had invoked too far, with the Ultima, after she'd been cared for… her skin underneath the dead layer the doctor had ultimately peeled off hadn't been scarred.

Komui ground his teeth again and pressed a hand to his forehead, running his fingers through his bangs and clenching his fist until he was tugging at his roots.

He had no idea what Sleep was… 'thinking'…

It was getting to the point where he didn't care anymore; he just wanted Gracia back.

…Even if that meant, this time around, that Sleep didn't come back with her.

Slowly, Komui relaxed at the thought of her no longer being an Exorcist… Of her just being a regular human.

They could find somewhere for her to work in the European Branch… Hell, she knew how to use the building's talisman-based security system; that automatically made her an asset even without an Innocence.

And since she had helped her father with it the first time around, she could help them do it again and install similar systems in other places; the other branches, buildings the Order used, towns that hosted Black Order support organizations…

How would she look in a proper uniform… Would they put her in the Science Division? The Security Section?

The Science Division… Komui felt his face heat slightly at the idea of her in a labcoat, a tired expression on her face as she ran a hand through her mussed hair and yawned over a computer keyboard…

…And, while his mind was on the topic of imagining her in different clothes, Komui imagined what she would wear when he took her back home with him and Lenalee, to China…

She'd like layers, not to mention loose-fitting things, so maybe something more traditional; draping robes and long skirts and coats of rich colors in cotton, silk for more formal occasions…

Gracia, though, would probably get frustrated trying to figure out which way to twist, layer and tie under coats under the over coats and skirts, which garment went under and/or over what, how to coordinate colors and what fabrics weren't for the every day… Lenalee would have to help her, and eventually… Gracia would probably get too lazy to keep trying.

Komui smiled sleepily at the mental image of Gracia, sprawled out on his old bed in his and Lenalee's home in China (not that he was even sure the house was still there) and snoring softly at midday, only partially dressed, coat hanging open and the sash holding up her skirts improperly tied…

…As he fell asleep, Komui made a promise to himself:

Someday, that adorable mental image would become a reality.

…And, he would make sure she _never_ learned how to dress herself properly in traditional Chinese robes.

* * *

The skin of his human form turning umber in a flash, the Millennium Earl's eyes snapped open, pupils slitting, blood boiling and a ball of solid fear crystallizing in his stomach as Noah spoke to him.

The Fourteenth.

The Fourteenth was in danger.

The Earl's lips parted slightly, his brow starting to sweat and panic welling as he dug his fingers into the blankets and clenched.

"Road…" He croaked, "Nea… Nea is…"

_It_ was _back_.

_Apocryphos_.


	121. Emergency Action: Full System Purge

And you all thought you hated me when you were afraid that I'd killed Gracia… Oh, I haven't even begun to torment her or make you hate me.

But I still love you! I make you want to scream and curse and tear out your hair and try to kill me because I love you!

TT . TT Don't stop loving meeeeee! ! *runs away*

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"—racia… Gracia… Gracia, can you hear me?"

She opened her eyes slowly to find herself still in bed, now lying on her side, with the covers pulled up and tucked tightly around her neck. So warm and fluffy…

What had woken her again…?

"Gracia… Help…"

…That voice… she knew it…

Slowly, Gracia's eyes drifted over, a jolt flashing through her numbed body when she saw a familiar red-trimmed black uniform… adorning a slim, boyish body… topped with hair white as snow…

"Gracia…" He smiled, reaching out for her, "You'll help me… won't you? You promised that you would…"

…She knew him.

She couldn't remember his name, but she knew him.

And the idea of him needing help… had panic flashing through her.

_Allen._ It suddenly came to her. _Allen Walker._

"Al…len…"

The boy's smile widened a bit at that, "You remember me…" Though something about the fact that he didn't try to stop her from sitting up despite the fact that she was obviously injured didn't settle right with part of her coherent mind, Gracia still struggled to push herself up, anyway, as Allen went on, "I need your help… Something is after me… You can slow it down and give me the time I need to escape."

When Gracia was finally on her feet, she found herself struggling to breathe, an intense pressure on one side of her chest.

Why? She couldn't remember… She didn't feel any pain, though, so…

"Here." Allen held out a bundle of black, "You'll need this."

Gasping, Gracia nodded silently, trusting the boy without a second thought as she took the cloth from him, which turned out to be a uniform similar to his but somehow… familiar specifically to her, and pulled it on; the pants, the underarmor sweater, the long tunic with the slits up the hips, the red sash around her waist, the coat that went on over it all, the boots…

A chiming against her right wrist caught her attention, and she looked down to see a loosely fitting silver bracelet attached to a silver ring on her middle finger by a silver chain…

Sleep…

Then, something on her left hand catching on her jacket sleeve made her look over, an initially stunned, then warm, warm, tight with emotion but warm feeling welling at the sight of a band of either silver or white gold with a small, pear-shaped diamond on a very particular finger…

An… engagement ring…

"Gracia…"

She looked up quickly, her head spinning a bit; she was no longer gasping, but she was still breathing heavily and even then not quite getting enough oxygen… And it all sounded very… papery…

Allen smiled at her sadly, "Will you come? Will you help me?"

Gracia nodded mutely, still breathing heavily, and stumbled towards him.

For reasons she couldn't quite place, though… her body weakened quickly, and no matter how much she stumbled towards Allen, she couldn't reach him…

…Gracia could only watch numbly from the backseat of her mind as her body fell forward, and as her vision turned black, she could vaguely see well-muscled, umber arms reach out from within Allen and wrap themselves arou—

* * *

Tyki caught the unconscious woman as she practically fell into his arms, drawing her close as her auburn hair spilled over her shoulders and covered her face.

"You sure this'll work, Road?" He asked as he glanced back over his shoulder, the same spiky haired doll form that Road had used before grunting softly as it climbed up his back to look over his shoulder.

"Of course!" The doll nodded vigorously, "I saw a few of her memories; she _adores_ the kids on her team! She'll be useful, even if she doesn't wanna help us!"

Tyki frowned deeply, "She'll be useful, sure, but if _it_ absorbs her Innocence—"

"Then you destroy her Innocence before _it_ can absorb it!" When Tyki continued to look unsure, the doll Road rolled her beady eyes heavily, "And if what Wisely and Sheril want to do to her bugs you _that_ much, we'll leave her there and I'll convince Early and Daddy that we had no other choice. But only if you destroy Sleep! Now hurry; we have to get to Allen!"

"…Alright." Tyki could live with that; it got her off of the battlefield and gave him an excusable reason to not have to bring her back to continue to suffer at the hands of Sheril and, eventually, Wisely.

He still felt like he owed her, after all…

Scooping Gracia up into his arms, Tyki reached into a shadow next to them and pulled out a long, dark cloak, wrapping it around himself and pulling the hood up before turning and dashing out of the room and down the hall.

With Road muttering directions in his ear, it wasn't long before they reached a dead-ended hallway, one of Road's Doors forming in the wall even as he ran straight for it.

Tyki loosened his grip on his Choose in several places on his body, letting some of his Teez come out.

The Door opened, several Teez fluttered through before them, and when he saw a certain person whose mere outline made his blood boil hovering over a certain _boy_, Tyki was airborne even before his foot touched the edge of the Doorway, flying from the Noah home base and into the European Branch in an instant and sailing over the fair-haired priest who was crouched over Allen, part of Allen's oddly mutating, feathering-at-the-edges Crowned Clown jutting through the priest's left eye and out the back of his head.

"Stuck in a jam, boy?" Tyki chuckled before switching Gracia over to his left arm as he started to descend, aiming his right at the priest and firing a sphere of Dark Matter energy at him.

Flipping around to land on his feet, Tyki dropped Gracia on the ground and spin around, grabbing the now badly burned face of the priest and slamming him into the ground.

As he came into bodily contact with the man, something within Tyki… burned… and he felt his control on his consciousness spli—

* * *

She was woken by something around her right wrist and middle finger burning intensely, staring at the brick ceiling above her with widening eyes and gasping as a familiar, electrical feel surged through her body, concentrating on her lungs.

Though she didn't particularly remember the connotation of the word, some part of her still screamed _NOAH! !_…

"Seven… thousand… years…"

Weak and riding on a haze, she rolled onto her side to see a dark-haired, umber-skinned man with a crazed grin on his face hovering over the prone body of a man in a black suit, the suited man's body from the chest up shoved into a hole in the ground and his legs twitching against the ground.

"After seven thousand years…" The umber-skinned man seethed, his already impossibly wide grin only widening more, "I finally found it! !"

…The dark moment was ruined when something beneath the umber-skinned man's (_Tyki…?_) cloak started flailing, a doll popping out from beneath the collar at the back of his neck.

She blinked slowly when the doll turned into a girl with a loud pop and a cloud of smoke, the girl nearly strangling the man as she struggled against the collar of his cloak and kicked her feet.

"Allen? !" The girl called out.

She, herself, felt a jolt at that, her body struggling into a sitting position before she fully registered her brain telling her to. She was then looking around, her eyes widening when she saw a familiar boy with white hair and a scar on the left side of his face slumped against the wall not far from her, the skin on his left arm sloughing and feathering oddly and his eyes wide, pupils dilated and unfocused, as he gasped.

Acting on a reflex she didn't quite remember developing, not that she could remember much at the moment, part of her brain hazily realized, she started to reach out for him with her right hand, a flash of silver on her wrist and middle finger glowing slightly.

Before she could do whatever she had been preparing to do, though, the girl that had appeared beneath the cloak of the umber-skinned man flew past her and wrapped her arms around the boy, hugging him tightly.

"Are you alright, Allen? !" The girl then lowered her voice and murmured to him soothingly.

Slowly, the boy calmed down, making her lower her right hand.

Then, the sounds of cracking, of boiling and bubbling, made her turn, and she felt herself tensing up, an unnamed, unexplainable panic weighing down her arms and legs when she saw the fair-skinned man Tyki (_that was his name, right?_) had shoved into the ground start to twist himself around, pressing his palms against the ground and pushing himself out of the hole.

"A Noah…?" The fair-skinned man's dry, croaky voice rasped as he sat upright, adjusting a pair of glasses on his face, "By God… This isn't your friend's house, so I'd prefer it if you didn't enter so casually…" The man's eyes then snapped over to Gracia and narrowed and dilated as he studied her.

She felt a… sensation flash through her body when their eyes met… and suddenly the slave bracelet on her right wrist tightened around her painfully, to the point where she was sure she felt something crack, the ring portion making her finger quickly swell and throb.

"…An Exorcist… of your caliber… with them?" The 'man' mumbled – though it quickly became apparent that he wasn't a man by human standards as his skin started to peel away, revealing a cracked, white form underneath, "What a disgrace… That Innocence must be cutting you quite a bit of slack."

"Ah… This presence…? !" A voice she absently recognized as belonging to the white-haired boy spoke up, cutting through the fearful haze that was overtaking her thoughts, "An Innocence… or Accommodator? !"

"This person is neither human nor an Accommodator." Tyki spoke up, his voice cutting through the haze even more powerfully, "This is an independent Innocence which exists solely to protect the Heart."

She – _Gracia_, she now remembered her own name to be – felt a jolt and a flood of comprehension and recognition at that.

_The Heart._

In front of her, the fair-skinned man had shed his clothes from the waist up, his head now bald, his body now looking as if it was made of alabaster and cracked similarly, his sclera a dark color and his irises a lighter color.

"The Earl calls it 'Apocryphos.'"

* * *

After that, words lost coherence.

Gracia stumbled to her feet numbly, grasping the slave bracelet on her right wrist and pressing it to her chest, feeling the need to… _protect_ it as long as the _creature_ in front of her was still anywhere _remotely_ nearby.

It was like… the air around the thing was just… trying to _suck_ the bracelet _in_… and she wouldn't let that happen.

Sleep – yes, _that_ was its name… – belonged to _her_…

"—acia? ! Gracia! ! Get out of there! ! That thing can take Sleep from you! !"

The voice jolted her back to the present and her legs automatically tensed, preparing to throw her back and away from this creature in front of her, _Apocryphos_…

"Not so fast, Grace!" Tyki's voice barked from her immediate left, "You said you'd help; I need you there!"

That made her freeze.

She had said she would—?

A flash of white was suddenly being directed at her, and then something was wrapping around her waist tightly and she was being jerked to the side, Tyki's voice laughing sharply in her ear.

"Hah! You fell right into the trap, stupid '_reaper_'!" One of Tyki's hands flew up to fend off the blow Apocryphos was still aiming at Gracia, then Gracia was falling to the ground as the arm holding her up let her go as Tyki braced himself, his leg flying up as she fell and his heel getting buried in Apocryphos' hip, knocking him down.

Gasping, Gracia looked up in time to see Tyki throwing another explosive blast at Apocryphos, but when a crack formed in the ground between Tyki's legs and the sentient Innocence suddenly sprang up out of the ground behind him, aiming a blow at Tyki's head, she found herself—

"CONFUSIO! !"

Her earlier panic worsened when Apocryphos hardly faltered, landing a successful blow on Tyki and throwing him into a wall with a loud, painful crack.

Then, in a flash, Apocryphos was in front of Tyki and grabbing his hands, slamming them into the wall on either sides of his hips and making him bleed—

Gasping, Gracia stumbled to her feet and lunged.

A flash, a brief part of her, remembered that she shouldn't be _helping Noah_, but then she saw Allen fly up beside her, his Crowned Clown invoked, and that reassured her.

As Allen ripped Apocryphos away from Tyki, she covered Tyki with her own body as he slumped slightly, momentarily weak. In that same instance, she tried to focus on Sleep, trying to gain control of it again.

Why hadn't Confusio affected it more? It might have been a sentient Innocence, but that still made it similar to a parasite type, and she could affect Allen and Krory, so—

"YOU KILLED MASTER? !"

Getting displaced from her own body and thoughts in a flash, Gracia heard herself inhale sharply and felt herself tense, shock following Allen's outcry.

…Cross…?

Slowly, she felt and saw herself pull away from Tyki and turn, hearing the girl – _Road_ – say something to Allen, but only comprehending Allen's words as he went on.

"I SAW IT! ! HE BESTOWED JUDGMENT UPON MASTER! !"

"…Ahh, I see." Apocryphos, who Allen had pinned to a wall, exhaled slowly, closing his eyes and smiling, "So when I was about to erode you, you looked inside of me. You're a parasite type…" …Nothing else Apocryphos said got through to her.

Gracia could only stare at him with her clouded, fogged, stunned mind, one thought on repeat.

He had killed Cross.

He had killed Cross.

_He had killed Cross._

_**He had killed Cross.**_

"Woman." Tyki growled in her ear, "Your Innocence won't work on him properly, no matter how close you get or what level technique you use. I think there's only one way for you to really slow him down."

…After that, things seemed to happen in a flash.

Apocryphos did something to make the Crowned Clown feather out again.

Allen said something to Apocryphos.

Apocryphos became enraged.

A flash of white on umber skin, and Road was throwing herself between Apocryphos and Allen.

Road took a blow for Allen.

A familiar circle of paper strips surrounded Apocryphos.

Gracia suddenly realized Link was in the room, off to the side.

…Then, Tyki was grabbing her waist again and flashing forward with her as something huge, golden and round flew forward out of her periphery, and Tyki was grabbing her right hand and shoving it forward, both of their hands and wrists slipping into what she had previously registered as stone-like but could now see was very organic, tough skin effortlessly, as if she had suddenly gained the ability to phase through things…

And she looked up and saw Apocryphos staring down at her in shock, her right wrist deep within its chest.

Sleep was inside of it, now.

If her lowest ability couldn't even phase him from the outside, then to make sure it was done right, even from the inside, she would have to—

"Final Rest : Quietus."

…When Tyki pulled their hands out of Apocryphos' chest again…

…Sleep was gone.

* * *

An explosion, a rush of cold air, and she found herself dangling from something somewhat soft and strong (_an arm?_) up in a starry sky.

From her position, she could see the building down below clearly.

…She knew that place.

_He_ was in there somewhere…

"…Komui…"

* * *

…After that… her mind simply… broke.

It wasn't sudden; it was slow… gradual… as the shock set in.

At first, she knew what was causing the break, the fracture, to widen, but as it widened, she forgot, then she forgot what she was forgetting and then—

…Blank.

No perception.

No thought.

Eyes wide open, but unseeing.

Uncomprehending.

Limp.

Flat.

Empty.

Vacant.

Bare.

_Whitewashed._

Whitewashed, with nothing put forward to take its place.

All basic programming we are offered from the moment we are born… lost.

All memories she had gained throughout her life, lost, regained, just recently lost again, and had just started to regain once more… gone.

Thus, with no programming and no memories… her body lived on while she lost her vitality.

Despite Hevlaska's warning and the steps she'd taken to prevent it… she had been destroyed.

* * *

Once he'd gotten far away enough from the _boy_, Tyki glanced down at the woman in his arms, frowning.

He'd been hoping that she'd become useless once she'd separated from that Innocence, and thus wouldn't be a viable target anymore, but this…

"…You Exorcists are all fucking crazy, depending on those _things_ as much as you do." Tyki muttered. "…Still… with you like this… you shouldn't be a threat anymore."

Tyki landed inside of a random alley, inside of a random town, and set her down, propping her up against the wall. He brushed a bit of hair out of her face, allowing some of his 'white side' to come back, if only for a moment.

"…This is… for the time you helped out Eeez. After this… my debt is paid in full. So don't come back, or I'll really… have to kill ya."

He ran his fingers down her chest until the found the identification badge that had her name on the back of it.

They'd stopped making them out of silver… He wouldn't be able to give Eeez this one.

Sighing, Tyki tore the identification marker from her jacket and stood, slipping it into his pocket as he stared down at her a bit longer.

"…Later… stranger."

As Tyki turned and left, her unseeing eyes stayed locked on the brick wall across from her, lips parted, saliva starting to trail down her chin, tear marks beneath her eyes starting to dry…

…And, lying on the cold, wet ground, her right hand twitched, the skin around her wrist and middle finger that had once been constantly covered by silver an unhealthy shade of white from having been sheltered for so long.

Bare.

_Whitewashed._


	122. Focus Shift: Page Break

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Komui Lee, Chief Officer of the Black Order and Branch Head of the Black Order's European Branch, the Headquarters of the Black Order, stared down at the papers in front of him, on his desk, with an utterly void expression.

…Papers that strongly implicated that his fiancée, Gracia Amberley Solidor, firstborn daughter of Mathilda Solidor, head of the noble Solidor Family, had somehow been involved in the previous day's escape of Allen Walker.

He reviewed the golem surveillance images, the eyewitness reports, the examinations of the physical evidence over and over and over, purposely 'losing' the personal interpretations that had been filed by the Central personnel still in the building who were trying to use their rank to insist that their opinions held equal ground to, or even held more power than, the evidence of the actual goings on at hand, even if their opinion contradicted hard evidence.

In all honesty, it had been _years_ since he had worked this genuinely, with this fervor, and he'd be lying if he tried to insist that it wasn't mostly because Gracia had been involved in this incident, because as much as his position meant to him, she most certainly took greater precedence in his life, even though he knew it was wrong.

Komui Lee would openly admit (to the right people, of course) that he was a selfish man.

It was, however, also true that he was working hard for Allen's sake, too.

After all… unlike Gracia, Allen's Exorcist rights had been frozen, and he had officially been classified as a Noah.

And there wasn't a damned thing he could do to change that unless he could work the evidence in their favor.

It was proving, however, to be nigh impossible.

At around twenty-one hundred hours (or nine o'clock) the previous night, an explosion had wracked the building, and several members of the Science Division had first seen Timcanpy, with Allen and the Noah Road Kamelot riding in his mouth, shoot up out of a smoldering hole that had been torn into the ceiling of Allen's holding cell, the Noah Tyki Mikk following close behind and catching Timcanpy as he fell in order to carry the golem and his passengers away from the building.

Once they'd landed, golems had recorded Allen picking up Road Kamelot and willingly following Tyki into the forest.

The whole time, Tyki Mikk had had an unresponsive, limp but seemingly conscious Gracia draped over his arm.

At twenty-two hundred hours (ten o'clock) Komui and several ranking Central officials had been called to an emergency meeting, and at twenty-two ten hours (ten-ten) Komui had been forced to give all Exorcists standing orders to, at any time they saw Allen, engage him in battle and bring him back to the Order.

Dead or alive.

At the moment… all Komui could really do for Allen was pray that the boy was as good at disappearing as his master.

As for Gracia… sentiment for her was torn.

Even amongst the Central officials.

There were those who insisted that a Solidor would slit their own throat before helping the Noah and a traitor.

There were those who believed, after studying reports about her relationships with the other Exorcists, that losing Kanda had proven to be too much mental strain for the sickly woman and that she had snapped and would do anything at that point to save Allen.

Komui kept his mouth shut.

And not just to protect Gracia, but also to protect Lenalee and, admittedly, himself.

Komui and Gracia had understood, coming into their relationship, that there could be dangers; if they were found out and enough of Central felt that Komui was biased and weak towards her, and that Gracia was manipulating Komui, Komui could be facing a demotion and Gracia a court-martial and a guilty sentence for manipulating a superior officer, and since the Order was in a constant state of wartime law, her punishment, if she were ever found and brought back, would be severe.

So all he could do was sit back and listen to these people, those who were defending and those who were accusing her, as they made _so many false assumptions_…

Yes, Gracia would never _willingly_ help the Noah, but slitting her own throat…? Besides, she had former friends in the Noah ranks…

Yes, Gracia would do just about anything to protect Allen, and yes, losing Kanda probably had scarred her mentally, but she would _never_ turn on the Order and she would _never_ drive Allen into the arms of the Noah when he had openly stated that he had absolutely no desire to join them.

If anything, Gracia would help the Noah help Allen escape, then turn on the Noah and blindside them in order to escape _from them_, _with_ Allen, so she could stay by his side until it was safe for him to return to the Order.

But that was a gray area.

And military and religious law didn't believe in gray areas.

Yes, officials _were_ aware that life had gray areas, but the moment they had to pass judgment, acknowledgement of the existence of such areas became an impossible thing to drag out of said officials.

Because the written word of the law was black and white.

So, despite feeling like he just wanted to… sit in a dark room for a few days… Komui continued analyzing the documents in front of him while officials and secretaries rushed in and out of his office, some posting this new piece of evidence or that on the rolling whiteboard set up next to his desk, some dropping off new tapes of the same composite images the golems had made, but with better graphics, and taking the old versions away for review before storage, some making pointless efforts to talk to him before hissing in annoyance and taking off again, with no time to wait for him to respond, others…

…Others…

…Komui didn't care to see what any of the others were doing.

His attention… was now on a glossy printout of a still image from the videos the golems had recorded; Gracia draped over Tyki's arm limply, her hazy, unfocused eyes open and staring down towards the Order.

…Her lips parted…

Komui blinked, then jolted and scrambled to get more image printouts from the same reel, quickly putting them in order before flipping through them rapidly.

Her mouth… was moving…

She was saying something…

Komui's hands shook violently as he tried to flip faster, paper cuts starting to litter his hands as he tried to shove each top photo to the back of the stack at greater and greater speeds to make Gracia's mouth move.

He didn't even have time to feel stupid when it struck him to just put them in order from first to last and flip them like a flipbook.

And then he saw it.

He saw his name leave her lips.

And then he saw it.

On her hand.

His engagement ring.

When his vision started to blur, even behind his glasses, Komui was absently aware of Brigitte silently ushering everyone out of the room as he pushed his glasses up with one hand, covering his eyes with his hand as the other holding the pictures slowly went limp, the glossed papers flopping over on top of his desk.

Wetness seeped through his fingers and trailed down the back of his hand and his palm, dribbling down his wrist…

…She was alive.

She remembered him.

She recognized home.

He had to find solace in that, because it would probably be the only good news he would be receiving for a while.

* * *

Renault stared at the building in front of him, frowning.

The trail had looped back towards the Order…?

After standing across the way from the European Branch on a section of cliff on the main part of the island, a stretch of ocean between himself and the building, for a time, silently watching as repairs to the obviously recently attacked building went underway, Renault turned and started walking back through the forest.

The skyway over the island was thick with droves of golems, the Order obviously still recovering from whatever had happened and thus on high alert, but frankly… avoiding being sighted wasn't all that difficult.

…Briefly, it crossed his mind to _let_ himself be seen, if only to passively check in with Komui to inform him that, yes, he was still alive and on the trail.

That idea was quickly dashed; if Gracia had come back to the Order but hadn't found a way to stay, and if the Order had been attacked while she had been there, she was now probably in some sort of trouble.

Renault needed to find her before the Order did and learn the full story so he could prepare to defend her.

And Renault had no doubt that Komui would be preparing his own defense from the inside…

Making his quick way through the forest with long, even strides, Renault emerged from the tree line far from the main road and simply walked into town.

If he garnered any attention, it was quickly quelled by the town elders; they all knew of the Solidor bodyguard, and they all knew that if they saw him alone, they didn't see him at all.

No matter the circumstances.

Renault was able to buy a boat ticket without needing to present any form of identification, the ticket vendor inclining her head respectfully and referring to him as "Mr. Halvard"; an alias those who worked in places he frequented when need be knew him by…

After just a few hours on the passenger boat, Renault was walking through the streets of the mainland town closest to the Black Order's island base, looking around carefully.

If Gracia had fled the Order, this would be the most logical first stop she would have made; after that, there were several towns and cities she could have headed to next, but Renault would search this town thoroughly, first. After all, if she really had been involved in something dangerous back at the Order, she would be too panicked to initially cover her tracks well.

Renault's most solid leads would be found here…

…Though Renault was used to his methods typically garnering him excellent results, what he found after a mere forty-seven minutes of searching was…

"I beg your pardon."

A young man with lanky, greasy brown hair glanced back at Renault with bloodshot, yellowing brown eyes, a broken cigarette dangling from his cracked and blistered lips.

Renault, ever stoic, walked towards the man with long, even strides. "That coat you are wearing belongs to my mistress. Have y—"

Before Renault could finish, the man's eyes widened and he turned and bolted, Gracia's Exorcist jacket whipping out behind him with a loud snap as he scrambled around the corner.

Renault heaved a sigh, then bound after him, rounding the corner and frowning when he saw the vagabond had dashed directly down a high-traffic pedestrian sidewalk.

Already some thirty feet ahead of him, the unclean man was ducking and weaving through people with skill only one of and familiar with the streets could possess.

Renault sighed again.

Young people…

With balance and skill belied by his size and build, Renault leapt onto the nearby railing that separated the street from the sidewalk and started running along the topmost bar, quickly gaining up on the urchin wearing Gracia's coat.

Ignoring the people who looked up at him in shock and the ladies who screeched when he got too close to them (really, why people found him so scary, he wasn't entirely sure), Renault honed in on the urchin, running up alongside him.

Then, calmly, nonchalantly, he slipped off of the bar and grabbed the young man by the back of his neck, ever stoic and pointedly ignoring the looks the crowd were giving him as he lifted the male off of his feet a few inches and strode into a nearby alley with him.

The scruffy older teen yelped and struggled, barking slurred obscenities at Renault and reaching up to dig his dirty nails into Renault's hand and wrist, slamming the backs of his heels into Renault's leg and torso over and over, trying and failing to aim for his groin.

Stopping when he could no longer hear the scandalized murmuring of the crowd behind them, Renault held the boy out in front of himself and grabbed the back of Gracia's coat, peeling it off of his back as if he were skinning a cat before turning and slamming the boy face-first into one of the brick alleyway walls.

The boy grunted and wheezed, his fingers scrambling against the brick with decreasing strength as Renault squeezed his neck, cutting off his air supply…

"You should not have run." Renault observed simply, calmly, "Now I am suspicious of you, and you do not want me suspicious of you…"

"I don't know nothin', man!" The unkempt young man croaked, trying to push against the brick wall so his face wasn't mashed against it, "I didn't see nothin', and I don't know no mistress a' yours! I found the damned coat in the trash!"

"Where?" Renault asked, keeping the man in place.

"Next ta Simon's place!"

"I am not familiar with Simon."

"Bully for you, guy's seedy…" The boy squirmed, struggling to swallow before going on, "Upstandin' chap like you shouldn't get familiar with 'em. If it were my mistress gettin' caught up with the likes 'a him, and I ain't heard from her, either, I'd be lookin' fer a new floozy—" He let out an unpleasant gurgle and screech when Renault pressed his thumb to his left kidney and started to slowly twist inwards.

"My mistress is not my 'girl.'" Renault's voice got a bit tight as he glared at the back of the man's head, "She is my Lady and Mistress, and I will not stand for anyone suggesting otherwise. Now, tell me where Simon's 'place' is."

"B-Bodyguard, then? !" The man let out a screechy gasp, "L-Look, man, you don't wanna get mixed up with Simon, b-but yer business with him ain't none'a my own, so I don't care if ya go lookin' fer him, but I can't tell ya nothin'! ! Simon'll gut me if he finds out I been throwin' his name around! !"

"…Considering you cannot seem to discern who is the greater threat to you right now, allow me to put things into perspective." Renault leaned in, his eyes flashing and his voice sinking into a low, dangerous growl, "Simon is not here. I am. And while Simon might, indeed, gut you, what I will do to you will make identifying your mauled corpse impossible by the time someone notices the stench of rot…"

When he simply got an almost dry gurgle in response, Renault backed away, relieving some pressure.

"Alrigh', alrigh', alrigh'…" The young man muttered rapidly, his face paling and sweat slicking his forehead, "I'll take ya!"

* * *

The moment the urchin shakily pointed to the bakery across the street they were on, Renault let him go and strode across the cobbled road, ignoring it when the young man muttered a curse after him before scrambling off.

Renault headed directly into the alleyway beside the bakery that was below the flat where Simon's hideout was.

Renault didn't care for some petty mobster. He just cared about where Gracia's coat had been found; the fact that the mobster had his base next to the alley were Gracia had likely been until recently was just a bad coincidence.

…Unless, of course, Simon had done something to Gracia.

Then the mobster would be right in the middle of Renault's business, somewhere Renault would make sure Simon would regret being.

Renault walked a ways into the alley before he spotted something; Gracia's coat folded over his arm neatly, he turned to the spot tucked away behind several garbage cans and knelt, eyeing the red spatter on the wall and ground. He reached out and pressed one finger to it.

Cold… tacky…

Congealed and moist.

Not fresh, but not so old that it had had enough time to dry.

Renault brought his finger up to his nose and inhaled.

Pennies.

Blood.

When he saw a few oddly colored and shaped forms in the blood, Renault reached out and picked one up, his eyes narrowing once he had.

It was one of the golden beads from the aiguillettes on Gracia's coat.

This was her blood.

"Looking for something, my good man?"

Renault glanced back towards the road, narrowing his eyes when he saw a somewhat short man with slicked back blond hair in a pinstriped suit, flanked by two tall men in black suits, tipping his head and smiling at him smoothly.

"Yeah, that's where the wench was. Had to kick her out; night was coming and this is where one of my girls prowls. Couldn't have her scaring off clients."

…Renault could only assume that this was Simon.

However… Renault realized he also knew this man by another name.

Ignoring the men behind 'Simon' as they reached into their coats, Renault stood to his full height and made his way over to the three, keeping his steely glare locked on the blond.

"McCreedy."

'Simon' twitched and his two bodyguards frowned in confusion.

Then, when Renault stepped further out of the alley, a nearby lamppost lighting his features up properly, the color drained from 'Simon's' face and he stumbled back, losing his slick confidence.

"R-Renault…!"

Continuing to ignore the two bodyguards, Renault's hand flashed out and grabbed the collar of 'Simon's' shirt, pulling him close as Renault bent forward slightly until their faces were level.

"I would appreciate it very much, Jonathan McCreedy, if you would point me to where you 'directed' my mistress."

Renault didn't even twitch when a black, wooden truncheon met his back with a loud, resounding thunk.

The jaw of the bodyguard who had hit Renault had just started to drop when Renault's free hand lashed out in a fist, the man's jaw audibly breaking as he fell in a spray of spittle and blood.

When the other bodyguard started to pull out a gun, 'Simon,' or Jonathan McCreedy, lifted a shaky hand.

"H-Hold it, Hoit. W-We should be honored… to be presented with the opportunity to assist _the_ Renault 'Ironhide', son of—"

"I do not require an introduction, McCreedy." Renault cut him off, "Tell me where you sent my mistress off to."

"…Right…" Jonathan/'Simon' nodded slightly, "Hoit… You see to Devon. I'll… aid Renault."

As his boss personally escorted the tall, dark-haired man away, Hoit turned to Devon and knelt, helping him upright.

"Wh-Wha…?" Devon blinked, then hissed and cupped his jaw, "Wha' happe'h? !"

"…I think you just got your jaw broken by the son of Solomon Curtiss."

* * *

"Suzette!"

A woman in a crimson dress with a low neckline and heavy makeup glanced back, lowering her head and curtsying when she saw Jonathan "Simon" McCreedy.

"Yessir?"

"That girl I had you clear out of the alley next to the bakery." Jonathan jerked his head back towards where he and Renault had come from, "Which way did she go?"

Suzette straightened, frowning slightly, "Well, she didn't seem particularly intent on going _anywhere_, sir… Clovis hurt her quite a bit, and she wasn't talking at all. I directed her towards the hospital, but I have no idea if she actually went."

"The hospital…" Jonathan glanced at Renault, "That would be St. Harts four blocks over. Do you need me to—"

"Thank you, but no." Renault glanced back at Jonathan flatly, "I believe the hospital staff would be quite familiar with you."

"…Point taken." Jonathan smiled wryly.

Renault inclined his head slightly, then turned and started to walk off.

"Renault."

He paused but didn't look back.

"…How did you escape the fall?"

After a moment of silence, Renault continued walking.

As he had noted before, he didn't care for petty mobsters.

That included his father, his father's 'family' and their affiliates.

He was simply a bodyguard looking for his mistress.

And he would find her, one way or another.


	123. Focus Shift: Section Break

I'm glad I managed to find a place to put a chapter that focuses on Lorelei… I wanted to explore how Blood Ice could be used in battle. ^ . ^' And, for those of you who can see it, yes, I did base the Akuma in this chapter off of Final Fantasy monsters; the snake is the basic large snake-type frequently found in the FF series, and the awkward, lumbering blue creature Lorelei fights towards the end of the mission is based on the Ghast Shambling Cie'th from XIII.

Playing video games with lots of monsters really makes it easier to think up new monsters…

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Lorelei stared out of the window of the train she was on, watching the scenery as it went by.

As many Ark Gates as they had, without Allen to open up new ones as they were needed, they had once again had to go back to using local transport when their current Gates failed to get them as far as they needed to go…

Not that she minded; she had only ever used public transport a handful of times, and though they were still in a high-class private cabin, she was just a door and a walkway away from watching happy families and common businessmen mingle in ways nobles didn't.

She just wished she could mingle with them… Her uniform and carriage, however, assured that adults cleaned up their language when they spoke to her out of a passive gut feeling that she was someone important, and children just gapped at her as if she were something shiny and flashing.

Maybe she should stop using conditioner, makeup, perfume and skin care products for a bit… That would make her look a little less regal, right?

"Brat! This' our stop; get yer ass in gear!"

Lorelei sighed and closed her eyes, her brow twitching, "Coming, General!"

As Socalo stormed off down the hall outside of their car, Lorelei stood and brushed her short skirt straight, picked at her nylons to make sure they were evenly spread, moved her hips to make sure her short shorts under her skirt weren't riding, then smoothed her hands down her sides so her underarmor sat straight before picking up her uniform jacket and pulling it on.

She looked down at herself once the jacket was on to make sure everything was in order, tapping the toes of her high-heeled boots against the floor one at a time to make sure there was nothing inside to hinder her walking. Finally, she picked up a belt that had been on the seat beside her and wrapped it around her waist.

On each side of the belt, running parallel with her hips, were two thin cloth scabbards that went to her knees, and each scabbard contained a single metal, silver-colored rod.

The two rods could be used individually, one at a time or in tandem, or they could be snapped together to form the longer pole weapon Lorelei was much more familiar with.

Having the option to use a shorter weapon, though, had allowed her to expand her fighting styles, and she had gotten to the point where she could form ice swords and clubs. At the moment, she was having problems creating blades that extended away from the simple pole, like an axe blade, but the process of breaking her weapon in half and taking away the bladed edge to begin with had forced her to raise her synchronization rate.

After checking, again, to make sure that her scabbards would snap open and allow her easy access to her rods, Lorelei finally walked out of the cabin and began to search for Socalo. The scabbards were a new addition to her recently changed uniform, and she was still a bit iffy on how drawing her poles would work in the midst of battle…

Even as she trotted up to Socalo, the train rolled to a stop and a nervous attendant opened the door the General was glaring at, said attendant yelping when Socalo almost stepped on him on his way out.

Lorelei rolled her eyes and threw the attendant an apologetic smile as she jumped out of the train.

"General!" She called after him when the man continued to mow his way through traffic on the loading bay in order to get out of the station, "Could you slow down a bit? !"

It was only when he had exited the station that Socalo paused and glanced back at her, snorting, "You can't keep up, don't ask for heels for your uniform."

Lorelei twitched and narrowed her eyes at him slightly, "I can _run_ just fine in heels, thank you very much. I, unlike some, simply have qualms with running over civilians."

Socalo rolled his eyes heavily, then turned and resumed walking. "We're on a time limit, Solidor. And a strict one. People can't get out of the way, it's their own damned fault, now let's go."

Lorelei rolled her own eyes but trotted after him dutifully, reaching into the pockets of her jacket as she worked on catching up with him and his long strides and pulling out a pair of gloves.

When her fingers brushed paper, she glanced down, reaching back into her pocket and taking out a folded up piece of paper. She put the paper between her lips lightly, puckering them to make sure her lip-gloss didn't smudge it, and pulled her gloves on quickly before taking the sheet in her hands again and unfolding it.

On the inside was a highly detailed, ink-colored drawing of Gracia.

Before she had left with Mathilda and Christopher to go back to Nalbina, Katherine had done several of them and gave them to Lorelei to pass around to the other Exorcists so they could ask around in the myriad of places they went to while on their missions.

…Lorelei hadn't given any of them out.

She knew better.

As Exorcists, they were trained to be wary at all times; they had absolutely no idea whether or not the 'humans' around them were actually disguised Akuma, and any attempts to search for Gracia, who was, presumably, still a Noah captive, would only garner them more troubles than their uniforms already did.

Lorelei did, though, keep the drawings for herself; in each one Gracia was in different clothes, in different poses, with different facial expressions… And each and every one was a plausible situation she would be found in.

In fact, Lorelei had a feeling that these were done from memory.

She knew, for a fact, that one of the dresses Gracia was wearing in one of the pictures was the one she had been wearing the day Lorelei had stormed into Nalbina to help Gracia run the family while Mathilda had been out of commission…

Lorelei sighed softly and folded the picture again, slipping it back into her pocket.

She wouldn't lie; she had been tempted, several times while on missions, to show the pictures to officers at the police stations she passed in different towns and cities… But it wasn't worth the risk.

Not to herself and her company, and certainly not to Gracia.

Sighing again, Lorelei looked around as the trees gave way to grassy fields and countryside. Though it was still a bit chilly, the Ukrainian landscape was beautiful…

"Where are we headed…?"

"Outskirts of Chernobyl." Socalo grunted, "Quit zoning out; this area's been reported to have high levels of Akuma activity."

"Right." Lorelei sighed, looking forward again, "Sorry."

Socalo glanced back at her briefly, then adjusted his hood and went back to scoping the area ahead of them, the two halves of Madness' ring wrapped around his waist, bouncing and slapping against his hips as he walked.

The road went from dirty and a bit rocky within the perimeter of the forest to well paved and even the closer they got to the city. Lorelei's heels clicked against the blacktop with her light, paced strides, and when she saw Socalo start to reach for Madness, she felt her breathing and heartbeat sync with the sound, and staying synced even as she sped up.

_Click, click, click, click, click, click-click-click-click—clickclickclickclick_

While Socalo had to stop and clap his hands together, the two serrated blades of Madness growing out of either side of the ring, Lorelei ducked around him and dashed ahead, deftly slipping her poles out of their holsters and flipping them around, the material of her gloves catching against the thin, slip-on rubber grips around the bases as she leapt.

In front of her and slightly off to the side, a section of the green grass suddenly swirled around on itself, changing colors as it reared up and flattened into a serpentine, cobra-like Akuma.

Lorelei swung her poles down and slammed the Akuma on its broad, flat head, using it as a vault as she swung herself around and landed on the grass behind it.

Ice quickly coated her poles as her body temperature dropped, thickening slightly on the ends to form smooth mace-like weapons as the now incensed Akuma snapped around and struck at her.

She ducked, jumped to the side and swung both poles, the thick ends slamming into the now gray creature's jaw with a resounding crack and making it screech as it swung away from her from the force.

Lorelei giggled a bit madly, feeling her usual rush of elation at the stressful high she got as her adrenalin kicked up, then lunged at the Akuma again when it spun back around at her, allowing it to focus on her completely and allowing herself to forget she wasn't on this mission alone.

In fact, when the Akuma suddenly threw its head back and stared at the sky with wide, shocked eyes, letting out a piercing scream, she blinked, then drooped slightly and pouted when Socalo cut the creature in half from behind, closing her eyes and heaving an irate sigh as the speed of his spinning blades saw her flecked from head to toe with a thin line of Akuma Oil.

"You said the area was thick with Akuma; find your own!" She whined when the two halves of the Akuma fell away from one another and landed on the ground with a wet thud.

"Quit your bitchin'." Socalo sneered, spinning around as several more Akuma ranging from Level 1s to 3s began to descend and gather, "There's plenty to go around."

Lorelei snorted and stuck her tongue out at him, then quickly wiped her face with her sleeve to get the Akuma Oil off of her (it'd be an embarrassing way to die in front of him, contracting the virus from a bit of spillage in her mouth) before she turned quickly to face the Akuma that had gathered behind her, as well.

Her giddiness returned when one with a lizard-like body and extended, bladed legs skittered towards her quickly, and she leaned forward and rushed for it, smashing its head in with one ice-coated pole/mace while the other fended off a blow from one of its legs.

The longer she was an Exorcist, the more Lorelei found she liked it; doing things that kicked up her adrenalin had always excited her, but the battlefield had introduced her to a whole new high that she found she liked even more than taking jumps over ravines on Halcyon while riding him bareback. Lorelei had started to develop a bloodlust, and with Gracia still missing she had only allowed herself to delve deeper into it.

It helped her stop thinking about the pitying looks she was still getting.

It helped her stop thinking about how Komui would no longer meet her eye, and how she could no longer look at him without feeling the need to kick him in the balls.

It helped her stop thinking about the admonishing and disapproving looks Lenalee kept throwing her when the younger Lee saw how her feelings towards Komui had openly soured.

It wasn't Komui's fault Gracia had been kidnapped, Lorelei knew that; but she needed someone to blame, someone to direct her frustration at when she couldn't beat in Akuma skull, and Komui was, in her angered mind, the most logical option.

He'd admitted that the missions had all been fishy.

He'd admitted that he'd been hesitant to send people out.

He'd admitted that he'd likely distracted Gracia by proposing right before she'd left on her mission.

He'd admitted he hadn't been comfortable with Central's decision to put her in charge of Allen because of the risks it had presented with Allen being walking Noah bait.

In part, Komui was blaming himself.

And if Komui felt he was guilty, then why couldn't she sling some blame his way, too?

It wasn't like the man hadn't practically been begging for it when he'd explained it all to Mathilda (save the proposal. no one in their right mind who of knew of the proposal had told Mathilda yet); he obviously wanted someone to hate him. And, needing someone to hate, anyway, Lorelei had been happy to oblige.

…Well… no… she didn't hate him.

But she was upset, frustrated and angry, and that all needed to go somewhere. So, when she wasn't braining Akuma, she was glaring at and giving Komui the cold shoulder.

When the Akuma in front of her wised up and started using ranged attacks, Lorelei flipped her poles around so she was holding the butt ends inwards, slamming the two butts together and twisting them sharply with a loud click.

With that, ice covered the pole completely, evenly, and when Lorelei adjusted her grip, the end pointing out flattened and gained an edge.

While ducking and rolling out of the way of attacks, Lorelei tried to focus on the ice enough to make a proper blade, and when she glanced—

Lorelei blinked, then paused and pursed her lips, her brow twitching.

She'd made a long, flanged mace.

Again.

She still couldn't get the more protruding blades right…

Lorelei sighed, then ducked down and swung the long mace over her head once before swinging it upright, catching an Akuma in the bottom of its jaw with a resounding crack.

If all she could do was pound and smash, this would take a while…

* * *

"Oi, brat!" Socalo called out to Lorelei, "Get that one headed for the town!"

"Wha—? !" Lorelei looked over from the Akuma she had, literally, just finished fighting, her eyes widening when she saw a giant form lumbering towards Chernobyl.

Glancing back briefly, she saw Socalo facing off against several Level 3s at once, and large as the creature lumbering towards the settlement was… Lorelei knew she stood no chance against that many Level 3 Akuma.

The giant hulking thing should be easier, as long as it was just a Level 2.

Having wasted enough time, Lorelei turned and took off after the large Akuma, breaking her staff in half and twirling the poles in her hands as she altered the ice coating them, turning them back into maces. A pole weapon wouldn't be effective against a slow, heavy-hitting creature…

Lorelei caught up with the Akuma quickly enough and darted around in front of it, her feet sliding across the wet grass and making her falter. She quickly threw one arm up in the air, angling her mace for balance as she slammed the other into the ground to use it for traction.

As she slid, the lumbering Akuma, a large, dark blue, stone-like creature with thick arms and thinner, humanoid legs, noticed her, a giant black and red eye on its chest snapping open and locking on her.

Lorelei cringed, just managing to get control of her feet again and taking her now muddy left mace out of the ground when the Akuma raised one of its large, club-like arms and swung. She tried to jump back, but her heels had sunk into the mud.

Getting hit reminded her of getting kicked by a horse; sudden and firm with no localized pain from the shock. It was only a flash of a moment later, when she was skidding through muddy grass, that she registered the pain, at which point it was more comparable to getting hit by a tree branch.

A rough, poorly shorn tree branch, with all sorts of knobs and protruding sticks available to jam into her cloth-covered flesh.

When the now dazed Lorelei finally stopped skidding and rolling along the ground, she was stunned back into alertness to find her head submerged in water.

Still holding onto the grips of her poles desperately, Lorelei flailed and sat upright, looking around in wide-eyed confusion and gasping, her nose burning from the cold water she'd accidentally inhaled some of. Behind herself, she saw an irrigation cap, the valve open, water gushing out and completely soaking her back…

The pool she was sitting in rippled and she heard heavy thuds, and when she looked up, the rock-like Akuma was standing over her, the great red and black eye on its chest locked on her.

Lorelei scowled and shook her head to get her mud-slicked hair out of her face, the water around her icing over a bit as she focused and called on more of her invocation. As she stood, her breath fogged as the air around her got colder, her skin starting to hurt…

When the Akuma swung again, she was prepared; instead of jumping and trying to fight the suction of the mud around her feet and pointed heels, she ducked and rolled forward under its massive club arm, coming up between its legs. Bracing herself and letting the mud firm her stance as her heels sank in again, she swung both of her ice maces around, slamming them into the back of the Akuma's knee.

The Akuma's rocky leg splintered sligtly and buckled, and when it flailed its arms it only threw itself off balance, falling over and landing in the wet grass with a muddy splash.

Lorelei made a face when she got some of the dirty water in her mouth, spitting it out and holding out her arm, licking her wet but clean wrist when her soaked jacket sleeve slid back a bit to bare her skin. With the slight tang of salty sweat on her tongue now diffusing the taste of mud a bit, Lorelei narrowed her eyes at the Akuma as it started to struggle back into an upright position. She then lunged forward.

As the Akuma rolled onto its back completely and pressed its giant arms to the ground and started to push itself upwards, Lorelei leapt into the air and flew towards it, unable to stop the wide, sharp, hungry grin that threatened to split her face as the ice on her poles rippled like water and changed the weapons from maces to two Chinese dao blades.

Lorelei felt a pleasured chill crawl up her spine as she used her full weight in her descent to bury the ice blades deep into the Akuma's giant chest eye, cackling loudly as it thrashed and screamed.

Her front getting soaked in a spray of Akuma Oil, her clothes starting to frost over as she sank more and more into a single-minded killing haze, Lorelei continued tearing into the Akuma, absently wishing… that it didn't have to end.

That she didn't have to go back to the Order and remember that her sister was—

* * *

"Lorelei!" Lenalee heaved a relieved sigh as she and Klaud stopped shy of entering the Ark Gate to head out on their mission as Lorelei and Socalo walked back through, both of them bathed in Akuma Oil.

"Lenalee." Lorelei nodded, looking between her teammate and her General, "Heading out?"

"To the Bermudas." Klaud nodded in confirmation. When the General saw the brief pout that crossed her apprentice's face, she smiled slightly, "No, Lorelei, you cannot come; you need to go to the medical ward and get tended to. If I remember correctly, you cycle out with Socalo again in ten hours."

"Again? !" Lorelei whined, cringing and scowling when Socalo smacked her over the back of he head.

"Medical ward, brat." The male General growled as he swept past the three females, "Then eat and rest… and see if you can't get some training in to get that condition under control!"

Lorelei sneered and stuck her tongue out after him.

Lenalee giggled, then blinked when she realized what Socalo had said, "…Condition?"

"Eh?" Lorelei looked back at Lenalee, blinking, then realized and nodded, "Oh…" She held out her arm and unbuttoned the cuff of her sleeve, pulling it back.

Lenalee gasped and covered her mouth and Klaud inhaled shortly but sharply when they saw the veins in the pale white flesh on the underside of Lorelei's forearm had started to turn a dark, dark blue, from her elbow out to her wrist. The blueness in the veins near her wrist wasn't nearly as pronounced as it was closer to her elbow, but… even as Lenalee stared… she could see it slowly getting darker, centimeter by centimeter.

Absentmindedly, Lenalee reached out and gingerly touched Lorelei's skin, only to gasp again and almost jump back as she jerked her hand away.

Lorelei's skin felt like _ice_…

Her Innocence… Blood Ice was…

"…Y-You… should go talk to Brother…" Lenalee mumbled. When Lorelei tensed and started to storm past her, Lenalee's eyes narrowed and she snapped out of her shock, spinning around and grabbing her by her wrist, "Lorelei!"

"I'll go see Hevlaska later." Lorelei's voice was a low growl, her back to Lenalee as she pulled at her wrist, "I don't need to see _him_."

"What happened wasn't Brother's fault!" Lenalee snapped, frowning at the back of Lorelei's head deeply, "And he's hurting just like you are! You both would feel so much better if you would just talk to one another!"

"Stay safe on your mission, Lenalee." Lorelei jerked her wrist out of Lenalee's hand and stormed away.

"Lore—" Lenalee was cut off by a hand on her shoulder, and when she looked back, Klaud was shaking her head.

"Lorelei is too hard-headed for anyone to talk to." Klaud said calmly, "And this is how she has taken to grieving; by blaming Komui. Until she comes to accept what happened on her own terms, you won't be able to change her mind. Now, we need to go."

Lenalee's face twisted with a pained expression, and she glanced after Lorelei before sighing and nodding. She still paused, though, and stared after Lorelei for a bit longer before turning and trotting after Klaud as the woman stepped through the Ark Gate.

* * *

After she'd headed back to her room to change and shower all of the Akuma Oil off of herself, Lorelei had headed straight to the medical ward for a checkup before going and having a small lunch of a thin soup with no additives, not feeling up to stomaching anything.

Then, going with Socalo's suggestion, she'd headed to the training facilities to spar and get a better understanding of the changes Blood Ice was going through.

In the middle of the sparring pit, Chaozii Han and Arystar Krory were working on Chaozii's hand-to-hand combat to develop Chaozii's Innocence, which, while it had been refined by the Science Department, Chaozii still hadn't managed to invoke.

According to Hevlaska, though, Chaozii was likely just shy of reaching a plateau with his synchronization with his Innocence, so it was just a matter of time…

"Miss Lorelei!" Lorelei blinked, then smiled and waved slightly as she walked over to the sandpit as Krory and Chaozii stopped their spar upon seeing her. Krory inclined his head out of habit before going on, "How did your mission with General Socalo go?"

Lorelei could detect a hint of worry… And while Krory was one of Socalo's apprentices, she couldn't imagine why. It wasn't as if the man actually needed help or gave a damn about them… "Fine." Lorelei sighed, sitting on the edge of the pit and dangling her legs, "Chernobyl's been cleared and we're both supposed to head out again in about… nine hours, now."

"Back-to-back missions with General Socalo?" Krory smiled at her sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, "That is… rather harsh…"

"Hmm…" Lorelei didn't fail to notice how, while he was staring at her, Chaozii didn't say anything. He was giving her a… look… he'd taken to giving her lately… and she wasn't entirely sure why. She didn't _remember_ insulting him in any way… "Hey, you guys mind if I join you? Blood Ice is acting a bit funny, and Socalo wanted me to work on it before we went out again."

"Of course you may." Krory immediately stood a bit straighter and bowed to her, ever the gentleman and count. He then glanced at Chaozii, "Do you mind, Chaozii? She would be a good sparring partner for you…"

"…Sure."

Lorelei's lips twitched into a frown at the look on Chaozii's face, but as Krory walked off to the side, Lorelei jumped down into the pit and pulled her gloves out of her pocket, slipping them on even as they started to get coated in ice. She then took off the coat she was wearing, tossing it to the side and turning to face Chaozii in nothing but a pair of shorts and her uniform, sleeveless underarmor shirt.

As she took her stance, Chaozii's eyes immediately locked on her excessively dark veins, his lips curling into a frown.

When he continued staring at her, doing nothing, Lorelei frowned at him, "…Something wrong, Han?"

"…What's wrong with your Innocence." Chaozii didn't word it like a question. It sounded… accusatory.

"Dunno, that's what I want to find out." Lorelei answered, feeling her tone get a bit curt as the words sat sharply on her tongue. She was starting to wonder where Chaozii was going with this attitude…

"A-And you're sure that… this is the best way to do it?" Krory asked from somewhere off to the side, suddenly sounding a bit unsure, "Wouldn't it be better to go to Hevlaska or Supervisor Kom—"

Without waiting for him to finish, Lorelei lunged towards Chaozii, one ice-coated fist swinging.

Chaozii easily blocked the blow with his thick forearm, but his and Lorelei's eyes widened slightly when ice spread out along his arm from where Lorelei's fist had connected with the muscle. What in the… Blood Ice wasn't supposed to be able to coat biological material.

After that, everything seemed to fuzz out… because the look on Chaozii's face melted to one of genuine rage, and Lorelei's body responded to the fist he swung at her by speeding her heart rate, tunneling her vision to get her to focus on him, putting static in her ears as her blood raced, making her taste iron and adrenalin on the back of her tongue as she was instinctually submerged in bloodlus—

Lorelei clenched both of her hands into fists and brought her arms up in front of her face defensively, grunting and skidding back across the sand a few feet as Chaozii's fist met her arms forcefully enough to knock her back. She lowered her arms and looked up at him, her breath clouding as she exhaled harshly, and then she jumped forward and swung at him again.

As they boxed and danced around one another, the sand beneath their feet solidified into a thin, crunchy sheet, and Lorelei could absently see the prominent veins in her wrists turning a darker and darker blue, until they almost looked black.

Even though she could hear people calling out around them as she and Chaozii continued to seriously fight, not spar, but _fight_, she didn't really hear anything beyond her own heavy breathing, didn't feel anything other than her heated skin (from her point of view; in all actuality, her skin was getting quite chilled) as it perspired, wasn't aware of anything until—

"Having problems with your Innocence?" Chaozii sneered at her, "What, are you starting to have traitorous thoughts like your _sister_ did?"

…At that, Lorelei's vision turned totally crimson.

Gracia was a _taboo_ subject outside of a select few, and she _would not_ stand for anyone talking about her like that.

As her heart pounded and her blood rushed in her ears, Lorelei stopped holding back; she let Blood Ice do whatever it wanted to, and, in doing so, felt a chilled spike she hadn't really noticed before grow in the center of her chest.

And, as it did, she could _feel_ every vein, artery and capillary in her body as they all turned a dark, dark blue, Blood Ice weaving itself even _deeper_ into her body…

She stopped feeling pain and only felt cold.

Not really aware, she seemed to watch her body, as if from the backseat of her mind, as she and Chaozii continued to exchange blows, Chaozii's being solid and powerful, if how she could feel her body jerk (again, no pain) and the thudding sound that echoed in her head were any indication, but hers were quick, successive, nothing the muscled brute could dodge, and _each one coating his skin with patches of ice_…

Despite the power she could feel flowing through her body… it was cold… it was numbing… it made her feel heavy and sleepy…

…She wanted to stop now.

She wanted to lie down and take a nap.

But she couldn't, because then she remembered what Chaozii had said, and it flashed through her mind that he had been getting cool towards her because _that was what he had been thinking the whole time_.

He thought she was _going to become a traitor_.

He thought her _sister_ was a _traitor_.

_**He said something bad about Gracia.**_

And now his mouth was moving again… What was he say—

"—leep's probably already turned on her and she's probably already dea—"

And, with that, Lorelei was back in her body, and everything was crystal clear.

She knew what she was doing. She knew what she was going to do.

And she would relish every moment of it.

When Lorelei suddenly leapt away from him, Chaozii paused, glaring at her suspiciously and continuing to ignore the cries around them from those who were too afraid to get close with the thick, icy fog that had condensed around the fighting pair, the sand beneath their feet getting frozen more and more thickly to the point where it was almost slippery…

Lorelei dropped her hands to her sides and let her fingers go slack, feeling the ice beneath her feet…

_Her_ Ice.

And _her_ ice equaled _her_ control.

After that, everything progressed in a flash: the thick fog that had formed around them suddenly flattened and fell to the ground, freezing the sand further and even freezing Chaozii's feet in place, Lorelei flicked her wrists, then lifted her hands quickly and threw them forward, the iced sand bowing upwards underneath Chaozii and sending him flying across the room…

…before Lorelei lunged forward and some of it spiked up into her palm.

Sliding across the iced sand as if she were ice skating, Lorelei used the bowed up sand that had thrown Chaozii like a ramp and flew after him.

Chaozii landed on his back with a solid thump that made his back hurt and the air rush from his lungs, winding him, and when his head fell back, forcing him to look up, he felt a dull panic flash through his body when he saw Lorelei flying towards him, a long line of icy sand in her hand quickly forming into a naginata.

Lorelei landed heavily with her feet braced on either side of Chaozii's hips and smashing his hands into the sand, and the tip of the bladed pole weapon in her hands pressed against Chaozii's neck firmly enough to draw a line of blood.

"…If you say anything…" Lorelei started as her Solidor poison flowed through her veins alongside Blood Ice, making her bloodlust sharpen to a lethal point, "About my sister ever again… I'll slit you open and make sure that your Innocence won't even be able to tell that what's left over is you."

"_LORELEI! !_"

The naginata fell from her hands and turned back into sand as Komui lunged at her from behind and wrapped his arms around her in a tight, restraining embrace.

When her vision blurred, she thought he might have been squeezing her so tightly she was on the verge of passing out… but then, something wet, and relatively hot compared to her skin, trailed down her face, and her vision in one eye got clearer, the other clearing up similarly when more wetness fell.

"You and I are going to have a talk." Komui muttered softly but firmly, "Now."

…Instead of feeling anger like she had thought she would have at Komui finally approaching her, Lorelei simply felt all of the anger, fear and sadness drain out of her body.

Silent, she let him march her out of the training rooms and towards the residential halls, barely seeing that it was her room he pulled her into through her tears.

The moment Komui turned to her, opening his mouth to start his chastising, Lorelei collapsed against Komui's chest, clutching at him desperately as she broke down into sobs.

Komui jerked slightly in shock, then sighed and wrapped his arms around Lorelei slowly.

"…Yes… I believe you and I are definitely overdue for a talk…"


	124. Protocol Stasis Recording: File 2…&4—!

*sighs* As I'm sure you all have heard, VIZ contacted MangaStream and demanded that they stop their translations of JUMP manga series, which includes DGM, and MangaStream acquiesced… It's only a matter of time before DGM is stripped from other sites, too.

Frankly, I don't know what I'm going to do about this story if I can't get the monthly DGM chapter releases. I mean, I won't quit, but… will I be able to keep the schedule I have now? Hell no.

Prepare yourselves for some kind of change…

Anyway, sorry this is a bit late; I slept in. ^ . ^' Happy Valentine's Day!

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

In the green countryside of County Wicklow, Desmond Teague walked back up the hill to his house after a long day of work in the fields, his overalls from his ankles up to his knees slicked with mud and several tools with long poles slung over his broad, dirty, sweaty shoulders and held in place with one arm wrapped around the poles, his other hand holding a pair of gloves loosely at his side.

As he got closer to his home, he saw smoke pouring out of the chimney and inhaled deeply when he smelled dinner wafting through the air, the scent thick, heady, meaty… He grinned when his stomach growled.

His wife, Lyla, was an excellent cook, and, as always, the mutton smelled fantastic.

Desmond's grin only broadened when the hill he was climbing flattened out and he saw his homestead ahead, two children playing with the dogs out in the yard, Lyla pulling the rest of the day's laundry from the line, a new splash of crimson in the wildflowers across the road from the hou—

When he automatically looked over to admire the new 'flowers' in the wildflower field his wife lightly tended to when the weeds threatened to overtake, Desmond's eyes widened and the tools and gloves fell from his hands.

He was absently aware of his wife's name tearing from his mouth as he bolted through the flowers and towards the prone body lying amongst a patch of bluebells. When he fell to his knees by the woman's (for the form was female) side and carefully pulled her into his arms, his bellowing only got louder as he got a look at her face.

He knew her.

He couldn't believe it was her.

But it was.

…Who would do something like this to a person as sweet and docile as Grace?

* * *

"How is she?" Desmond asked as he stretched and growled out a yawn, walking into their sons' bedroom where Lyla was tending to Grace.

"She's had a rough time of it." Lyla sighed, using a damp cloth to sponge away the never-ending layers of blood from the forehead of the older woman on the small bed, "I'm surprised she made it as far as she did, but she's resting soundly and hasn't stirred once."

"Grace always was a heavy sleeper." Desmond smiled at the fond memories.

Lyla glanced at her husband out of the corner of her eye, then turned her attention back to the badly beaten woman, "Ya haven't told me how ya know her, Des."

"Eh? Oh… Well, it's really more my Da's story." Desmond shrugged and walked over to the window, sitting on the toy trunk beneath it, "She's a wanderer; showed up one day askin' for work at my Da's place. This, mind ya, bein' a few years after I moved out, and while I was buildin' this place so I could properly court you." When his wife blushed and smiled softly, Desmond grinned before going on, "Anyway, I went over to ask Da fer a bit 'o advice, and there she was, tendin' to the sheep. And, since Da was havin' a hard time as it was, what with me and my friends, who were usually around to help him out, movin' away, and Ma passin' on… I stayed fer a few days to help out." Slowly, Desmond's smile turned into a grim, angered frown, "Grace isn't the type ta make anyone so angry they'd to this ta her. She's a bit daft, slightly narcoleptic and not really all there, but this…"

Lyla looked back at her husband, then smiled at him softly, "Go lie down with the boys and get some sleep, Des. I'll stay with her tonight."

Desmond heaved a sigh and nodded, then stood and gave his wife a kiss on the forehead before going back to their room to make himself some space on the bed beside their sons.

Lyla turned her attention back to the woman on her sons' bed, staring down at her pityingly as she continued to gently clean the blood off of her face.

The woman's hair, which Lyla was sure had once been some shade of red… or maybe auburn… had been darkened with blood, and it looked like a great deal of it had been burned off.

The clothes the woman had been wearing (or what was left of them, at least) had been shredded, dirtied and bloodied to the point where Lyla hadn't even been sure what her outfit must have looked like beforehand, though she was quite sure it was missing several pieces, if her outturned pockets and lack of shoes were any indication.

One side of her face marred with scratches, clearly done by a human hand, her body was littered with bruises, a particularly bad bruise on her chest hinted to something being broken… And, to make things even worse, several of the bruises were foot-shaped.

Someone had beaten the living hell out of the poor woman…

Lyla shook her head, a disgusted frown curling on her lips, then reached out and started to unbutton the long shirt of her husband's that 'Grace' was wearing, turning her attention to the injuries underneath now that she didn't have to worry about the husband or the boys walking in.

The one thing Lyla was grateful to Grace's attackers for – though it wasn't nearly enough to make her feel like she wouldn't show those bastards just _why_ she'd been the captain of her camogie team and just _what_ she could do with a hurley – was the fact that sexual assault hadn't been part of the attack; the woman had no bruises if any consequence on her breasts or thighs, and the ones she did have were probably just from non-specific blows…

"I suppose that'll be the one bit of good news you can tell yer husband." Lyla smiled down at Grace softly as she finished cleaning and went to toweling her dry, "What a lucky man he must be, especially if my Des thinks so highly of you…" She reached out and grabbed the unconscious woman's left hand, gently lifting it to look at the diamond ring on her finger, "Luck seems to be on your end, as well, insofar as yer man… This ring says a lot."

After she's finished sponging the woman clean and dry, Lyla covered her back up with the large shirt and gently pulled her up into leaning against her, picking up a pair of scissors from her nearby supplies.

"I'm sorry." Lyla fingered some of Grace's singed hair before she started clipping, "But it's better this way."

Lyla worked well into the evening cleaning up the older woman, and when she was done she gently bandaged what needed it before stripping the bed of the sheet she'd laid down to catch the filth and tucking her in beneath the blankets.

She then made herself comfortable in a chair and at the foot of the bed, resting with one arm on her lap and the other curled on the edge of her mattress for her head.

As she fell asleep, Lyla didn't notice that the quiet older woman's eyes had opened and were locked on the ceiling, face blank, gray eyes hazy stare distant, as if she weren't really seeing anything…

* * *

Desmond looked up from his morning coffee as his wife walked out of their sons' room, smiling at her teasingly, "Breakfast is late, Lyla. Did you two stay up all night gossi—"

"Desmond, something is wrong with her."

Desmond stopped and blinked at his wife's grave expression, "…I know she is, Lye, she—"

"No, Des, something is really wrong with her…" Lyla paused as she got a bit choked up, glancing out the open back door to make sure the boys were occupied by their morning chores before going in a lower voice, "Something in her head."

Desmond's eyes widened when Lyla tapped her temple to clarify her point, and he set his coffee down and stood quickly, rushing after his wife as she hurried back to the room.

When he reached the doorway, he froze.

The woman he knew as Grace was sitting up and conscious, but… Her face was void of any expression, her eyes were unfocused and staring off into space, and she didn't look over when Lyla sat beside her and gently, carefully placed a hand on her back…

She was conscious, but she wasn't _aware_.

…Desmond had seen a lamb that had gotten that look once after it'd had the misfortune of getting kicked in the head by a ram.

The mother had stopped taking care of it to favor its twin.

His father had killed the brain-dead lamb not long after.

"…Lye, keep an eye on the boys and don't let them see her." Desmond said harshly as his throat tightened a bit, "I'm going to get Doc Kennedy."

Lyla covered her mouth with her hand and nodded, her eyes getting a bit wet, and as her husband ran to the front door and jerked on his work boots, the door slamming as he took off, she went to check on their sons, discouraging them from entering the house when they asked about the door slamming.

…When Lyla came back into the house later to go back to keeping an eye on the woman until her husband came back with the doctor, 'Grace' was gone.

* * *

Bastian looked up from the flute he was whittling as a rather tall, imposing man with long, drawn back dark hair approached his bridge with long, powerful strides, his eyes staring ahead steadily.

Not someone he'd usually hassle, but… he had his boys under the bridge, and the man was traveling alone. That just wasn't done; this huge bastard would have to learn that.

"Hold up, buddy." Bastian slid off of the railing of the bridge and walked in front of Renault, smiling as he slipped the half-made flute into his back pocket but keeping his knife out to pick at his nails, "This is a toll bridge; travelers've gotta pay up."

The behemoth of a man stopped walking and stared down at Bastian blankly with unwavering, hazel eyes.

Briefly, Bastian felt discomfort (something about the man _oozed_ a passive killing intent), but when he saw his boys coming out from under the bridge out of the corner of his eyes, he relaxed slightly.

"Hey, you hear me, pal?" Bastian set his hands on his hips, his knife flashing, "You have to pay the to—"

"Your name is Bastian."

Bastian twitched, his lips starting to curve into a grim smirk, "Oh, so you know of me. Well, I guess you won't be as easy to trick as th—"

"You know Gracia."

Bastian's eyes widened and his stance immediately relaxed, and, in his band, those who knew Gracia, either personally or by name, froze, leaving the others to pause hesitantly.

"…What's happened to her?" Bastian's eyelids slid down partway, his lips pressing into a thin line, "She run away from that Church organiza—"

"She was kidnapped while on a mission." Renault cut Bastian off yet again, his tone even and firm, "She has escaped and has been hurt. She might be wandering around in a daze. Have you seen her?"

"Of course I haven't." Bastian sneered, looking at those of his group who had been around longer and nodding, "If I had, she wouldn't be lost."

Renault's eyes slid over as a few of the men ran off, "If she has not come this way, do you know where she might have gone to?"

"All of the 'keepers' of 'my' bridges know to look out for certain people." Bastian scowled, "The way you came from goes back to a seaside port; if she hasn't been found crossing any of my bridges in this area, she didn't come this way."

"…Across the ocean, then." His expression never changing, Renault turned and made to go back.

"Hey!" Bastian barked after him, "Who're you? !"

"…" Renault paused, then glanced back at Bastian levelly, "My name is Renault. I am her bodyguard and physician. If you get word of her, you will report to me before anyone else."

Bastian twitched and sneered, "Any other orders, _sir_?"

If Renault noticed the tone in the older man's voice, he didn't give any indication. Instead, he thought about the question, then turned back towards him a bit more, "Actually, yes. A comrade of hers, someone she treasures deeply, is also missing. A young man with long black hair—"

"The prissy Asian boy." Bastian blinked, then nodded, "I know what he looks like; I'll spread the word."

"…And how far does that 'word' reach?" Renault blinked at him slowly.

Bastian blinked back, then grinned and laughed, setting a hand on his hip and running his other hand through his hair, "None of you classy folks get just how _well_ all of our kind know one another, do you?" He then lifted his head, smirking at Renault, "Nor do you know just _how many people_ Gracia knows, and what using her name around one of us can get you."

* * *

_She walked._

_And walked._

_And walked._

_When the brightness overhead made it hurt to look, when the hot made her burn and itch, she laid on the ground, under the somewhat-darker, and curled up, closing her eyes until it stopped hurting._

_When the hole in her face got dry and sticky and the inside of her neck made her chest burn, she splashed around in and swallowed whatever wetness she could find._

_And then she went back to walking._

_When she couldn't figure out how to make her stomach stop hurting, she gave up and kept walking._

_When something inside her stomach made noises, she tried to claw it out, because it made it hurt more, but when she didn't get anywhere, she gave up and kept walking._

_When she came to a place filled with tall, hard things, where they all walked around and moved the holes in their faces, making sounds come out, she tried to walk with them… but they waved their arms and hit her, and made her hurt, so she went between the tall things, where there were less of them._

_When the brightness went out and it got cold, she laid down, curled up and waited for the brightness and the warm to come back._

_And, when she opened her eyes and the brightness was back, they were back, too, walking all around her, some going far around and some going across the long black thing to the other side, where there were even more of them._

_And some tried to give her things, opening the holes in their faces and making sounds at her. They made sounds, made sounds, made sounds… then left things in her hands and walked away._

_Sometimes, the things in her hands crumbled when she pulled at them, and sometimes they got the tips of her fingers wet with the slick wetness… The pain in her stomach made itself known again, and she put the things in the hole in her face._

_And the things made it better._

_So she tried other things… But some things hurt the hole in her face, and some things made the wet thing in the hole unhappy._

_So, not everything would make her stomach happy._

_So she tried to get more things from them to make her stomach happy, but they got angry and hit and kicked her again._

_So she walked and tried to look for those of them who would give her the things that would make her stomach happy._

_And when the brightness went out and it got cold, her stomach was hurting again, so she kept walking and found more of them._

_Instead of giving her things or hitting her, they grabbed her and grabbed her and grabbed her, grabbing her up and down, grabbing her where it hurt, grabbing her where some part of her knew they shouldn't._

_So she struggled, the hole in her face opening and letting out sounds like they did, though sharper and louder, when they started poking at her with things._

_And, when one of them tried to take _**that**_ off of her hand, she immediately turned and used the sharpness in her face hole to hurt them._

**That**_ was _**hers**_._

**No one**_ touched _**that**_._

_And then she was being hit and kicked again._

_But at least they weren't grabbing and poking and trying to take _**that**_._

_When they pressed her to the ground, though, and held her down, one of them leaning over her and grabbing again, she leaned up and used the sharpness in her face hole, harder than before._

_Hard enough to take something away, the something soft and squishy and wet in her face hole._

_Then, they were being loud like she had been, and she was able to get away and run, the something she had taken with the sharpness in her face hole still stuck in there with the hole closed._

_Her stomach hurt and told her to give it the squishy wetness, but the squishy wetness made the wet thing in the hole in her face unhappy, so she opened it and let it fall out as she ran._

_And when she made it out of the place with the tall things, away from them, she was walking again._

_And as she walked, she looked at _**that**_, and it was there, and it wasn't broken, and that made something… above her stomach, in her chest, happy._

_As she walked, the brightness came back, and she tried to look for more things to make her stomach happy._

_But some made the wet thing in the hole in her face unhappy, and some hurt the hole in her face when she put it in, and some things struggled and didn't want to go in and hurt her hands and face before they got away, and some things seemed okay until they made her stomach unhappy, which made the hole in her face open and spit them back out, which only made her stomach hurt and make__ more__ noises._

_So she kept walking._

_Kept going into the tall places where they gathered._

_Kept trying new things to put in the hole in her face._

_Kept protecting _**that**_ when they tried to take it from her._

_And, when some of them, when the brightness was gone, tried to take her behind the tall hard things in the places where they gathered, tried to grab her, tried to push her down and poke and stab her, she got better at using the sharpness in the hole in her face to fight back, she got better at running, she got better at using herself to throw them aside._

_She got so good at using the sharpness in her face hole that, sometimes, she was able to bite through completely and take off entire parts of them, even the parts they used to hit her with that had the white hardness in the middles of them._

_She'd even bitten two of these parts off at the same time, once._

_Eventually, she stopped trusting them, stopped going into or even near the places filled with the tall things and them._

_And she walked._


	125. Protocol Stasis Recording: File l8o&

It just doesn't stop, ya know? It just keeps coming and coming and _coming_… I'm getting sick and tired of waking up every morning.

And, while I feel like I'm about to cry, people are telling me "Stop being so dramatic."

How am I being _dramatic_ when it's literally depressing me so much that I'm going to cry?

I've come to the conclusion that I'm one of those people who was just born incapable of interacting with other people. It's nothing against them, personally, they all just… make me so tired.

And they don't stop. How can they _handle_ not stopping? Where do they get all of that _energy_ from?

I'm having nightmares about getting phone calls, and _that_ is bad.

*sighs* …I'm tempted to just… quit.

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"…Ya know her, then." Desmond Teague didn't exactly ask as he eyeballed the large man standing outside of his home warily, Desmond crossing his arms over his chest as he stood between the man and the door. Behind him, his wife held the boys back but stayed in sight of the doorway, watching nervously.

The stranger, a tall man with a thick body, not obese thick but obviously _muscled_ thick, kept his blank, hazel eyes locked on Desmond flatly but non-threateningly as he gave a short nod.

Though the man was easily larger than Desmond, Desmond, himself, was used to being bigger than those around him… and something in the back of his mind told him that this man was trying to keep from being threatening, but was having problems due to his obvious size and build.

It was something Desmond also struggled with.

Unlike him, though, the man had an overbearing stoic nature, and it was working against him.

Still, the man said he knew Grace, so he was willing to listen…

"She's not here anymore." Desmond sighed, shaking his head, "We only managed to keep her overnight… about a week ago. She was badly injured. My wife," He inclined his head back to Lyla, who tightened her hold on their sons slightly, "Did what she could with her, but the next morning…" He paused, suddenly not sure how much to tell this man. Though he did want to trust him in hopes that he would be able to find and get Grace the help she needed, he also didn't want her to get caught up with a bad crowd… and this man looked like he could easily belong to a bad crowd.

"…If there was something wrong with her, I need to know what it is." The man spoke in his low, rumbling voice after Desmond has paused for too long, "I am her doctor."

"Her doctor?" Desmond frowned, getting a bit more suspicious, "Even if Grace could afford a personal doctor, what kind of doctor personally searches for their patients, not to mention looks like _you_?" Here, the Irishman immediately looked the large man in front of him up and down indicatively.

The large man's long black hair was more than slightly oily, his beard was scraggly, his traveling clothes were worn and his thick duster was splotched with mud…

"The kind who is also her bodyguard." The man answered, his stare getting firmer and his low voice getting lower as his rumble took a slightly growled edge.

"Ho, and now yer a bodyguard!" Desmond sneered, loosing his patience with the man in those last, simple words. He stepped back into his house, grabbing the door, "Leave. Now."

Before he could close it, the man had crossed the space between them in a flash, his large hand curling around the edge of the door as Desmond tried to slam it.

Desmond swore in Gaelic and made to sock the man in the jaw, Lyla crying out and the boys screaming at their father and the man. The color drained from Desmond's face and the house went silent as the man easily caught his fist without ever breaking their eye contact, squeezing just enough to make Desmond feel pain but not making his actions obvious to his wife and their sons.

"I see you hold some protective inklings towards my mistress." The man rumbled, the angry edge gone from his voice and his face as he twisted Desmond's wrist just enough to make his arm go numb, slowly pushing him to his knees at the same time, "I thank you for that, and I also apologize for making a violent scene your wife and children must see. Make no mistake, though; I am Renault, personal bodyguard and physician of the Lady Gracia Solidor. I take my duty very seriously, and I am deeply concerned about my mistress, much in the same way you are about your family. If you have any information, then I would ask that you divulge. Please."

…Despite their current positioning, something about the man's face got to Desmond.

…Well, that and his final word.

'Please.'

People who were as outwardly dangerous as this man was didn't bear that kind of expression, and they weren't polite, if they weren't sincere.

"…Lye, send the boys out to do their chores," Desmond said hoarsely, "And make up a strong brew 'o coffee for me and our guest…"

"Des…" Lyla started softly, her voice strained.

"It's fine, love." Desmond threw her a small smile as Renault let up on his fist and pulled him back to his feet, "We're good."

Lyla looked between them, unsure, then complied and shooed their reluctant sons to the back of the house in a low mumble.

Desmond stared after them for a moment, then turned to Renault, "Come in. Lyla will tell you abut the condition Grace was in while we drink."

"I cannot stay long." Renault glanced at the door as he was ushered in completely and it was shut behind him.

"You could use a strong drink. Ya look like hell."

"…"

After a cup of strong coffee (that he passively admitted to himself that he did need) and a thorough (if nervous) report from Lyla, Renault thanked and apologized to the family again before leaving, now in more of a hurry than before.

Gracia's mental state had… apparently deteriorated.

* * *

Getting some downtime for the… first time in three days… Komui collapsed on top of his desk from the chest up, his hand absently going around to grope for his coffee. When he couldn't find it, he sighed and gave up, too lazy to call for someone to bring him more or dig through the papers on his desk for a more than likely cold cup.

He'd just have to wait for Brigitte to come back from delivering the departmental papers, since Lenalee was out on yet another mission.

…Thinking about Brigitte made Komui frown and lift his head, looking at the papers on his desk.

…His definition of 'downtime' wasn't the same as some (just his coworkers, really… okay, a few more people than that… alright _most_ people); as soon as he finished one side of his desk, Komui felt he deserved a break.

And he did!

Do you know how many times people come into his office every day to fill in the gaps he'd managed to make with _more_ paperwork? !

Billions! ! (In all actuality, the average was thirty times a day.)

Komui worked _hard_ and drank enough coffee to make a blue whale's heart rate match that of a hummingbird to keep up with paperwork from seven different branches and over a thousand employees; when he finished the paperwork on an entire side of his desk, his rather _large_ desk, he deserved a break.

Now thoroughly convinced, Komui looked around shiftily before standing, one hand riffling through his paperwork and pulling out his cold mug of coffee. He then slipped out from behind his desk slowly, stealthily, and slid over to the door, opening it and looking up and down the hall slowly.

His way clear, Komui trotted off down the hall, coffee cup in hand, and went about stealthily doing a few things he always went out of his way to do when he managed to sneak away from work.

He went down to the cafeteria to spend some time with Jeryy and 'cook' (as much as Jeryy would let him; Komui could be a 'bit' accident prone in the kitchen).

He went to the Science Sections, snuck past Reever using shadow coverage (like a _ninja~_), and skipped around, teasing his subordinates and occasionally stepping in to 'help' them with their work (with the things he 'helped' with usually blowing up as he walked away [ex., the paper he had tried to help Johnny divide by zero on]).

He went to Lenalee's room to clean up and redecorate, throwing in lots of ribbons and laces and bows and pink things (not knowing that Lenalee didn't actually sleep in that particular room because of that).

He went to all of the bedrooms of the men he had seen Lenalee talking to recently and looked around for any kinds of diaries or journals, reading anything he found to make sure they weren't having impure thoughts about his precious sister.

He went to one of the rooms in one of the lesser-used sections of the building he had managed to snag for himself, working on a few Komlin designs he'd come up with and fiddling around with a few partially made components.

He went to Regory Peck's bedroom, slipped into his bathroom and squeezed a few drops of a special liquid from a vial he'd been keeping in his pocket into the man's shampoo (because he _knew_ the bastard had been defiling _his_ Lena with his leery eyes).

He went to his room and got the crushed and faded box of Icelandic coffee he was _still_ nursing and brewed himself another cup.

…And then, cup in hand, he went to that special part of the house that had a carpeted staircase behind the tapestry that lead down to Silas' laboratory.

At the old doorway, which Komui had taken to oiling regularly since, after she'd initially showed it to him and the younger Exorcists, Gracia hadn't expressed much interest in the upkeep of the lab other than checking on the building-wide talisman system on a semi-regular basis (whenever she remembered to), Komui spun the dial of the lock around a few times before a mechanism in the heavy door clicked. He pushed inward, stepped inside, then threw the switch to turn the lights on.

After shutting the door behind himself… Komui got to work.

Some of Silas' inventions were… questionable in their intended function, alone.

Some of them, though, were absolutely nifty, and some downright ingenious. Like Silas' idea for portable telephones… Ones that _didn't_ require a landline. (Of course, none of the prototypes Silas had made could do much other than blow up, but the _idea_…)

After having initially respected the sanctity of Silas' laboratory, which hadn't been touched since his death… Komui had started going through the experiments one by one and resumed work on the ones it was sensible to.

Silas, as an inventor and scientist, would have wanted his work to be continued… Or so Komui reasoned. Especially if the experiments in question had been made with the benefit of the Order in mind.

At least, that was how Komui would want his Komlins and other inventions handled if anything happened to him.

And, because of this, Komui wanted to make sure that Silas' more feasible inventions were taken into serious consideration, so he was going through them all, sorting them out, cleaning up the ones he thought might actually work, and preparing them for transfer to the Science Division for examination and recalibration.

They needed all the help they could get.

…And… it was better… than remembering that…

Komui paused in his work on a gadget he was cleaning of dust.

…It had been a month and a week since Gracia had been taken. It had been a month since she had last been sighted, when she had been caught on camera with the Noah that had, presumably, helped Allen escape.

Over a month since he'd last seen her in person.

Over a month since he'd last embraced her.

Over a month since he'd heard her voice.

Over a month since they'd last slept in the same bed.

Over a month… since he'd sent her on a mission he'd had a bad feeling about.

Over a month since he'd sent Renault after her.

Over a month… of nothing.

…It probably wasn't a secret (if it had been much of one to begin with) anymore that Gracia and Komui had been in a relationship; the only people who actually talked about her in front of or around him were those who still believed she was alive.

Everyone else had…

…Well…

Miranda, for instance, hadn't met his eye since he'd walked in on her praying to Mary for Gracia's safe passage in the small church Barheim hosted.

Those who had once expressed their doubts about how 'unwilling' Gracia's participation in Allen's escape had been had taken to quieting themselves, and if there were still rumors floating around, his subordinates made sure Komui wasn't aware of them.

…Komui wasn't sure whether he was thankful or if he wanted them to continue, because watching them treat her like she was dead was just about as painful as the rumors had been.

He didn't want _anyone_ treating her like she was dead.

Because she was coming back.

He firmly believed that.

…That was why, when Mathilda had told him that some of the Solidor Family branch heads had been pressing for a memorial service, he had flat out told Mathilda that he didn't want her bringing such discussions into the Order. That he didn't care if the Solidor Family buried her, but the Order most certainly wouldn't even be considering it so soon.

…He still remembered the faintest shadow of a smile Mathilda had given him when he'd said that.

And then she had informed him that Gracia had entrusted her with her will the last time she had been to Nalbina, when Mathilda had had her heart attack.

Apparently, while she had been there, Gracia had written a will and left it in Mathilda's desk for her to find…

Despite his firm insistence that he didn't want to know the contents of the document, Mathilda had spoken over him and informed Komui that Gracia had left everything to him.

Everything.

Of course, Mathilda had gone on despite Komui childishly covering his ears, she would not be turning it all over to him at once. She wouldn't contest the will, but she would, when and if the time came, be giving it to him in the form of an allowance, the rates of which could be negotiated after an acceptable amount of time had passed.

After all, Mathilda had ceded when Komui had uncovered his ears and looked back at her, Gracia _had_ gone missing for four years before; there was no doubt that, if it were necessary, she would do it again.

And, since she had gone missing for four years before, declaring Gracia dead after only a month, no matter the circumstances, was far too preemptive.

Komui sighed and relaxed, going back to tinkering with Silas' gadgets.

_Mathilda_ had, in her roundabout way, assured him that she was sure Gracia was still alive.

_Mathilda_. _Reassuring_ someone.

He must, Komui realized, have been an outward mess when he'd spoken to her…

…Still…

…Over a month.

The last time she'd gone missing… it had just been for three days… and she'd turned up in Singapore.

She'd _remembered_ to call.

And in the last visual he had of her… she'd remembered that the Order was her home.

…So she… hadn't escaped.

…Or…

…Komui tore himself away from the gadget in front of him and turned to leave, barely remembering to grab his coffee mug and shut the lights off behind himself as he left the lab. He then hurried back to his—

No… Komui sighed. He hadn't ended up in his room. He'd ended up in hers. Again.

He looked around slowly, then gave in and walked across the room, sitting on the edge of her bed as he kicked his slippers off and set his coffee mug aside. After taking off his beret, glasses and coat, setting them aside on the nightstand, as well, Komui settled down on her side of the bed, realizing, sadly, that his frequent visits and naps had dramatically weakened the traces of her scent against the bed sheets.

…When she came back, he'd never let her leave the bed again.

There would be no distinguishing her scent from the sheets.

A contained, soft space with defined edges, somewhere where he would always know where she was.

When she came back.

…_When she came back._

He firmly believed.

_A month and a week._

He had to believe.

Doubting wasn't an option anymore.

Because if, after a month and a week, she wasn't okay and on her way home, then she was—

* * *

_She walked._

_And walked._

_And walked._

_When she came to a place where they gathered like they did at the placed with the tall things, she tried to avoid them, but they saw her._

_This place, unlike the others, didn't have tall things they went in and out of; it had short, soft, floppy things that they crawled in and out of._

_And, unlike the others in these other places, these ones didn't avoid her; they ran towards her, opening the holes in their faces and making noises come out._

_They repeated one noise frequently._

_When she tried to run, a few hesitated, but one in particular rushed straight at her and grabbed her._

_Not waiting to see what they would do to her, she lashed out, using her hands, her feet, the sharpness in the hole in her face…_

_Some of them started to let out the wet red where the sharpness in the hole in her face dug in, and while they fell back others came forward, slower, holding out their hands with their palms up, the noises coming from their mouths no longer loud._

_When they cornered her, pressing her back against one of the tall, shade-providing things they were in the middle of a large group of, she felt…_

…_She felt…_

…_It made her crouch, made her tense, made her ready to lash out…_

…_Maybe they could feel it, too._

_Because they paused again, some backing away slightly._

_Quiet._

…_Then, one of them resumed coming forward._

_She tensed more._

_They crouched slightly, then got down and crawled towards her slowly, letting out noises…_

…_No._

_Noise._

_The same noise as before._

_Her stomach chose that moment to be unhappy, hurting her and letting out a noise._

_The one crawling towards her paused, then pulled out something and offered it._

_Remembering things she'd been offered before… she took it and put it in the hole in her face._

_And it made her stomach happy._

_When she was offered more things, she took them, staying tense but letting them get closer and closer._

_When she found herself surrounded by them and wrapped in warm, some of them leaking wetness from their faces and letting out soft noises and some petting her carefully, she relaxed._

_Then, she let them lead her back to their place._

_Then, some of them led her into one of the larger of the short, cloth places._

_Then, some of them got buckets of wetness and rags and started rubbing at her skin._

_Then, they gave her more things to make her stomach happy._

_Then, they wrapped her up, and as the brightness overhead gave way to darkness, some of them laid down with her._

…_Then, when they closed their eyes and everything got quiet, she got up and walked out, leaving._

_She didn't understand their actions, but they would all turn out to be the same as the others…_

_So she left._

_And she walked._

_And she walked._


	126. Protocol Stasis Recording: File 9—,0v

I'd like to apologize to everyone for that last, depressing AN… To clarify: It wasn't about this story. Don't worry, I'm set on chapters for a while (though I will admit that I've caught up to the canon and am hoping that Hoshino won't make these breaks regular, because if I have to go too long without writing… well…). It was just… Well… You know how, sometimes, you can have one of _those days_? Well, my "day" stretched out over the span of well over a week; basically, it started last Saturday, Sunday and Monday, then I got Tuesday off, then it started up again on Wednesday and Thursday, and Thursday evening, right when I was about to go home and when I was looking forward to having my usual Friday off, I was called and found out I wouldn't have that Friday off, so I went right from Thursday to Friday, then Saturday and Sunday (on top of that, right as I walked in Sunday evening, the receptionist was on the phone, talking to my boss as my boss volunteered me for extra hours that evening when I _hadn't even clocked in yet_), and it'll still be going on today… I won't have time off until tomorrow.

I'm exhausted.

I'm well past hating people more than usual.

These last three days, I've been plagued with on and off headaches, nausea, clamminess and fluctuating temperatures.

Much as my manager laughs it off because she doesn't think I'm serious, I _really do_ need my regular days off and away from people; I love the people I work with, I really do, but excessive human contact makes me depressed to the point where I get physically ill.

*sighs* But I'm complaining again; I'm fine, and absolutely _none_ of this is a reflection on you or this story.

As for news on this story: I think this is one of the more depressing arcs that I've written in a while… XD And it's only gonna get worse. Though I promise that it will have its ups along with all of the downs… But I feel I have to warn that there is a chapter coming up that will probably make you cry.

Hell, _I_ cried while I was writing it, and I keep getting choked up when I have to go back and proofread it (me being the kind to proofread something several times, not that I catch everything).

At the same time, though, crying at my own writing makes me feel like an ass… XP Though I probably can blame Patty Loveless a bit.

Curse those country songs I grew up on.

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"Excuse me! Do you know Gracia?"

Kanda immediately stopped walking and glanced back, not answering.

What in the…

The young woman jogging after him beamed happily and ran a little faster, the long, green skirt of her outfit getting a bit dirty as her boots kicked up dust along the road.

"You do!" She cried happily, coming to a stop in front of him as he turned to her and clapping her hands, "You must be him, then! Oh, thank God we found you!"

Kanda quirked a brow slightly but still didn't talk, twitching and scowling when the woman grabbed his arm and started pulling him back towards the town he'd just left.

"Here, it's getting late." She smiled up at him, "My family and I will put you up for the night. Are you hungry? Mother made agnolotti!"

When the girl kept trying to jerk him back towards the Italian village, Kanda dug his heels into the ground and growled, jerking his arm out of her hand.

"Who in the _fuck_ are you?"

The girl balked, blinking, then went back to smiling, tipping her head, "Oh? You haven't run into anyone else yet? Then you don't know!"

Kanda's brow twitched. If this girl didn't stop fucking around, he was going to—

"There's a broadcast out in the hobo community to look for you and Gracia!" The girl's smile widened, "And Gracia's stayed with us before; when the community in our area got the news, they informed us."

After that, Kanda drowned out the girl's babbling.

People were looking for him?

_Gracia_ was looking for him?

…No, she'd said there was word out to find both him _and_ the support unit.

Meaning she was missing, too.

But how could she have gone missing? When he'd last seen her, she had been at the North American Branch… True, he had no idea how the fight with the Noah had ended, but…

…But people were looking for him.

People were willing to provide him with shelter and food.

On _her_ behalf.

"…_Kanda, where will you go when all of this is over?"_

"_And now I'm thinking… If Lenalee, who was born out there, would have problems adapting, what about you, who was born in the Order and trained to fight? How would you do out among people? And it makes me think… of all of the times you reacted to people angering you by drawing Mugen…"_

"_I'm not leaving you alone."_

"_I know a lot of people in Europe, and in the event that you try to leave… I'll find you. And I'll keep finding you until I'm sure you're okay on your own."_

…Son of a bitch, she'd been telling the truth…

…

Silent, Kanda let the still babbling girl lead him back towards the village and into her home, where he was greeted with warmth, kindness, food, a bath, clothes and a bed.

These people weren't even turned off by the rudeness that slipped out of him unconsciously at times… They treated him as he imagined they would have treated her.

And it didn't end there.

As he traveled northward, back towards England, Kanda was met with more people who offered him a bed and clothes or at least food, some telling him names of people who would offer him the same in towns along the path he was traveling.

And, even if he didn't approach these mentioned people, they always managed to pick him out when and if they saw him.

The nights Kanda spent sleeping outside were few and far between.

…Idiot woman…

Even when he wasn't in reach, she was still…

* * *

Yu Kanda had been found.

Renault sighed heavily as he walked away from the encampment of hobos who had put him up for the night in their shipyard settlement. Word about his appearance had gotten around, and he was finding himself on the receiving end of more and more help, his appearance aside…

He also found himself on the receiving end of quite a bit of news.

Yu Kanda had been found. He was traveling northwards and seemed to be in good health.

Gracia had been spotted off and on. She would accept food and some help when she was approached carefully enough, but she…

…She seemed to have gone feral.

At least, that was how it had been described to him. To Renault, it sounded more like some kind of autism or brain damage.

He was getting closer, though. So much closer to catching up with her.

Soon, she'd be safe.

Soon, she'd be—

"Well I'll be a son of a bitch… The rumors were true. The son of Solomon Curtiss _is_ still alive!"

Renault paused, his large, heavy boots making loud echoes on the worn boards of the boardwalk as he came to a stop. He glanced back, frowning slightly when he saw a group of young men behind him. Some of them were armed with pipes, one had a wooden bat, most were cracking their knuckles… What was this, a bad mob story?

"That is you, right old man?" One of the young men, a punkish-looking boy with spiked and bleached hair grinned at Renault, licking his teeth slowly, "Heard you were out and about."

"…" Renault didn't say anything.

Whoever these brats were, his father and his father's actions had been far before their time; no doubt they hadn't even known who he was until someone had explained it to them… Probably whoever their 'boss' was.

Nothing but a bunch of brats…

…He'd have to 'talk' to McCreedy later about using his name.

Renault turned and resumed walking.

He then twitched and stopped again when a rock hit the back of his head.

"Runnin' away, old man? ! Paaa-_thetic_! And here I thought your old man was some big, bad ass crime lord!"

Renault resumed walking away from them.

"Oi! Get back here, you cheeky bastard! !"

"Lewis, maybe this isn't such a—"

Renault continued walking, ignoring the sounds of quick, somewhat heavy footsteps thudding against the boardwalk behind him, coming towards him quickly.

He subsequently ignored the heavy thunk and solid blow of the metal pipe that was slammed into his back.

These attacks, though… this rush that was coming from his body perceiving a threat his brain knew couldn't hurt him… it was bringing back sensations and instincts he hadn't felt in a while.

Urges he had been hoping to replace with the sense of duty he had developed serving the Solidor House.

Still… Renault was only human; a human who had been raised by a family with a history of violence. A human who had a history of violence, himself.

And men like Renault who have such bodies and histories as they do oft find themselves reacting, sometimes without thinking, sometimes with…

…And rarely with judgment.

So, when his adrenalin-sharpened senses made him aware of another oncoming blow, the slight whistling of wind resistance, the thunk against the wood of a stabling step being taken, a breath being inhaled through gritted teeth, the _feel_ of an incoming presence behind him…

Renault spun around and caught the fist being thrown at him with one giant hand, his other curling into a fist and burying itself solidly in Lewis' stomach.

As the young man doubled over, back heaving as he gasped for air, blood flecking the ground as he barely managed to cough, what skin Renault could see on the back of his neck and his arms turning ashen, Renault squeezed the hand in his massive fist until he felt bones give way and heard snapping and a breathless scream.

Renault then let the now broken hand go and reached up to fist the throat of Lewis' collar in his hand, pulling the wide-eyed boy up to his eyelevel and staring at him evenly. Lewis' pupils were heavily dilated and his mouth opened and closed wordlessly as he started to go into shock.

…Being a licensed medical practitioner really made assaulting someone that much easier.

Renault exhaled heavily, then hefted Lewis up further and threw him back towards his gang.

Lewis' friends watched with wide eyes as Lewis soared the twelve feet back towards them, landing in the middle of their group with a loud, pained exhale of breath and crack as his head smacked the boardwalk. When they looked back over at Renault slowly, he was staring at them calmly, not one by one, but as a group, with a peculiar look on his otherwise stoic face… As if they, as a whole, were an annoyance, but one no greater than a mosquito.

…Or maybe a puppy biting at his ankles.

A couple of them made a break for it.

At least one went to check on Lewis.

Three of them, though, became enraged, tightening their grips on whatever weapons they had and rushing at Renault.

Renault closed his eyes and exhaled. Boys these days…

When they got close, Renault simply went through the movements, as if he'd been attacked like this before:

Block the blow to the right with the right forearm.

Duck the blow coming from the left aimed at the head.

Reach to the one in front with the free hand and—

Renault's massive hand met the face of the assailant in front of him, a nose breaking under his palm and his fingers practically curling around to the back of the boy's head as he grabbed him and slammed him down against the wooden ground, the boards breaking under the skull and the head disappearing within the hole.

Letting up just before the neck snapped, Renault turned to the one on his left, next, bringing his right fist around and slamming it into a jaw. Again, he felt and heard something crack, bone giving way under his knuckles.

The second body soared through the air and over the edge of the boardwalk, disappearing into the water far below with a resounding splash.

Finally, Renault turned completely and simply mowed into the one that had been on his right, charging forward, pushing, pushing, pushing him back, Renault only aware of a body dangling somewhat over his shoulder one moment and then slamming back against the wall Renault plowed it into.

Renault inhaled deeply as he pulled away and stood to his full height once more and staring down as the boy in front of him slid down the now indented and cracked wall and slumped over onto his side, not moving.

He wasn't dead.

None of them were.

But they also wouldn't be going anywhere unassisted for a while.

Again, being a doctor made brawling easy…

When Renault glanced back to find Lewis and the rest of the group gone, having abandoned the three, he sighed heavily, checked the vitals of the two on the boardwalk, looked over the edge to make sure the one in the water was swimming towards the shore, then walked away and went back to his previous path.

He hadn't missed it.

The fighting, the killing, the feel of bones breaking, the smell of blood, the sense of power that came with bodies so much weaker than his own buckling around his fists, the feeling of invincibility when he was punched, kicked, beat with blunt objects, shot, but was still able to move as if he didn't feel a thing…

He did, though. Feel pain, that is; Renault didn't have any problem with his pain receptors.

Pain had just… never really bugged him.

That was what had earned him the nickname 'Ironhide'; his stoicism.

And that had been what led to Mathilda hiring him to protect her daughter; his stoicism.

And the fact that he had been hired to protect her daughter was what had led to Mathilda pushing him to get his medical degree, going so far as to pay for his schooling, herself.

…Gracia hadn't feared him.

When Mathilda had first introduced him to her as her new bodyguard, she hadn't feared him.

She'd been so small and weak… Like his step-mother had been.

And, like his step-mother, she hadn't feared him.

Mathilda had saved him from the streets after his family had been torn apart by his father's illegal activities finally catching up with him, she'd given him a place to live, a job, an _education_… And Gracia had trusted his hands, hands his father had trained to kill, to protect her.

He hadn't missed his old lifestyle.

But he didn't mind using it to serve those he worked for now.

And he didn't mind using it against those who got in his way.

He was close.

He knew it.

* * *

_When she first noticed he was following her, she ran._

_He was big._

_Bigger than the others._

_And he ran after her._

_And that was scary._

_But more and more often, when she looked back, she would see him not far behind._

_The brightness overhead came and went many times with him behind her…_

_She ran._

_She hid._

_He called out to her…_

…_Using a familiar sound…_

…_Where did she know that sound from…?_

…_The first time he got close enough to touch her, she'd been trying to escape from him in one of those places with the tall things where they gathered._

_She had been walking in between the tall things when more of _those_ kinds of them found her… The kinds who would pin her to the ground, pull at the cloth covering her body, grabbed her in places she somehow knew they shouldn't grab…_

…_He'd pulled them off, made loud, painful sounds come out of their mouths, and did things to them like she had had done to her, only much worse…_

…_So much of the red wet…_

…_She ran._

_And, when the brightness was back in the sky, he was behind her again._

_Only he wasn't running towards her anymore._

_He just… followed._

_When the inside of the hole in her face got dry and sticky and her throat got hot, the cue she took to swallow whatever wetness she could find, he would make noises, wave his hands slightly, chase her away from whatever wetness she had found… And then he would… hold out his arms and walk towards her slowly… making her back away… making her back into thin veins of much colder, see-through, moving wetness._

_This wetness made the thing in the hole in her face happier than any of the other wetness._

_So, when she needed to swallow more wetness, she started looking for more of this kind, even letting him lead her to more when she needed it._

_When her stomach started to hurt and make the loud noises, he would give her things._

_At first, she didn't do anything with them but throw them away and keep going._

_But… after she'd spent several days of finding nothing to make her stomach happy… she started putting what he gave her into the hole in her face._

_And it made the thing in the hole in her face happy._

_And it also made her stomach happy._

_And he kept following her and giving her things._

…_She started letting him get closer, letting him give her more things._

_But she didn't let him take the cloth that covered her body when he tried._

_And she didn't let him touch her._

_But the more stuff he gave her to make her stomach happy… The… bigger she got… And she started hurting less, and the taste of the red wet left her mouth, and it stopped hurting to swallow…_

…_And she got bigger._

_Particularly… around her stomach…_

_And then, when the brightness was out and she opened her eyes, she found she couldn't move… she didn't want to move… her body felt heavy… she wanted to close her eyes and go back to the black…_

…_She couldn't even fight when he picked her up._

_It was soft…_

_It was warm…_

_And she went back to the black._

* * *

Renault cradled Gracia in his arms gently and started to walk towards Lviv, a nearby Ukrainian town that hosted several trains part of the Lviv Railways.

Almost two months after she'd been kidnapped, it was time for Gracia to go home.

* * *

_(For those of you curious about Renault's past, I'll be posting a new chapter in _Daydreams_ in a few minutes dedicated to telling Renault's story. Since it is in _Daydreams_, it won't be entirely canon to this story, but when I imagined Renault's past, what I wrote there is how I saw it. Besides, you won't be able to tell what parts aren't canon, anyway, so it all works out fine.)_


	127. Focus Shift: Perspective Change Pt 1

Aaah, looks like F F is back~!

Well, guys, while my sister (not the one that inspired Lorelei; one of my other sisters) is borrowing my car tomorrow for her driver's test, I'll be calling a few of the funeral homes in my area to ask about the state-required two-year mortician apprenticeship.

Wish me luck, because I suck at talking to peeps over the phone~! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ (Stole that cute little thing from another author here at F F who I am slowly falling in stalk-lust with. If you can tell me who, I'll give you cookies~!)

…Oh, and I'm not kidding about the mortician thing. Seriously. I wanted to be a coroner/medical examiner, but you practically have to be a licensed doctor for both of those. Besides, I think I'd be better with preparing people for The Big Sleep; the social aspect is something that'd be easier for me to handle (both in that most of the people I'd have to deal with would be dead and the live ones probably wouldn't want to talk to me for too long), and death isn't something that's ever really bothered me.

Well, most of my experience in the latter comes from helping with so many dog/cat euthanasias; the whole point of the mortician apprenticeship before actual schooling is for me to determine if I think I could do it with humans as a career. So, I guess we'll find out~!

…(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

XD Sorry, I just love that little thing.

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"Socalo, you and Miranda are headed to Kenya."

"Right." The General took the folder from his hand and walked off.

"Nine, you and Lorelei are to head to Transylvania."

"Understood." Another folder taken from his hand.

"Krory, you take Chaozii and go to Montreal."

"Sir." Another folder.

"And with Tiedoll and Timothy already out, Lenalee, Marie, you two get a break." Komui looked up at his sister, smiling. His chest twisted painfully when she gave him an exhausted smile through her bandages.

Beside her, Marie closed his eyes and sighed, smiling weakly, as well, and patting Lenalee's head before turning and leaving the room.

Komui sighed and turned back to the mountains of paperwork in front of him, grabbing his pen and resuming his mad scribbling. Beside him, Brigitte picked up a few things as he finished them and walked out of the room briskly, her heels clicking. Komui was painfully aware of Lenalee as she stayed in the room with him, alone.

"…Coffee, Brother?"

Immediately, Komui perked and beamed at his sister with a wide, teary-eyed smile, "Yes please, my darling, glorious sister~!"

Lenalee giggled and stepped forward to grab his mug, turning and walking over to a cart next to the main door of his office where a glass pot on a portable burner waited.

Komui smiled widely at her back, then hunched over his desk and went back to work.

Lenalee's heels clicked softly as she walked back over to his desk, the heavenly black liquid in the mug letting off soft, curling tendrils of steam.

Komui picked up the mug and inhaled deeply, shuddering before taking a careful sip. Another shudder crawled up his spine as the caffeine made all of his sleepy nerve endings come back to life and alerted him to the almost scalding heat on his tongue. So painfully good…

"…Brother, you haven't talked about her in two weeks."

Komui's throat closed in shock, making the coffee ride back up into his mouth and actually scald his tongue.

He turned away and sprayed coffee off to the side, barely avoiding soaking his paperwork, and whined, setting his mug down, opening his mouth and letting his tongue loll out as he fanned it with both hands.

On the other side of his desk, Lenalee sighed heavily, her heels clicking as she walked away and then walked back.

Seeing a clear glass out water being held out, Komui took it and gulped quickly, swallowing harshly and thumping his chest as he coughed hoarsely. Finally, he glanced up at his sister, his voice raw, "I've been swamped."

"I know." Lenalee gave him a gentle smile, tipping her head, "I'm not saying it's entirely a bad thing. I'm… relieved that you're not completely distraught. At the same time, though, I'm worried." Here, Lenalee's smile softened further, "It's… not like you."

"…" Komui sighed, turning back towards his desk and scooting back into place.

Actually… it had been thirteen days, two hours and twenty-three minutes since the last time he'd talked about Gracia.

He'd been talking to Katherine, and in that discussion he'd… realized how painful it was getting to keep talking about her as if she were coming back.

Not that he didn't believe she was; he still clung desperately to that hope.

But somewhere… in the back of his mind… a tiny voice niggled, insisting that talking about her after it had been so long was starting to… get pathetic.

…As much as he'd hated that voice, he hadn't been able to get rid of it.

And the easiest way to avoid it and the pain was not talking about Gracia. So he'd stopped.

_He didn't need_, he rationalized, _to keep talking about her._

She was coming back, after all.

In a way, talking about her so fervently indicated doubt, especially to those who had already accepted her 'death.'

And, since she was coming back, there was no point in fueling them, thus there was no point in talking about her if it wasn't necessary.

…At least, that was what he kept telling himself.

And it was so much better than thinking that he'd… started to… accept…

Komui tensed slightly when a pair of slender arms wrapped around his shoulders, then he shuddered and turned towards Lenalee slightly, pressing his forehead to her collarbone.

"_Shh, it's okay, Brother…_" Lenalee switched to their mother tongue as she murmured, stroking his hair gently, "_I know… And it's okay._"

"_Oh, God…_" Komui buckled, covering his mouth with his hand as his eyes and nose started to burn.

He hadn't.

He couldn't have.

He didn't want to.

It had only been _two months_!

But still… part of him had… started to… accept her absence.

He didn't think about her as often.

He was able to go to sleep unassisted at night.

He'd been forgetting more and more often to go to her room and clean up.

When he went to Silas' lab, he didn't even think about who'd owned it anymore; it was just more work.

He wanted to say that it was because they'd been so busy lately, so understaffed, so guilty and occupied with sending Exorcists on back-to-back missions and trying to think of ways to make it easier for them…

And, in all reality, it probably was because of that. Komui couldn't keep being self-absorbed; not when he had those around him, alive and present, who depended on him.

But part of him… part of him was terrified that it all just might be because… because he was moving on.

But that _couldn't_ be it! It just couldn't be! !

Goddamn it, he _loved_ her, right? !

And he was Komui Lee! A man _notorious_ for how attached he got to family!

It should have taken way more than _two months_ for him to start to calm down! !

But it hadn't. Up until this breakdown, for the last two weeks he'd been…

…Lenalee continued hugging her brother and stroking his hair, rocking back and forth slightly and murmuring soothingly.

What was wrong with him…

What was wrong with him, what was wrong with him, _what was wrong with him_? !

"_Nothing._" Lenalee murmured, making him realize he'd spoken out loud, "_You've been running from thinking about her because it got painful. You did it _because_ you love her. You don't want to associate those bad feelings with memories of her, so you shut it all out… And now it's coming back out. And that's okay._"

Komui shuddered and squeezed Lenalee tightly, cringing when she flinched against him slightly and squirmed but not letting go. Then, once he felt the crest ebb, he slowly loosened his grip on her, his body heavy and tired when he pulled away and sat up to kiss her forehead.

"_Thank you, my precious Lenalee…_" He whispered, "_I'm sorry._"

"It's okay, Brother." Lenalee smiled and switched back to English, giving him another hug. She then pulled back and smiled at him teasingly, "The one you'll _really_ need to worry about is Gracia."

Komui blinked, then shuddered. "She's going to use Sleep on me again."

Lenalee giggled.

"Don't laugh!" Komui whined, "You remember what happened last time!"

"Yes, I do." Lenalee kept giggling, making Komui pout and droop.

When Brigitte walked back into the room, Lenalee gave her brother another kiss on the forehead before she smiled and curtsied to Brigitte slightly and left the room.

Brigitte smiled slightly after her, then regarded Komui with a partial glare and walked towards his desk briskly, new files in her hand.

Komui just beamed at her before going back to work, a weight he hadn't noticed crushing his chest lifting.

* * *

Outside the building, a group of golems in sector G6 honed in on movement coming up the road. They didn't start recording the movement until it got within two hundred yards of the Order.

When it got within a hundred yards, the golems sent warning signals back to the Security Section.

When the video operators saw who was on camera, they—

* * *

Komui and Brigitte looked up from their work, blinking when they heard a clamor start up out in the hall.

Loud footsteps echoed, and Komui jolted when his office door was flung open, barely recognizing the face of the person who almost incoherently shouted "Front door! !" before they bolted and took off with the others.

After a pause, Komui and Brigitte were on their feet and hurrying out of the room and down the hall, following the backs of the runners.

It seemed, though, that only a few really knew what was going on; as they went, they passed several dozen people who looked at them oddly before going about their business. At this, Komui only became more confused.

Still, he continued following, picking up speed in order to wind through the hallways as quickly as those leading. When they reached one of the main doors of the building, Komui blinked upon realizing that most of those who had gathered (not that there were many) were from the Security Section. He frowned when he saw some of them were disarming the security systems with shaking hands. What were they…?

"Brother!"

Komui glanced back, blinking when Lenalee jogged up.

She blinked up at him, tipping her head, "What's going on? Is someone important here?"

"Not that I'm aware of." Komui frowned, glancing at Brigitte, "Anyone of any importance would know to use an Ark Gate, anyway…"

Brigitte just nodded slightly, frowning at the doors deeply as the members of the Security Section finished disarming it and opening the massive front doors. Whoever it was must have passed the inspection… But that still left the question of _who_?

Komui's eyes widened when a familiar if travel-worn hulk of a silhouette walked in through the opened doors, barely moving when Lenalee inhaled sharply beside him and grabbed his hand.

…The moment Renault stepped into the building and was properly visible, Brigitte was ordering several bystanders to go to the medical ward and bring help.

Static rung in Komui's ears and he could hardly hear above his own breathing and heartbeat as he stumbled forward slowly, his mouth going dry when Renault's eyes locked on him and the large man started walking towards him as if in slow motion.

The large, large man was more unkempt than Komui had ever seen him… had ever _imagined_ him; his long black hair slick with grease, with a few loose strands hanging limply in his face, his beard almost grown out to engulf the lower half of his face, his clothes, from dress shirt out to duster and clear down to his boots, caked, splattered, speckled, dusted, just plain _awash_ with _filth_ from his long, hard travels on the road…

And… in his arms… a mere wisp of a form wrapped up in a far-too-large cloak, turned towards Renault's chest and curled up slightly.

Hands shaking, Komui reached out and carefully pulled back the hood of the figure in Renault's arms, the scene in front of him swaying as his eyes watered.

She was singed, scratched, beaten, bruised and bloodied… god, she was so bloodied…

But she was alive. She was breathing. He could see her pulse twitching delicately under her jaw, against her neck. He could see her eyes moving beneath her lids as she dreamed.

And then, he couldn't really see anything, wetness making his vision wavy before it trailed down his face. Still shaking, Komui leaned in and wrapped his arms around her form, pressing his face into her singed and crispy hair as Renault continued to hold her.

Komui wasn't quite sure which emotion it was that was welling up in his chest, making it hard to breathe as it elbowed his lungs and heart aside to make room for itself, but it was big, it was powerful, and it was somehow related to being excessively sorrowful and/or happy.

He was so happy he was crying.

He was sobbing because he was so overwhelmingly exuberant.

And relieved.

Dear Lord, he was so… overflowing with… just… so much…

Relief.

Relief…

_Relief…_

Komui didn't realize how tightly he'd been holding Gracia until she squirmed in his arms and let out an angry, pained noise, Renault gently but firmly nudging him away.

"I have to get her to the medical ward, Supervisor."

When he found his voice dead, Komui just nodded and reluctantly let go, watching almost in disbelief as Renault walked right by him and down the hall calmly, as if nothing were out of the ordinary, the small amount of shocked staff that had gathered stepping aside for him immediately.

And, as Renault walked away, Komui found himself drawing a blank, the emotions and shock just… just too…

"…Komui."

Komui twitched and slowly looked over at Brigitte, who was staring at him calmly.

One of her thick brows rose up smoothly, and she inclined her head towards where Renault had just left, "Are you going after her or not?"

Komui stared at her, and when he finally tried to speak, all that came out was a strangled noise muffled by his closed lips, which seemed to be glued together. He then turned and took off after Renault, swallowing painfully as his throat pinched shut.

He didn't really see two of the already present personnel from the medical section, who had answered Brigitte's summons, following and watching him closely, noticing several telltale signs of shock in Komui's expression and movements.

He was too… _emotional_ to see them.

He was too focused on going to _her_ side to see them.

Komui swallowed painfully again and ran faster.

* * *

Komui sat in the waiting room with his hands clasped in front of him tightly, his knuckles and fingers white with strain and the veins and tendons in his neck standing out. He barely looked up as the medical staff rushed around him, working on various cases, but…

…Well…

Komui felt Lenalee coming with his Super Brother Senses™ before she even stepped into the ward.

He looked up as soon as he heard the soft clicking of her heels, smiling at her weakly and nodding slightly when she bit her lip and clasped her hands in front of her.

Lenalee's eyes welled with tears and she ran towards him, throwing her arms around her brother when he stood and opened his arms to accept her.

"H-How is she…?" Lenalee asked softly, her voice thick.

Komui sighed, swallowing for what must have been the thirtieth time in the last half hour before answering hoarsely, "I… I don't know. The moment Renault brought her in, the medical staff took her into the ICU, and Renault walked off before I could talk to him. I haven't heard a thing from anyone…"

Lenalee nodded, then pulled away from her brother and sat beside him as he took his seat again, both Lee siblings clasping their hands in their laps and, without realizing it, staring at the floor with similar looks of anxiety.

When they heard heavy, solid footsteps approaching them a bit later, footsteps unlike the harried, light ones of the medical personnel as they rushed around, the Lee siblings glanced up, Lenalee smiling weakly when Marie walked over to her with a somber expression.

"Lenalee…" The tall, blind man murmured, "Is she… really…"

Lenalee nodded and murmured a small affirmation, and when Marie sat beside her and took her hand, squeezing it comfortingly, Lenalee lowered her head and squeezed back.

Komui, who had been glancing at them, was just feeling his "sister complex" rear its overzealous head when the door to the room Gracia had been taken into opened. He quickly looked over and watched with bated breath as a nurse ran out, hoping it was an update, but when she just disappeared into a nearby room only to reappear a few seconds later and rush right back into the emergency room, a bottle of some medicine in her hand, Komui sighed and slumped, staring at his shoes.

As time passed, more people began to trickle into the waiting room; first Lorelei, who rushed to sit by Komui and took his hand, startling him slightly before he patted the back of her hand with his free one, then Tiedoll, who was a bit hysterical until Marie stood and embraced him tightly, then Klaud and Socalo and several non-Exorcists, including Reever and Johnny, and then—

Komui sat up straight and looked over with a frown as Katherine walked into the room briskly in a short, tight green dress and jacket, heeled boots clicking smartly as she made her intense way towards Komui as soon as her eyes locked on him.

Before either of them could speak, the doors burst open again and Lvellie and his new assistant stormed in, the Inspector faltering and looking around with a frown when he saw how many Exorcists were in the waiting room.

"Why aren't all of you out getting new mission assignments? !"

No one had time to answer as all attention snapped over to the emergency room doors as one of the double swinging doors slammed open violently enough for the handle to put a hole in the wall, a doctor stumbling out backwards and clutching one of his hands tightly to his chest. Komui's eyes widened and he jumped to his feet when he saw red spatter on the ground.

"Sh-She _BIT_ me! !"

The brief moment of stunned silence was broken when a terrible, piercing shriek tore out from inside of the room, the sound of crashes and nurses screaming following as more medical personnel quickly followed the doctor's example and fled the room.

They all screamed again and ducked back when what seemed to be a chair started to follow them, whatever had been thrown crashing into the doors as they swung shut and saved the medical staff from being dealt a serious blow.

More screams, the shut doors muffling them only slightly, came from inside of the room, along with the sound of breaking glass and the crashing thuds of more furniture and medical equipment apparently being thrown around.

"What in the bloody hell is going on in there? !" Komui found himself barking, almost shrieking, at the medical personnel, pointing to the door shakily, "Get in there and help her!"

"Damn it, Komui!" The doctor barked, turning on him with an almost feral, almost terrified and nearly completely shocked expression, "She's the one who's—!"

This time, the doctor and nurses really did have to hit the ground, everyone else shrinking back and pressing themselves against the walls as the doors slammed open again and a wall-mount, glass cabinet full of bottles of various medicines sailed into the room, fell to the ground and shattered sonorously, liquids spilling across the floor and making people cover their noses and mouths as solutions that weren't supposed to mix did. Komui's eyes widened when he saw clumps of drywall and stone still clinging to the back of the cabinet, the whole thing apparently having been torn right off of the wall.

The waiting room was filled with silence as the doors swung shut again but the screams and sounds of destruction continued to issue from inside. A loud snort made a few glance, and Komui became a bit worried when he saw Socalo starting to storm towards the room, only to stop and glance when the waiting room doors swung open again. Komui relaxed when he saw Renault.

Quick and silent as ever, Renault, now cleanly shaven and groomed and in a fresh suit, made his large, heavy way across the room quietly, glass crunching under his thick shoes as he walked straight across the hazardous mess of chemicals on the floor. Not slowing, he marched straight through the group of medical personnel as they parted for him and into the room, not even flinching when an empty bedpan was seen hitting the side of his head before the doors swung shut.

Komui flinched for him.

After a few tense moments, the screaming and crashing stopped, and an unsettling silence fell throughout the ward.

"…Well," The doctor grumbled after a moment, clutching at his still bleeding hand, "I guess the good news is she's alive…"

* * *

_(Taking F F's problems from earlier today into consideration, remember; if you can't review now, please do try again later~)_


	128. Focus Shift: Perspective Change Pt 2

Just a short note today, because I have been doing _way_ too many ANs, but: The 700th reviewer was **WolfMutt**~!

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ 700~! *glomps* I love you all~! Thank you so much~!

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Lvellie allowed only Komui, Lorelei and Katherine to linger after Renault carried Gracia, wrapped up in a white blanket, out of the emergency room and into a nearby washroom, the bodyguard/physician pointedly not answering any questions as he shut the door behind himself and locked it.

As the doctor Gracia had bitten had his wound tended to while the medical ward Section Head wrote out an accident report said doctor dictated, Lvellie questioned the Matron, who rubbed her temples as she answered.

"She's been completely unresponsive to attempts at communication." The older woman sighed, her lips pursed and her eyes closed, "When she regained consciousness, we tried to talk to her, but she didn't even acknowledge us… She hardly responded to her own name… Then, quick as lightning, she became hysterical and started screaming, not even trying to form any discernable words. Not long after came the struggling, and then she was throwing things… Somewhere in the mess, she bit the doctor's hand…" At that, she paused, looking up and frowning deeply, "And it wasn't the normal way you would imagine a human biting another human. Most bites inflicted by humans are intended to cause mild to moderate damage, at most. Generally, humans don't like breaking the skin because they don't want the blood and torn tissue in their mouths. She was… she was trying to take a chunk out of him."

As he listened, Komui's frown only deepened, and he absently set a hand on Lorelei's shoulder when she slowly tensed beside him. Off to the side, Katherine was silent.

"…And what would you make of this?" Lvellie asked calmly after a moment.

"There are several possibilities…" The Matron sighed, lowering her arms to clasp her hands in front of her stomach as she stared over his shoulder pensively, "Delirium, mental regression, brain damage, combat stress reaction or posttraumatic stress disorder, the influence of some very powerful hallucinogens… We won't be able to tell until we get some blood from her and perform a few tests or, at least, talk to Renault."

"Personally, I'm leaning more towards something stress or shock-related." The bitten doctor glanced over from giving his oration.

Lvellie glanced at him, frowning, "And what led you to that conclusion, doctor?"

The doctor shrugged slightly, "She's not wearing Sleep. In the past, she's been known to _always_ react badly or be on edge when she doesn't have Sleep close at hand."

The rest of the doctor's words had been unnecessary; Lvellie, Komui and Lorelei had all tensed when the words "not wearing Sleep" had processed.

Off to the side, Katherine was silent.

"You're completely sure of this?" Lvellie asked next, his voice a bit harsher than before.

The doctor nodded and raised his bandaged right hand, wrapping his left hand around his right wrist indicatively, "Hard to miss tan lines that severe on someone whose skin is burned."

Komui didn't realize he'd been gnawing on his lip until he tasted iron, and when the sound of a door opening echoed through the acoustical room all attention snapped over, the group watching silently as an ever calm and stoic Renault carried a still carefully wrapped Gracia across the hallway of the washroom they had just spent the last hour and a half in and into one of the private recovery rooms on that side of the hall. After a moment, Komui silently pulled himself away from the group and walked towards the room quickly, determined to get to it before the door shut.

And he did get there before the door had shut.

He did not, however, get there before Renault had stepped out and planted himself firmly in the doorway, hazel eyes locking on Komui's calmly as the door clicked shut behind his massive form.

"…Renault, I have to—"

"Neither of you are mentally prepared to see one another right now."

Komui inhaled sharply, his hands clenching at his sides.

Other than his eyes narrowing slightly in warning, nothing about Renault changed as he went on, "You are still hopeful. No matter how much you will deny what I am about to say, part of you is convinced that seeing you and listening to you talk will bring her back out. It won't. She has been damaged, and thoroughly. You need to be in a much less naïve mindset before you go in there."

"And what about her?" Komui hissed through clenched teeth, automatically and incredibly incensed and defensive at the accusation but holding his tongue because he knew the man was (in an ego-bruising way) right.

"…It took me several days to get to the point where she did not act as if every move I made was one intended to assault her." Renault rumbled in his low, slightly growling voice, his expression completely void again, "And she still does not trust me. I do not know what her exact mindset is, but she does not respond well to human interaction. If you go in as you are now, no matter how careful you are, you will still be approaching her far too quickly."

As Komui continued to stare up at Renault and meet his eyes, his anger faded… as he started to realize the gravity of what the man was implying.

"…Renault…" Komui mumbled, "Just what… happened to her out there…?"

"…When I found her, she was in the middle of being sexually assaulted. And, judging by the way she reacted, I do not think it was the first time, nor do I think it was the only kind of assault she had faced while on her own."

Komui had to take a step back as his stomach rolled unexpectedly, his lunch almost riding back up on him.

It didn't make any sense.

None at all.

During those four years she'd been alone, wandering around in a daze… nothing like this had happened to her. Gracia had never _hinted to_ or _acted like_ anything like this had happened to her.

Why?

Because of Sleep.

Sleep had always protected her.

Sleep _should have_ protected her again.

What had those Noah bastards done to her?

Why hadn't Sleep stopped it?

…The doctor had said… that she hadn't been wearing Sleep when she'd been brought in.

Komui looked up at Renault, went to open his mouth, but the larger man had, apparently, read his mind before he could even form the question.

"I do not have Sleep, Supervisor." Renault said in his deep voice, his tone somehow carrying a dark, bottomless connotation to it, "And she was not wearing it when I found her. Sleep is gone."

* * *

"What?" Lvellie hissed from his seat on the sofa in front of Komui's desk, shoulders drawing tense and the already tight skin around his eyes tightening further as he narrowed them.

Komui, his hands clasped in front of his face, elbows on the edge of his desk and eyes locked on the paperwork in front of him, pursed his lips, waiting a moment before repeating himself.

"Renault said Gracia didn't have Sleep on her when he found her. We have no idea where Sleep is."

"…She is a General-class Exorcist." Lvellie went on hissing, his hands fisting against his knees until his knuckles turned white, "If she survived and escaped from the Noah, she _must_ have had some sort of assistance. Surely she wasn't pickpock—"

"Gracia has a fragile mental state." Komui mumbled, "And she has people within the Noah Family who know her, who used to be 'friends' with her… If they destroyed Sleep and it caused her to snap, she was no longer a threat. They might have simply… let her go."

"What you're suggesting, Supervisor Lee, is ridiculous." Lvellie's new assistant said from his place, standing behind the sofa the Inspector was sitting on, with his hands clasped behind his back, "The Noah do not show mercy."

"And yet," Komui sighed, "Gracia is here. Without Sleep, yes, but alive. If she had managed to escape with Sleep's help, where is it now?" Komui looked up, meeting Lvellie's gaze levelly, "She's gone missing before and was protected by Sleep during that time. I don't think you believe that anyone would have been able to take Sleep from her any more than I do."

"…" Lvellie pursed his lips, his eyes narrowing slightly. "…Take her down to Hevlaska and see what she says about her status as an Accommodator."

"Of course." A sigh. Komui didn't need to be ordered to do something like _that_. It was practically second nature to him. "But it'll have to wait a bit. Renault isn't letting anyone see her."

After the Inspector had left, Komui dropped his head into his hands and took several slow, shaky breaths.

Renault was right, he tried to convince himself. It wasn't a good idea for him to go see Gracia in the state he was in, especially since she reacted so violently to human contact. He would have to approach her carefully, treat her gently, get her to trust him before he could get to work on figuring out how to fix her…

If he went as he was now, he could easily get overly emotional and do something like try to hug her and end up scaring her away. Komui was prone to hugging the two main females in his life when he got emotional…

He had to be patient, he tried to convince himself.

He had to wait…

…But it was hard.

Easily as hard as keeping a level head had been when she'd been missing for these past months.

That had been anguish.

Keeping himself from seeing her now that she was back? It was torture.

But, by staying away from her for the time being, he was thinking about her. He started telling himself that over and over.

It was for her, it was for her, it was for her…

…But when would the part that was for him be allowed to come into play?

* * *

When Renault opened the door and looked out, he closed his eyes and sighed heavily when he saw Komui standing outside again, looking up at him with an expectant, pleading expression.

Komui felt his pulse pick up and his stomach get fluttery when Renault gave a slight nod and stepped back, opening the door just enough for him to slip inside.

"Slowly." The physician/bodyguard kept his voice low as he shut the door behind Komui, "She has been very upset for reasons I cannot yet discern…"

Komui reached up and adjusted his glasses as his eyes took their time adjusting to the darkness of the room, which Komui noticed, when he could finally see a bit better, was caused by a combination of blankets over the windows and the overhead lights, to keep the lighting dim.

When he saw the bed pressed against the wall in the back corner of the room, a somewhat small form curled up on top of it, Komui had to bite his lip to maintain control.

Gracia was pressed firmly into the corner created by the barred headboard of the bed and the wall the bed was pressed up against, sitting upright and hugging her stomach with her legs propped up as she stared at the wall across from her blankly.

As usual, Renault had changed her out of whatever she had been wearing beforehand and into a plain, white cloth gown. He'd also apparently taken the liberty of cleaning her up, any evidence of blood or grime from her months on the road not evident on her skin, several injuries bandaged (particularly her chest and both arms and both feet), her hair…

Komui bit his lip harder when he saw her head had been shaved. Renault had clearly used a pair of electric clippers fitted with a special head, as she wasn't bald and what was left was cleanly shaven and uniform, but her hair…

…It reminded Komui of when Lenalee had come back from Edo with almost all of her hair gone.

"…Her hair…" Komui mumbled, making Gracia twitch slightly and start to slowly glance over, "What…"

"Burned and tangled beyond saving."

Komui swallowed, then froze when Gracia's eyes locked on him. He felt a ball of ice settle in the pit of his stomach.

There was nothing there… There was _really_ nothing there. No flash of recognition, no discernable emotions, not even a bit of curiosity… Her gaze was just blank, the gray of her irises dull, like dirty water.

When Renault slipped past Komui, though, she sat up slightly, her eyes locking on the larger man. Komui watched silently as Gracia turned her full attention to Renault as he walked over to her, his movements a bit slower than usual, and sat down on the edge of the bed.

Renault held out his hand palm up, as if he were offering something, and went still, watching Gracia and apparently waiting for something. Komui frowned in confusion, then became a little shocked when, after a moment, Gracia leaned forward slightly and sniffed his outstretched fingers before she relaxed, looking up at Renault silently again. Taking this as some kind of permission or resignation, Renault slowly reached out and, being more gentle than Komui had ever seen him be with Gracia (and the large man could be almost exceedingly gentle with her as it was), took one of her hands in his, slowly pulling it over.

Komui felt his heart twist painfully when Gracia shifted and made a distressed face even at that, and when she started whining in the back of her throat as Renault carefully undid her bandages, pulling and writhing slightly to try to get out of Renault's grasp, Komui bit his lip and crossed the room without a second thought. As soon as he sat beside her, though—

There was pain, screaming, panic and fear, and things became a blur for a moment.

And, when things came back into focus, Komui was back on the other side of the room, back pressed to the wall, hand pressed to his neck and eyes wide, chest heaving as he watched Renault in shock as the large man tried to calm the now screaming and writhing Gracia down.

Komui didn't realize he was shaking until the fingers of the hand he had pressed to his neck parted and he felt something hot and wet trickle out.

And Gracia… her mouth was stained with red…

Once Renault had finally gotten Gracia calmed down enough to where she was sitting in the corner of her bed again, her arms hugging her stomach and her now wide eyes staring off into space, the bodyguard/physician quickly hurried to Komui's side, guiding him into sitting in a nearby chair and peeling Komui's hand away from his neck.

It took a while for the shock to fade enough for Komui to feel the pain properly, and when he could feel again, he flinched and hissed loudly as Renault swabbed at his neck with alcohol-soaked gauze.

Both men were otherwise silent as Komui's injury was tended to, Komui shaking slightly and not bothering to ask what had happened and Renault not saying anything at all, not even to use the "I told you so" tone that was probably riding on the back of his tongue.

"She becomes particularly difficult to handle when I try to work with her left hand."

At that, it hit Komui like an epiphany.

Naturally, part of him was skeptical: Was it _really_ that simple?

Then, he was embarrassed and blushing slightly: Did it really mean that much to her, even in this state…?

Then, he started to become elated and hopeful: Would having it back make her…?

Without saying/explaining anything and probably leaving Renault quite confused, Komui jumped to his feet and ran out of the room, skittering around the medical ward quickly and finding the Matron.

She blinked at his request, then pointed him in the right direction, shaking her head as he dashed off and going back to work.

Komui hurried into the main section of the medical lab, where the medical personnel went to coordinate themselves, and searched the cubbies that lined one of the walls, perking when he found the one that was currently labeled with Gracia's name.

And, inside the cubby, he found it… The engagement ring he'd given her.

Briefly… Komui paused, suddenly feeling a bit nervous and anxious…

What if this didn't…

He wanted his Gracia back, but he didn't know how… And this was his only lead… So if it didn't, then…

Komui shuddered and shook his head. If this didn't at least start making things better, he'd just have to think of something else.

Quickly, Komui dashed back to Gracia's medical ward room, slipping into the still darkened room. Staying as quiet and slow as he could, he made his way towards Gracia slowly, ignoring the questioning frown Renault turned on him.

As she had before, Gracia looked over at him slowly with blank, vacant eyes, and when Komui held out his hand she started to bare her teeth.

When Komui opened his hand, though, and she saw the ring laying in his palm, Gracia froze, her eyes widening.

Then, Komui was grunting as a weight slammed into him, squeaking and then grunting again right after as he fell off of the edge of the bed and was slammed into the ground, the weight still pressed against his body. He blinked blearily and absently fixed his skewed glasses, looking up and watching Gracia, who was sitting on his stomach, as she shakily put the ring back on her left ring finger, hugging her hand to her chest and rocking back and forth once it was back in place.

After giving her a moment, Komui slowly reached up and tried to touch her. He had to quickly pull his hand away, though, laughing sheepishly when she flashed her teeth at him and glared down at him with one bloodshot, crazed eye.

Renault came over and tried to ease her off of Komui, but she tensed and started to shake and make intermittent growling and whining noises, so he backed off, waited a moment, then tried again. And again, he got the same reaction.

When it became clear after several more attempts that Gracia would only be moving when she was ready, Renault sat back on the bed and watched her and Komui carefully, quietly.

Komui sighed and did his best to relax, watching Gracia with a gradually softening expression as she continued hugging her left hand and rocking, the crazed look leaving her face as she closed her eyes and started shaking slightly once more.

And, with her there, finally touching him (even though she was sitting on him), with her close enough for him to watch the way she moved and acted, it finally… really started to sink in.

She was broken.

Something bad had happened, and she was broken.

She was really… really broken…

…And Sleep wasn't around to make things better anymore.

Komui swallowed, bit his lip and closed his eyes as the tip of his nose started to burn, his lower eyelids feeling a bit fat as moisture welled.

After a moment, a thought crossed his mind that made him feel even worse, only this time it was with guilt.

Now that she was no longer an Exorcist and would become a civilian, he would never have to put her in harm's way again.


	129. Focus Shift: Perspective Change Pt 3

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Tragedy had never gotten Komui out of doing work before, no matter how personal it was.

Though he hadn't expected any less this time around, part of him (the irrational part of him that worried about Lenalee and Gracia and so many others with every fiber of its repressed being) was incensed by the fact that Brigitte was only allowing him twenty minutes a day to go visit Gracia.

In the end, though, when his schedule was completely worked out and he had everything he needed to do in front of him… that was about all of the free time he had, anyway. And it was his lunch break.

Still, he wasn't complaining… Well, any more or less than usual; he still whined and struggled when Brigitte grabbed his ear to drag him back to his office when his visiting time with Gracia was up.

Unfortunately, though, the whining and struggling had Gracia, who took nearly the full twenty minutes to warm up to him every day, shrinking back from him and watching him with a distrusting frown, making it so that by the time he was allowed to go back, he had to start all over with gaining her trust.

And, as much as one would think that would have been the sign that he should mind himself, it only made him more inclined to whine and less inclined to leave her. How was he supposed to make things better with her in such circumstances when he only had twenty minutes a day?

Unfortunately, the results of the attack on the North American Branch those two, getting close to nearing three, months ago had them down five Exorcists… Allen, Kanda, Lavi, Bookman and Gracia. One General, two of their strongest Exorcists (Allen and Kanda), and two of their second tier Exorcists.

If they hadn't been hard pressed insofar as combat units before it all had started, they certainly were now.

Komui didn't have the time needed available to spend with Gracia… He hardly saw his own room anymore; much as Brigitte disproved of the lacking professionalism that came with it, he'd taken to sleeping at his desk again with a cup of Jamaican Blue Mountain in hand.

…Even Lorelei… was still doing her duty. Since Gracia had been brought back, Lorelei had probably only seen her all of one or two times; the rest of the time she was out on missions.

And, when Komui saw her, she didn't seem to mind; she knew what state her sister was in, but she was content with the fact that she was safe and was now working harder than ever, actually volunteering, on occasion, to cut her downtime short to go out with Generals and let those who had originally been assigned to them get some rest, rather than doing back-to-back missions. Everyone had been getting at least two back-to-back missions every two days, but if they were unlucky enough to get more… Lorelei stepped up to try to alleviate that pressure.

Lenalee had a tendency to do the same, but she was checking in on Gracia's condition with Komui a lot more often than Lorelei was to make up for the fact that Renault didn't let Lenalee visit Gracia nearly as often as he would Komui or Lorelei.

And Gracia… In the first week, her condition didn't improve.

Halfway through the second week, Renault started taking her for walks around the building.

Two days later after that, Komui, Lvellie and Mathilda were in Komui's office for a meeting, where Lvellie was pushing for—

"You can't be serious…" Komui croaked, his throat quickly going dry.

Mathilda said nothing, her lips pressed into a thin line and her eyes locked on the wall directly across from her with a serious glare.

"She is still an Accommodator." Lvellie clasped his hands, "When she had Sleep, she was a Genera-level Exorcist. According to Hevlaska, Sleep is no longer synchronized with her; there are no traces of its chemical left in her body, and she does not bear even the slightest hint of a strained but present bond. She is not an Exorcist anymore. She's just an Accommodator. She is a blank slate. She might be able to synchronize with something we already have."

"She just. Got. Back." Komui was trying to keep himself composed. He really was. But this man was… grating… on him… again…

"And the workload isn't getting lighter." Lvellie narrowed his eyes at Komui slightly. "She's here. Physically, she's recovered. According to the reports, she's actually doing better than she was when she first came to the Order; she's eating well, she's gaining weight quicker than before, she's actually physically _stronger_ and _faster_ than she used to be, and her stamina has improved now that Sleep is no longer keeping her slow."

Komui just _loved_ how he was completely dodging the most obvious handicap at hand. "She might be fine _physically_, but _mentally_ she is unfit for extended human contact outside of a select few. Can you imagine what would happen if we put a _weapon_ in her hand and she had a panic attack? She's been _biting_ people."

"She had been traumatized and was in shock." Lvellie's eyes narrowed further, "It is my understanding that she has been getting less and less violent, and is currently far less prone to violence than she had been on the first day she came back."

"I don't see how that is any better; don't you _remember_ what she did that first day?"

"If she synchronizes, we'll keep her assigned to people she knows and acts comfortable around. If necessary, we can equip Renault with weaponry and send him with her."

"There is absolutely no guarantee that she will be able to synchronize with more than one Innocence."

"We don't need her to synchronize with more than one; currently, she isn't synchronized at all, and she only needs one Innocence to respond positively to her to make her a viable unit."

"Cases of Exorcists who lost their original Innocence and attempted to synchronize with a new one have been inconclusive."

"Ever since the amendment that potential Accommodators can no longer be forcibly implanted with Innocence was passed."

Komui's fingernails dug into his palms harshly, the one on the forefinger on the right and the middle and ring fingers of the left bending the wrong way. He needed to trim his nails…

"The chances are high that the orders to take her to Hevlaska will come from the Vatican soon." Lvellie glanced at Mathilda, who hadn't said a word since arriving in the Order.

"…Take her to the woman now."

Komui's eyes widened and he felt his stomach drop, lips parting slightly as the need to protest rose but no words came with it.

Mathilda sighed, closing her eyes briefly, then turned and met Komui's gaze evenly, staring right at him even though she was speaking to both men, "Gracia made the decision to devote herself to the Black Order some time ago, and she had been serving you for some time before that. She knew the risks, and as a General she knew what was expected of a person in her position; service until the death. And I will _not_ have a Solidor be ordered around by the Vatican. We are a family of duty, and our duty always has been and always will be to support of the Order. This is how Gracia chose to support your cause; if she were coherent, she would want to at least try."

"…But she's _not_ coherent." Komui tried to insist, his voice weak. Why didn't they _get_ it? "She can't even talk… She's practically operation on base instincts… Gracia is completely incapable of complex problem solving and decision making."

"But she is alive." Mathilda's stare flattened, turning slightly vacant, "And she has fear. That is all she really needs."

"…" Komui sighed and dropped his head into his hands as the room went silent.

He'd lost.

No matter what he said anymore… they would still try it.

…All he could do was pray that no other Innocence responded to her.

* * *

"Lady Mathilda…"

Mathilda glanced back from the Ark Gate she was about to walk through to find Komui staring at her in shock.

"…You're not going to stay to see how it works out?" Komui asked, stepping forward as the woman waved her bodyguards through the Gate, "I know you haven't had time to see her since she was brought back… If you're busy, I could arrange just a brief mee—"

"That won't be necessary." Mathilda turned to face the Gate. "I've done what I was called here to do, and now I need to go home."

Komui frowned after her and stepped forward quickly as she started to walk to the Gate, "Lady Mathilda, please, it'll only take a—"

"I do not want to see her."

They both froze, Komui staring at her back in shock and Mathilda clenching her hands at her sides tightly, her shoulders shaking slightly.

Komui wracked his brain… trying to figure out why a controlling, domineering woman like her wouldn't want to— The answer came to him whe the barest traces of a light shudder could be seen running down Mathilda's body, and Komui relaxed, feeling oddly hollow as Mathilda, without saying anything, continued walking towards the Ark Gate, heading up the ramp that had been set up in front of it.

"…What a surprise."

Mathilda paused, one leg halfway through the glowing plate of light.

"I'd never imagined you as a woman who could be afraid of anything." Komui stared at Mathilda's back calmly, not sure if what he was feeling was pity or disgust. …Well… no… Disgust was too strong a word…

"…There's a possibility," Komui started slowly after Mathilda didn't move for several moments, "That the Innocence might reject her. If that happens, depending on how violent the rejection is… she might become a Fallen One." He hadn't wanted to use this card, because it made him lay out Gracia's hypothetical death scenario aloud. And there was a very… very good chance it would happen. "This might be your last chance to see her."

…Really, Mathilda being who she was, she should have already been aware of that. She knew how synchronization worked…

Mathilda's shoulders tensed, and without looking back or saying a word, she walked through the Gate and out of sight.

…Disgust was no longer too strong a word.

* * *

Komui sat silently in the chair of the room in the medical ward Gracia was still occupying, watching as Renault worked to dress Gracia gently.

As she had taken to doing since she had been brought back in this… condition, she whined and struggled, but not nearly as fervently as she had in the beginning. She'd come to accept some of the things Renault did to her, like dressing and bathing, easily enough, though she did make sure to make it clear that she didn't particularly like it.

That day, Renault was dressing her in something from her old wardrobe; a pair of somewhat loose, worn pants and a thick, baggy turtleneck of a dark, murky green/gray color. It had probably once been much greener, but time had taken to it, like it had all of Gracia's old clothes…

When Gracia stared down at the clothes oddly as Renault turned to grab a hairbrush, Komui perked slightly, hoping that she would respond to the familiar garments.

Even though it was common knowledge (or at least a common assumption), the Science Division members who had suggested that surrounding her with her old things might bring something back had been childishly hopeful, Johnny looking particularly proud of himself and excited and Reever chuckling as he teasingly patted the boy on the head…

Renault had nodded silently and consented easily, and Johnny had beamed and offered to help Renault move some of her things from her bedroom into the room in the medical ward…

She hadn't responded to any of the things that had been moved into her room yet, but the way she was currently looking at her clothes… maybe—

Komui's hopes of her recognizing the clothing were dashed, though, when she started squirming, scowling, and grabbed at the neck of the sweater with her bandaged hands, bringing it up to her mouth to bite, chew and tug on it, as if trying to tear the cloth… Apparently, she didn't like the high neck.

When Renault turned back to her, a soft bristled brush in hand, and saw what she was doing, he sighed and shook his head, stepping over to pull the material out of her mouth and slap her hands lightly.

Gracia whined and bore her teeth at him in response, slapping his hands in return.

Renault sighed but otherwise ignored her as he started dragging the brush through her short hair gently. It wasn't tangled; it wasn't nearly long enough to get tangled. There were just some dirty, crusty spots from her messy eating or her refusal to stay still as Renault used hair treatments or injury slaves on the spots that needed it.

After her hair was clean and sitting a bit straighter, Renault set the brush aside and began looking around, frowning when he didn't find what he apparently needed. The physician/bodyguard sighed, then glanced at Komui, "I need to head back to her room to get a few cosmetics. Do not let them come and take her before I return."

"…Of course." Komui's brow rose smoothly, "But make-up? Are you serious?" Even now Renault was acting on the duty to keep his unconscious/unaware ward physically appealing?

Renault just cast Komui a flat glance before he walked out.

Komui sighed after Renault, shaking his head, then glanced at Gracia. He couldn't suppress a slight shudder when he saw her staring intently at him with her wide, blank gray eyes, but he quickly brushed off the (creeped out) feeling and offered her a wide smile.

Gracia, in response, just blinked at him slowly, her stare still vacant.

Komui drooped and heaved another sigh, then perked, realizing something. This was the first time since she'd been brought back that he and Gracia had been left alone. Previously, Renault had always been a silent but imposing presence, watching from somewhere within in the room as Komui had tried to interact with her…

After glancing around stealthily, passively expecting Renault to melt out of the shadows like he had a tendency to do, Komui stood and walked across the room with slow, sneaky steps, tempted to hum a "sneaking song," one he could imagine being the theme song of an undercover agent, to himself…

When he successfully made it across the room without Renault lunging out of the shadows to glare down at him disapprovingly, Komui grinned and cackled, clapping to himself as he sat on the edge of Gracia's bed and turned his attention back to her. He felt a bit sheepish and ashamed when he saw she was looking at him with a skeptical glare that reminded him so much of the ones she always gave him when he did something stupid… Only now she had her hands curved into claws (even though her nails had been trimmed and buffed blunt) and her mouth opened slightly, lips pulled back to show her teeth in warning.

"Sorry, sorry." Komui chuckled, smiling sheepishly and rubbing the back of his head, "I didn't meant to set you on edge, Gracia."

Her expression had remained unchanged as he had spoken to her, but when he used her name, the corner of her mouth twitched.

Komui blinked at that. Did she recognize her own… "…Gracia?"

Her eyebrow twitched this time, her frown deepening.

Komui felt his heart skip, something inside of his chest swelling slightly. Did she recognize her own name? Or was she just starting to recognize and respond to what people had been calling her over and over? Either way…

"Gracia." Komui reached out and pressed his hand to her chest. He whimpered and resisted the urge to pull his hand away when she lowered her head and made to bite him, instead repeating, "Gracia."

She stopped shy of biting him, pausing, then slowly closed her mouth and looked back up at him, blinking apathetically.

But at least she wasn't biting him.

"Gray-see-ah." Komui said it slowly, sounding the syllables for her. When she just blinked at him again, Komui paused, then pressed his hand to his chest, "Koh-moo-ee."

Gracia blinked again, a bit faster than before.

Komui perked. She'd reacted to his name! "Komui." A grin nearly split his face when the skeptical scowl left her face and she blinked at him with a now mostly blank expression, almost looking curious.

"You kinda remember my name!" Komui squeaked happily, letting his emotions get the best of him and lunging and wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug.

…In retrospect, not a good idea.

When Renault came into the room ten minutes later, he had to stop and narrow his eyes, his brow twitching slightly.

Komui was lying on the floor, bloodied and twitching, and Gracia was standing over him, her mouth and nails dyed with red again and her lips pursed as she glared down at Komui with a stubborn expression.

"…Wonderful. Now I have to clean your face again."

* * *

"…Brother, did you get yourself bitten on the neck again?" Lenalee asked, her tone a bit flat.

Komui just laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head, the action of laughing causing some pain beneath the bandages on his neck, which were almost hidden by his collar.

Well… apparently, not hidden well enough.

Lenalee rolled her eyes slightly, letting out a light sigh, then glanced past Komui and bit her lip anxiously, starting to wring her hands without realizing it.

Komui glanced back, but already knew what she was looking at; Lenalee hadn't really seen Gracia since she'd come back, after all…

Gracia, at Renault's side, was picking at the high collar of her sweater again, looking around shiftily and tense, bristling defensively.

In an adjoining hallway, Lorelei was watching silently from the shadows, her face blank but her arms crossed over her stomach tightly.

Lvellie stepped forward from the hallway that led to Hevlaska's chamber, nodding to Renault before glancing at Komui calmly, "You won't be needed beyond this point Komui. We'll bring her up to your office when we're done. You're free to go back to work."

Komui didn't say anything in return.

Outside of their immediate friends, no one knew (or had any solid evidence) of the extent of Komui and Gracia's relationship; while Link had probably included his suspicions in his reports to Lvellie about Allen's movements, the fact that Central had never said anything only meant they didn't have sufficient incriminating evidence, something Renault had likely seen to.

Komui hadn't even told Mathilda yet… Well, about his and Gracia's engagement, that is.

And Gracia's engagement ring was currently hidden under bandages…

Still, even though Komui didn't say anything about the Inspector brushing him off, he also didn't leave as the two men walked down the hall to Hevlaska's chamber, Gracia pressed close to Renault's side and glaring at Lvellie out of the corner of her eye.

"…Komui."

He glanced at Lorelei, who was staring after her sister quietly.

"…What are the odds… that this'll actually work?"

"…I don't know." Komui mumbled, looking back down the hall again, "It's more common for Exorcists to die and their Innocence to come back than the other way around… We don't have sufficient data of Accommodators synchronizing after they've lost their compatible Innocence."

"…Brother…" Lenalee murmured, "I… I don't want it… to work."

Komui reached out and wrapped an arm around Lenalee's shoulder, pulling her close to his side when she clutched at his coat.

As they waited, the two Swiss guardsman posted on either side of the hallway to Hevlaska's chamber (who had been silent) breaking their vigil on occasion to glance over at them worriedly, the atmosphere got tense and Lorelei started pacing, a scowl on her face, while Lenalee started to dig her fingers into her brother's side, Komui not noticing as he glared down the dark hall with pursed lips, his own grip on Lenalee tightening.

It shouldn't be taking this long. …Especially… if it wasn't going to work…

…When he heard footsteps coming towards them from down the dark hallway, Komui had long since stopped praying that Gracia wouldn't come out of Hevlaska's chamber an Exorcist again.

The dread that filled him told him he had already accepted it.

And, when he saw the flash of silver in her hands and recognized it for what it was… that dread increased.

In her hands… was Judgment.


	130. Focus Shift: Perspective Change Pt 4

Ya know how I warned ya, back in chapter 124, to be prepared for some kind of update schedule change? Well, here it is:

Once a week. Every Saturday.

I don't know how long this'll last, but I'm almost completely sure it'll be a while before I can afford to come back to the "every three days" schedule again.

TT . TT *droops* Please try to be understanding… I want to be able to give you guys _regular_ updates, not drop in whenever I have the time. Plus, having a schedule to keep keeps me motivated to keep writing.

In the meantime, if any of you are interested… I think I'm going to start posting an AllenxKanda story I've been working on sometime in the near future. And, no, it's not going to be a one-shot; it's multi-chapter and it has… what I think is turning into a fairly convoluted plot. If you are interested, let me know, ya? I'd like to get a feel of the market, I guess you could say, before I get too committed.

*droops**kicked puppy look* Please don't stop loving me…

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"Her synchronization rate is only fifty-three percent?" A clearly disapproving frown curled on Klaud's lips, her brow furrowing and making the scar between her eyes strain. On her shoulder, Lau Jimin screeched.

"That's a fuckin' shitty-ass number, Lee." Socalo sneered at Komui, crossing his arms and baring his teeth as his lips parted in a sharp-toothed scowl, "Why don't ya just give her a stick and toss her out in front of a couple Level 2s? At least then she won't fuckin' blow up and hurt her own teammates."

"Of all of the Innocence within Hevlaska that were presented to her, Judgment was the only one that displayed a significant reaction and bonded to her without intervention." Lvellie narrowed his eyes at the Generals in warning, "Synchronization rate aside, she is now a functioning Exorcist."

"Oh, that's a bullshit excuse and you know it, Lvellie!" Socalo snapped at the Inspector, clearly not intimidated by the man's glare and never above questioning authority. "Judgment is a powerful weapon! You don't thrust it in the hands of someone who ain't got the body to handle it, and ya certainly don't entrust it to someone who's goin' around bitin' people!"

As the Inspector and Socalo started to argue, Komui made it a point to stay silent behind his desk, letting it happen. He might not be able to say anything to Lvellie about this, but if the Generals had something to say, which they clearly did, he would let them tear into him.

There was a sentiment among the Generals that no one but Komui, especially not anyone from Central and Lvellie least of all, had any right to make judgment calls when it came to Exorcists and their Innocence, and while it wasn't something Komui had ever endorsed it was rather flattering.

So, as long as he kept his mouth shut, he was making it obvious that this had not been something he agreed with, which would only be a signal to the Generals to point out every flaw within reason to Lvellie and make sure what they said was worded so that it incriminated him in every sense.

No matter how much the Inspector had been hanging around the European Branch lately, that didn't change the fact that it had been years beforehand since he had last exercised his right to have any say in how the Exorcists were coordinated. The generation that had been under Komui's control for those years tended to keep their loyalties embedded with Komui when they felt the situation called for open opposition.

As the arguing got louder, Komui glanced at Gracia, who was sitting on the floor with her back to one of the bookshelves, hugging Judgment to her chest and staring off into space vacantly.

Judgment…

Komui still couldn't believe it.

_Cross'_ Judgment.

That large, heavy gun was resting in his small, vulnerable fiancée's hands.

He could already see this creating problems; _Cross'_ arm had always jumped at the recoil of the gun, and Cross had been much larger and _much_ more well-muscled than Gracia.

Her arm would just… snap under the weight of the recoil, and if her arm didn't, her hands would.

The gun would have to be altered.

Fortunately, it was an equipment type, so that would be easy enough, but still…

Komui shook his head. He could not _believe_ he was already trying to mentally work around the complications of this situation… He would have thought he would be in denial for a bit longer, at least.

"And then there's the question of if she even knows how ta use a fuckin' gun!" Socalo's loud voice suddenly snapped Komui out of his thoughts, "I recently got word that her _bodyguard's_ been dressin' her! He's practically wiping her ass for her! You expect her ta have the sense ta aim and fire? ! And even then it ain't that easy; she's gotta make a lot of mental force calculations depending on what her enemy is or she could put too much power into it, or even not enough, and hurt herself! Cross tried to explain that thing's use ta me once; it's fuckin' complex!"

"What Winters is trying to say, Inspector," Tiedoll sighed, raising his hands in a placating motion to Socalo before turning to Lvellie with a sigh and frown, "Is Judgment is not a weapon for the inexperienced. Even when she was in her right mindset, when Gracia used Sleep she relied quite a bit on registering and differentiating between threats. Right now, when she gets startled, _everyone_ becomes a threat—"

"Meanin' she won't be putting people to sleep, she'll be blowin' fuckin' holes in their asses!" Socalo sneered.

"—And," Tiedoll went on as if he hadn't been interrupted, "Judgment and Sleep work on _very_ different mechanisms. Cross was _always_ mentally regulating his synchronization level with Judgment to adjust the power of his attacks in relation to Akuma level and distance between himself and his target. With Sleep… Gracia just kept pushing until she got a response, and this was especially the case when she was using Judge-Sal and Ultima. They are two _completely_ different kinds of ranged weaponry, and Gracia is going to have a very difficult time getting used to Judgment's much more hands-on nature, never mind the fact that she can't even speak or understand what anyone says to her at the moment."

"Which is why you three will be training her between missions."

Socalo threw his hands up into the air and turned on his heels, storming out of the room with a trail of heavy Spanish expletives spilling from his mouth as he left.

Following his example soon after, Klaud closed her eyes and let out a long, low sigh before she left, as well.

Lvellie glared after them, and when he turned his attention to Tiedoll the younger man just shook his head before walking over to his former apprentice and kneeling in front of her.

Still staying silent, Komui looked over and watched the General's back as Gracia looked up at him, a frown on her face and her hands clutching Judgment closer. Komui wasn't sure what the General did next, unable to see anything but his back, but… somehow the man calmed Gracia down.

When Tiedoll was able to reach out and pat Gracia's head gently, Gracia pressing her head up into his hand, Komui found himself pouting.

Scruffy old men and their ability to cozy up to girls…

"Well, my dear," Tiedoll chuckled after a moment, standing, "Since we can't convince the good Inspector to see things from our point of view, it seems as though you're my apprentice once again. Shall we get to work?"

When he offered her his hand, Gracia blinked in confusion before slowly reaching up and setting her hand in his open palm, likely, Komui figured, mistakenly assuming that he, like Renault, wanted to check on her hands.

Tiedoll gave her a scruffy smile, then took her hand and pulled her to her feet, guiding her out of the room.

"…Thank you for your help with that."

Komui looked over, closing his eyes and sighing slightly as he adjusted his glasses when he saw the sharp glare Lvellie was directing at him.

"I don't know what you mean, Inspector." Komui actually turned his attention back to the paperwork in front of him.

"Of course you don't." Komui had to suppress a shudder at the icy hiss in the man's voice, "With the way you sat there and let your subordinates disrespect and ridicule me, I can only _hope_ that you had a momentary lapse of mental acuity or hearing."

Komui shrugged slightly as he pulled a folder over and opened it, "I just thought that the Generals might have some insight on this situation that I hadn't thought of, so I was curious about what they had to say."

"Well, I certainly hope you've been enlightened." Lvellie ground out with a dull expression before he turned and stormed out.

"…The point was to enlighten _you_." Komui mumbled with a quirked brow directed after him, shaking his head and going back to work.

…At least, he tried to.

Then, it hit him that Tiedoll had led Gracia off to start training her with Judgment and that that gun was _still_ quite large and heavy, and that even if she was synchronized with it the fact that her synchronization rate was so low would assure that she would have some problems using it…

A large, easily eight pound-plus handgun in his tiny, delicate Gracia's hands…

…

…Komui looked around shiftily, then, Brigitte not being in his office for once, he got up and fled the room quickly, hurrying to the training facilities.

…Well, he had to observe to be able to tell what kinds of adjustments Judgment would need, after all!

* * *

"Supervisor, what are you doing here?" Reever asked flatly when he noticed Komui 'hiding' in the shadow of a nearby pillar, making Johnny blink and look over.

"Shhhhh!" Komui shushed him loudly before he peeked out from behind the pillar and looked into the sand pit.

Johnny snickered, then cringed and smiled sheepishly when Reever rapped his knuckles against his head. The two scientists then looked back out at the scene in front of them.

In the sand pit, Tiedoll and Gracia were standing side-by-side, and at the other end of the arena stood several large targets, some just vaguely humanoid/animal in shape and some with actual target lines on them.

Tiedoll seemed to be trying to talk to Gracia, but she just blinked up at him with large, innocently confused eyes, no signs of comprehension on her face whatsoever. It made Komui chuckle and smile softly. As always, his precious Gracia was just adorable…

After several futile minutes of talking, Tiedoll chuckled and shook his head, then moved to stand beside Gracia. When he grabbed her hand and adjusted her grip on Judgment, she blinked but let it happen, tipping her head slightly at the older man as he moved her arm into aiming in the general direction of the targets, the General lining his face up with her arm and looking down the gun's sights to make small adjustments until he was sure.

Once Tiedoll was sure she was lined up correctly, he smiled at Gracia and grabbed her chin, turning her head.

Gracia frowned but still let him work, and when he pointed and she looked, she blinked, finally noticing what he'd been doing. She then glanced down at Tiedoll's hand as he reached out and grabbed the hand that was holding the gun, trying to make her squeeze the trigger.

Judgment's trigger, though, didn't work for anyone who wasn't its Accommodator, and it could tell that Gracia's finger was being squeezed for her. Thus, the trigger didn't budge, and the gun didn't fire.

Gracia blinked and Tiedoll frowned slightly. The General then glanced at her and smiled when she glanced at him, then pointed to her gun hand again and held out his own hand as if he were holding a gun, curling his forefinger as if he were squeezing a trigger.

Gracia blinked yet again, then—

The loud, resounding bang that followed in the next second was overlapped by a scream, Gracia dropping Judgment and crouching with her hands flying up to cover her head. When Tiedoll quickly knelt beside her and reached for her, she lashed out with her hands and pushed him away violently, screeching and crawling backwards, away from him and the gun.

Komui was about to lunge and jump down into the sand pit when Reever and Johnny grabbed his arms, the three watching as Tiedoll, undeterred, quickly straightened out and shuffled back over to Gracia's side, murmuring to her soothingly as he wrapped an arm around her and comforted her.

Shaking violently, Gracia's head lifted and she watched, spooked, as Tiedoll reached out and picked Judgment up, slowly holding it out in front of her to show her nothing had changed. He then pointed towards the targets at the end of the room and said something, and even though Gracia couldn't understand him she followed his hand and looked, relaxing a bit more at what she saw.

Komui looked, as well, and stopped struggling against Reever and Johnny when he saw one of the humanoid dummies had a dark hole in its arm from the bullet, blue paint dribbling down and dripping from the fingers.

Though she tried to remain dead weight and stay sitting, Gracia grudgingly let Tiedoll pull her back to her feet, struggling again but letting him put Judgment back into her hands after a bit of coaxing.

It took the General fifteen minutes to get her to hold the gun properly again, and another three to get her to aim, but only twenty seconds to get her to pull the trigger.

Gracia had scowled, her brow furrowing and her arm shaking, but when Tiedoll had reached out to set a stabling hand under the butt of the gun, she'd cringed and pulled the trigger, the gun jerked upwards with another resounding bang, Gracia's elbow bending and Tiedoll's hand recoiling. At the other end of the room, a different dummy, this one in the shape of a deer, got a hole in it, on the rear flank.

And Gracia, who hadn't fallen or ducked, was able to open her eyes in time to look over and see the same kind of blue paint leak out of the hole and trail down the fake leg to soak into the sand.

She blinked, a stunned look crossing her face. Apparently, what exactly it was the handgun did hadn't registered the first time around…

Tiedoll smiled and nodded when Gracia looked up at him, and, a look of wonder settling on her face, she quickly turned her attention back to the targets, leveled the gun and fired the third bullet.

Since she hadn't taken the time to take aim, though, she missed completely, all of the targets remaining unscathed.

Komui couldn't help chuckling slightly when she frowned, miffed, and looked back up at Tiedoll with a pout.

Tiedoll chuckled and, making her raise the gun again, he gently took his chin in her hand and lined their faces up, keeping the hand on her chin in place and bringing up his other hand to tap one finger next to her eye before slowly trailing it down the barrel and sights, trying to explain the idea of aiming without using words.

It took several moments… And, when Gracia finally understood what he was trying to convey, she pulled the trigger and fired the gun without any sort of forewarning, making Tiedoll cringe slightly and step to the side.

When the observers looked over, though, the humanoid dummy had another bullet hole on it, this one in the opposite arm and a little lower than the first, that was dribbling more blue.

Tiedoll beamed and patted Gracia on the head, finally speaking loudly enough that Komui could understand what he was saying.

"Very good, Gracia! You did a wonderful job, Gracia! Gracia, shall we try it again?"

…It sounded odd, Tiedoll saying her name so many times, but… Komui knew this was the General's way of trying to get her to recognize her name, to remember something… It made him smile slightly, but it… also made him feel sad…

Every person she interacted with… without realizing it, made it so painfully obvious that there… was something wrong with her…

Komui was jerked out of his thoughts when Judgment was fired two more times in rapid succession, and he felt a mixture of amusement, sheepishness and worry when he saw the smile twisting on Gracia's lips.

The first time she'd smiled since coming back… and it was because she apparently liked shooting guns.

Oh, this wasn't promising…

When she kept pulling the trigger after the next two shots but only got a series of clicking sounds, she was pouting again and quickly turning to look up at Tiedoll with confusion.

And that made Komui feel relief. She was now getting quicker to seek help from others…

"Judgment is a six-shooter, Gracia." Tiedoll explained with a chuckle, tipping her hand to aim the gun at the ceiling and reaching up to show her where the cylinder release was to open the clip, which swung out when Tiedoll twitched her wrist and rained out six empty shells, "After that, you have to empty and 'reload.'"

Judgment automatically refilled when Tiedoll flicked Gracia's wrist again to make the clip close, and when Tiedoll had Gracia aim again she started firing as soon as she was ready.

Komui looked back at the targets, watching.

…Both her accuracy and her precision were terrible; she could hit the targets, but her bullets landed all over the place and didn't cluster in any pattern whatsoever. She didn't even bother aiming at any one target in particular… As long as she hit something, she was pleased.

Though, Komui thought, instilling the idea of hitting one area in particular on each target would be a bit more difficult than explaining the concepts of aiming and loading… For now, they could just be satisfied with the fact that she was actually firing the gun and trying to use outside help to understand what they wanted her to do.

After the humanoid and deer-shaped targets had been filled with holes, all of their blue 'blood' soaked into the sand beneath them and a sea of shells at Gracia's feet, Komui shook his head and stepped forward, calling out, "Alright, General, that's enou—"

He should have known better.

After seeing how jumpy Gracia had been all week, how jumpy she had gotten while having that gun in her hand, he should have known better than to call out when she was concentrating.

Komui froze up, his blood running cold when, in a flash, Gracia had turned on him and aimed the gun at him with narrowed, distrusting eyes, that feral apprehension he'd seen in her eyes on the first day coming back.

A flash of a thought zipped through Komui's head: Would they actually have to teach her that no one in the building was her enemy, that she couldn't use Judgment to make people leave her alone?

The brief, tense moments of silence seemed to stretch on… And then time resumed its normal pace when Gracia slowly lowered Judgment and took her finger off of the trigger.

Komui shuddered, his shoulders slouching as he suddenly became very… very tired. He watched lazily as Gracia stared down at the hammer of the gun, which she'd pulled back even though Judgment was also a double-action, and before Tiedoll could step forward and show her how to disarm the gun without firing, Gracia glanced over at the targets again and aimed haphazardly, firing.

This shot, though… was different.

This bullet had the offensive/defensive action Gracia had poured into Judgment as its Accommodator still present, leftover from when she'd aimed at Komui.

The humanoid target took the bullet to the diaphragm, the faint form of a plate of light decorated with a winged female torso on a cross flashed in front of the target, and then there was a blinding flash of light as the target exploded, blue-soaked gore splattering across the sands, nearby floors, pillars and walls…

In the pit, Gracia froze, her eyes widening as a thick ribbon of blue splashed diagonally across her front, narrowly missing her eye and staining her parted lips. As she stood there, staring to shake, the blue soaked into her clothes, trailed down her skin…

Komui bit his lip, then slowly stepped forward and eased himself down into the pit, Tiedoll nodding to him slightly when he glanced at the General as he walked towards Gracia silently.

When he reached her side, Komui reached out and gently took Judgment from her hand, smiling and reaching up to pet her head when she slowly looked up at him, still in visible shock.

"Let's go, Gracia." Komui wrapped his arms around her shoulders and started directing her to the door, "We'll find Renault and he can take you back to your room and get you cleaned up…"

Gracia just stared up at Komui blankly, no comprehension whatsoever on her face, but she let Komui lead her over to the edge of the pit and help her out. When some of the blue paint ran down her neck, she shivered and pressed closer to Komui's side.

And, even though she just did it to turn her head and wipe the paint onto his jacket, Komui still smiled and tightened his hold on her shoulders.

She hadn't shot him, and even though she still clearly didn't like him all that much, she trusted him.

If only somewhat.

And it was a start.


	131. Forced Action: Complete System Reboot

I now have a Tumblr~! ^ . ^ Look me up at raynalissesul . tumblr . com, where I think I'll be posting the prologue of that AllenxKanda I mentioned. Or, ask me questions and read my posts, which only serve to prove how stupid I am~! XD

Oh, and I should probably warn that some of the content of my Tumblr will not be suitable for everyone, so if you're easily offended…

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

After the Science Division made her a holster, Gracia started going around with Judgment on her side, the waist strap replacing any belts she might have needed to wear and the thigh strap making her need to wear pants constantly.

A few training sessions had seen Gracia become rather attached to Judgment, and by the time the Science Division had the time to adjust the Innocence to try to make it smaller and lighter, Gracia wouldn't let them take it, hardly letting anyone touch it when it came down to it.

When he got word that training her was turning out to be a bit easier than initially anticipated, Lvellie had slipped in to watch one of her sessions, this one with Socalo, and judged her progress for himself.

And, after that one session, the Inspector informed Komui that he had come to the conclusion that Gracia was ready for combat before he left for Central again.

Komui had talked to Socalo not long after Lvellie had left, before the General had had to leave for another mission, and with a sneer and a roll of his eyes Socalo had flatly informed Komui that saying she was ready was, in the large man's words, "a crock of horseshit," before he'd walked through the Ark Gate with the timid Miranda.

So, when the paperwork to officially reinstate Gracia as an Exorcist appeared on his desk, Komui made sure to delay the process as much as possible, insisting that she needed an entirely new uniform, which required a refitting, which was proving to be impossible since she just kept gaining weight and got a little bit thicker around her waistline every day…

At first, it was convenient.

Then, it got worrisome.

Especially when most of the weight gain was around her stomach…

Afraid she might be gorging herself out of fear that she'd go for weeks without eating again, Komui had had Renault take her in for a more thorough physical than the one she'd received when she'd first come home (which, admittedly, hadn't been done that well; the doctors were now afraid of getting bitten or, worse, shot).

The current doctor's exam, though, apparently hadn't turned out anything conclusive… Though Renault had informed Komui that the doctor had seemed troubled about something and had (bravely) drawn blood for a few more in-depth tests…

The same day Gracia had gotten blood drawn, though, Komui had gotten a call from Bak…

"Uncle woke up and heard she's back…" Bak's voice was a bit hoarse, "He's… asking to see her."

"…Of course." Komui muttered, looking over at the sofa in front of his desk where Gracia and Renault were sitting.

Renault blinked, his blank expression flashing with passive curiosity, and Gracia was busy fiddling with Judgment's holster straps again…

Once he'd hung up with Bak, Komui stood and glanced at Renault, "Can I borrow her while you wait for the results? Zu Mei is asking to see her…"

Renault blinked again, then nodded slowly, nodding again to Gracia as she frowned at him when Komui came over and offered her his hand.

Gracia sighed, throwing Komui a sullen look, then took his hand and let him help her to her feet, following him when he left his office still holding her hand.

Komui pouted but kept leading.

As the days had turned into a week and a half, Gracia's disdain for Komui had only grown… In fact, he was one of the few people she still bore her teeth at when she got extremely annoyed with him.

It was cute but painful at the same time.

When they arrived at the closest Ark Gate, Komui turned to Gracia with a smile and stepped back through, keeping his grip on her hand gentle but firm as he pulled her after him.

Gracia stepped through the glowing plate and came out the doorway on the other side, her eyes widening as she looked around at the empty Mediterranean-style town.

After letting her ogle for a minute, Komui linked arms with her and resumed leading, finding the door to Asian Branch quickly and walking through with her.

Sammo Han Won was waiting on the other side for them, a grim expression on the large man's face. He bowed slightly, eyes tearing and lips wavering when Gracia scowled and shrank back behind Komui slightly, one hand settling on Judgment.

The Assistant Branch Head, though, had been informed of Gracia's condition, so he just nodded and silently led Komui and Gracia through the Asian Branch, which was… unusually quiet.

Komui lowered his eyes, feeling a sorrow weigh down on him.

Strange though he was, Zu Mei was well-known and respected, and his slow death was affecting everyone, the personnel of Asian Branch most of all… The few Komui saw walking around them now had their heads lowered, somber expressions on their faces.

When they arrived at the private resting room that had been set up for Zu Mei, Sammo Han opened the door for them but didn't follow them in, Komui leading Gracia into the room, which had been sectioned off with curtains to include a sitting area, with Zu Mei's bed resting on the other side.

In the sitting room was Renny Epstain, who glanced over at them as they walked in. Her face was a bit pallid, the rims of her lower eyelids red, but she was still able to put on a worried frown when she saw Gracia.

Carefully, the woman stood and stepped over, pausing when Gracia, again, stepped behind Komui slightly and set a hand on Judgment. "…She still hasn't recovered any memories?" Renny looked up at Komui.

"No." Komui sighed, shaking his head, "She's retaining basic concepts, like name recognition and self care, but she's still not speaking or acting like she understands any spoken words beyond names, nor is she acting like she recognizes anyone…"

"…I'm sorry." Renny murmured, turning her attention back to Gracia, "I was… one of the ones she'd protected that day… If she—"

"Don't." Komui cut Renny off, frowning slightly, "There isn't anything you need to apologize for… Gracia was doing her duty. The fact that you and the others lived only means that this…" He paused, then glanced down at Gracia, "That this isn't meaningless." He then looked back up at Renny, "She will get better."

Renny sighed and closed her eyes, lowering her head.

"…Renny, you're tired."

Komui and Renny looked over at the curtain, Gracia pressing closer to Komui when Bak pulled it aside and looked at Renny with a drained expression.

"Why don't you go nap?" Bak sighed, "I'll have Sammo Han call you if anything changes…"

Renny sighed heavily, nodding, and walked out.

"…Who are you to give lectures on who's tired or not?" Komui smiled at Bak wryly but weakly, worried when he saw the bags under Bak's bloodshot eyes.

"Shut up." Bak managed a childish sneer, almost looking like he was going to stick his tongue out at Komui before he pulled the curtain back to let him and Gracia in.

Komui glanced down at Gracia and tugged slightly, and she reluctantly followed him beyond the curtain and over to the bed on the other side. Komui bit the inside of his lip as he looked at Zu Mei. He'd lost more weight, and that skin color…

Gracia blinked slowly and stared down at Zu Mei, easing her arm out of Komui's and stepping forward as the old man's weak, rattling breathing hung on the stale air. She then looked at the long, rust-coated object the old man was clutching desperately… and she reached out and touched it.

Mugen.

The last thing Zu Mei had desperately begged for before he'd collapsed…

Komui flinched and stepped forward, moving to pull Gracia away, but was stopped when a hand grabbed his arm, Bak shaking his head when Komui glanced back at him.

Zu Mei's breathing deepened slightly and his eyes flickered open, slowly sliding over to settle on Gracia, who tipped her head curiously.

"…Yu's… confidant…"

…Komui wasn't exactly sure what he was seeing when a new, unreadable expression melted onto Gracia's features as her eyes widened, her legs giving out from under her as she sank to her knees, resting her elbows on the edge of the bed.

Zu Mei smiled at her and reached out, setting a shaking, thin hand on the side of her face, "Miss Gracia… you made it back. Yu will be… relieved…" As Gracia's lips twisted into a deep frown, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly, the old man went on, "I… wanted to thank you… for being there… for him. Yu… had never brought… a guest… to one of our sessions… before… and certainly… no one… who knew… of the lotus blossoms…"

Komui's eyes widened, and beside him, Bak tensed.

"I imagine… he must have talked to you… quite a bit more… than most others…" Zu Mei's smile widened and he laughed croakily, "Which… really… isn't… saying… much…" He then started coughing, making Gracia and Bak tense, Gracia reaching out for him helplessly. Once he'd recovered, Zu Mei went on, "You were able to do… what I had tried to… when it was far too late… and I thank you for that. After Alma… I had prayed… for so many years… that Yu… would be able… to find someone else… to listen to him… even if… what he said… wasn't being expressed with words…"

Komui felt his heart clench when Gracia raised a shaking hand and pressed it to the back of Zu Mei's, which was still cupping her cheek.

"Thank you…" The old man's smile softened, "Thank you… for being there… for Yu…"

"…Ah… A-Aaaah…"

Komui's eyes widened as defined sounds, ones that weren't cries or screams or shrieks, left Gracia's mouth, his hands clenching at his sides tightly as her shoulders shook and she lowered her head, tears spilling down her face.

Zu Mei blinked, his smile faltering, but it came back and he started moving his hand against the side of her face, "Don't worry. I know… the sound of that kind of pain… Yu… experienced it often… in the beginning… Those shadows you see… they'll start to… make sense… as time passes…"

…A hollow pang ran though Komui's body at that.

What could the old man… possibly mean…?

Gracia's hand left the back of Zu Mei's and reached out to settle on Mugen, and the old man's hand followed it soon after, both of their hands gasping at the rusted sword tightly. Then, Zu Mei's grip relaxed, his eyes closing, and Gracia pulled away carefully and stood, rubbing her eyes on the backs of her hands.

When she turned to Komui and looked up at him, Komui felt a… swell of emotions.

…Comprehension.

For the first time since she'd been brought back, Gracia's eyes displayed a level of comprehension that was on par with that of those around her.

She understood. She understood that Zu Mei was someone she knew, that Zu Mei was dying, that she and Zu Mei both knew someone who was very dear to them, that that person was no longer in reach, that they were experiencing a similar kind of pain…

Though Komui wasn't sure if it was just part of that or really all of it and possibly more, or even something he hadn't though off, he knew there was _something_ about this that she got, something she understood just as well as he did, and the feeling he got from it made him step forward and wrap his arms around her tightly. And, when Gracia relaxed against him, even though she had tensed slightly first, Komui closed his eyes and lowered his head, nuzzling the side of her head and tightening his hold on her further.

After staying in place for a moment, a pointed click, which Komui had come to know very well as the sound of Judgment's hammer being drawn back, ended the silence.

Quickly, Komui let Gracia go and took a step back, smiling down at her sheepishly when she gave him a sullen glance. He then watched quietly as she turned back to Zu Mei and knelt by his bed again, resting her chin on the edge of the mattress and watching the old man as he slept.

"…There's really been nothing from her, then."

Komui nodded slightly without looking over at Bak, keeping his eyes on Gracia, "There hasn't…"

"…Do you suppose the Noah did it?" Bak glanced at Komui.

Komui paused, then sighed, "I'm… not sure. When Hevlaska did her examination of Gracia, she said that Gracia was no longer synchronized with Sleep, not that her and Sleep's synchronization had been forcibly ended or cancelled. Though her synchronization rate is low, she joined with Judgment without problems; when Lvellie took her before Hevlaska, she was simply an Accommodator with a clean slate."

"…Then… what could have…"

"…When Hevlaska first examined Gracia, the very first time, she made a prediction." Komui reached up and adjusted his glasses, "She predicted… that one day, Sleep and Gracia would part. That their partnership as Accommodator and Innocence was already on a time limit. And that if Gracia wasn't prepared to let Sleep go when the time came… the separation would 'destroy' her."

Bak's eyes widened and snapped over to Komui, "You don't think this is what she meant? ! I know Gracia was emotionally and psychologically dependent on Sleep, but you don't think that… no longer having it caused her to snap, do you?"

"…I don't know." Komui sighed, taking off his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose, "And I don't think we will know for sure until Gracia recovers and tells us."

Bak sighed heavily, turning back to his uncle and Gracia and crossing his arms, "…And you don't have anything you can give her to help her?"

"Even if I did, Renault would kill me for trying." Komui snorted, rolling his eyes, "Besides, she seems to be having some medical problems right now, so giving her things while they're performing tests on her isn't a good idea…"

"Medical problems?" Bak frowned.

"I'm not entirely sure." Komui sighed, shaking his head and waving at Gracia vaguely, "She's been gaining weight in an… odd way."

"Aaah…" Bak nodded, "I had noticed she looks a bit thicker around the middle… Malnutrition, do you think?"

"We'll find out when we head home." Komui nodded to Gracia before glancing at Bak, "She had some blood drawn earlier, and Renault is waiting for the results."

"…Oh." Bak sighed, looking back at his uncle, "…I'm sorry I called you over on such short notice."

"Don't be ridiculous." Komui chuckled, "Had Gracia been able to make the decision herself, we would still be here."

"…Thank you."

Komui nodded slightly.

"And I am not ridiculous." Bak huffed with some indignation after a moment, tipping his chin up slightly, "I, unlike some, am simply considerate."

Komui snorted, smirking and rolling his eyes, "Whatever you say, Baky_-chan_."

"Do _not_ call someone as great as me something so undignified! If you are to call me anything other than my Order-allotted title, it will be Lord Bak, peon!"

"But Baky_-chan_ is so much cuter~!"

Before an inappropriately loud argument could start between the two grown man-children, there was a soft moan followed by the deep, hollow grunt and retch. They both looked over, their eyes widening when they saw Gracia, clammy and pale-faced, on her hands and knees on the ground, her eyes wide and her lips pressed into a thin, stubborn line as her spine and stomach rolled, her throat clenching as she swallowed repeatedly.

"Bathroom's third door down the hall." Komui heard Bak mutter as he rushed forward and helped Gracia to her feet, rushing her out of the room and down the hall as she continued repressing retches.

Once they were in the bathroom, Gracia jerked away from Komui and stumbled over to the toilet, losing her stomach.

Komui cringed, staying back and giving her her space.

He needed to get her back to the European Branch to see if those test results were in…

* * *

"He won't tell you?" Komui frowned at Renault.

"He is asking to speak to you, with only Gracia present." Renault confirmed flatly, eyeing Komui with an almost suspicious stare, "He is waiting for you."

Komui blinked, confused, then took Gracia's hand and walked towards the door of the examination room behind Renault, concern starting to build as he tightened his grip on Gracia's hand.

What if it was… something bad? Something life-threatening…

…or worse…

When Komui walked into the room, the doctor barely glanced up from the paperwork in his hands he was studying intently. When he did glance up, it was just to flick his wrist towards the paper-covered exam bed in the middle of the room before he went back to studying.

Komui led Gracia over to it, directing her to sit on the edge. When he turned to face the doctor again, he was shocked to see the cotton end of a long swab being stuck in front of his face. The swab had a plastic case and cap on it…

"A buccal swab?" Komui blinked at the doctor, "What is this for?"

"You know what buccal swabs are for." The doctor said flatly, "Now, open your mouth."

"_My_ mouth? I thought we were here for Gracia… Is what she has conta—" The doctor took advantage of his open mouth to shove the swab in and rub the inside of Komui's cheek thoroughly, ignoring Komui's whining and coughing when he pulled back and trapped the tip of the swab in the small plastic case on the swab stick, capping it.

"I'll be back momentarily." With that, the doctor walked out, leaving Komui to stare after him in confusion.

Komui started to frown deeply, then he started to pace, fretting.

"Crap, crap, crap, what do they need to test _both_ of us for? ! Is Gracia contagious? If she is, how many people are we going to have to treat? And for _what_? No one else has started throwing up, though… Is she in the advanced stages?" That question had him wailing dramatically and turning to Gracia, lunging and wrapping his arms around her tightly. "My darling Gracia, noooo! ! You can't be terminal! !"

Gracia's attempts at drawing Judgment were thwarted when Komui started shaking her back and forth as he sobbed and wailed, the gun getting knocked from her hand and falling to the ground with a rancorous clatter. She then tried flailing her arms and legs, attempting to knock him off, but Komui just managed to upset himself further and leaned forward to bury his face in her neck, bawling and pushing her down onto her back as he tightened his hold on her further. Then he had her pinned to the bed, resting his full weight against her as he wept, and Gracia was screeching and writhing, he face getting red and her hands clawing at his back…

"…Sir, are you trying to _rape_ her?"

The struggling, flailing, crying and screaming stopped and they both looked over to see that the doctor had walked back into the room with more paperwork. The doctor was giving Komui a disapproving glare, his lips pursed.

"I'll have you know _those_ kinds of actions are what got you into this mess in the first place." The doctor shook his head, waving the paperwork pointedly.

Komui blinked, clueless, "Mess?" Before he could get his answer, though, pain bloomed against his jaw and he was crying out, falling backwards and crashing to the ground. When he looked up to see what had hit him, he felt a mixture of sheepishness and guilt when he saw Gracia sitting up and glaring down at him with a heavy scowl, her eyebrow twitching and her face a dark red.

That expression, though… reminded him of the days back when Gracia had just been getting used to innocent, affectionate physical contact…

And, before he could stop himself, Komui was lunging at Gracia again, "You look so adorable my little—" Pain in the middle of his face this time, and Komui was sure his nose almost cracked as Gracia blocked him with her foot, sending him falling to the ground again.

Gracia huffed and crossed her arms, glaring down at him as he writhed and whined on the floor, but…

…Really, Komui was elated.

Even though she didn't remember him, he'd gotten to the point where he could cuddle with her and she wouldn't respond with a feral reaction.

More progress…

"Oh, that's right!" Komui stood quickly, turning to the doctor with a wide smile, watering eyes and a bit of blood dribbling out of his reddened nose as he held up a finger, "You said we were in a mess!"

"…Right." The doctor glared at Komui flatly, reaching over to a nearby tissue dispenser and pulling a few out to hand to Komui before he went on, "Well, before I start, I have to ask…" As Komui staunched the blood flow, the doctor held out the new section of the stack of papers, presumably the results of Komui's buccal swabbing, "Have you been drinking your experiments again? !"

"…!" Komui's eyes widened and he clamped his mouth shut, refusing to talk but needing to think quickly.

If he didn't talk, he was saying yes.

If he didn't dodge this well enough, they'd know he—

How much time had—

"I'll take that as a yes."

…Dang.

"Only a few times, and only because the guys at the Science Division wouldn't let me test on them when it was _clearly_ their turn to test things for me after I tested a shampoo for them." Komui hissed, looking around shiftily before finishing in a low murmur, "Don't tell the Head Nurse."

"Why, because she'll eat your spleen?" The doctor asked sardonically.

"Precisely!" Komui's eyes snapped back over to the doctor and he blinked, "Wait, does me drinking all of my latest—"

"I thought you said it was only a few times—"

"A _few_ of my latest experiments have something to do with Gracia's condition?"

"That's what I'm thinking." The doctor sighed, slipping Komui's stack of papers behind the other stack, Gracia's presumably, as he leaned back against the counter behind him and looked Gracia's papers over carefully. As he read, he was silent, a grim look on his face.

Komui's eyes widened, a ball of fear and guilt curling up tightly in his stomach, twisting his innards with it, "S-So what's wrong with her…?" How could this have happened? The last time he had interacted with Gracia intimately enough to taint her body with whatever experiments were in his system had been months ago—

"She's pregnant."

…The world quickly shrank to consist of just the small room they were in, which suddenly seemed _way_ too small and _way_ too stuffy.

Komui got hot under the collar of his uniform while his hands and feet got icy cold, and his breathing echoed in his ears too loudly as his mouth went dry and his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth.

"…What?"

"Either at the end of her first or going into her second trimester, I would say." The doctor flipped to the next page in his hands, "Which would explain that vomiting you mentioned earlier; the fetus' vulnerability to bodily toxins peeks at about three months, which is also when morning sickness can reach its worst point. Really, it's probably a good thing she's started throwing up, especially since she spent the last few months out on the streets eating God knows what; it means her body's doing its job to protect the baby."

"…That's not possible." Komui mumbled, reaching back to brace himself against the bed Gracia was sitting silently on, "Gracia is infertile; she can't carry children. She hasn't even had a menstrual cycle in four years… Her uterus isn't equipped to support a fetus."

"And yet it is." The doctor looked up from Gracia's results to stare at Komui flatly, "And we come back to the reason why you _shouldn't drink your experiments when you're in an intimate relationship._"

Komui's eyes widened and his shoulders slumped, "A-Are you telling me that me drinking my experiments did something to my… my…"

"Your now mutated super sperm?" The doctor quirked a brow, "Well, I'd have to analyze a sample to be sure, but judging by the results I got from your buccal swab, yes. Somehow, the mixture you drank amped up your seminal fluids, and those seem to have made her uterus fertile once more." The doctor sighed, running a hand through his hair as he slipped Komui's results in the forefront again and went back to looking at them, "Of course, this couldn't have happened in just _one_ encounter; her body would have had to have been exposed to the mutated cells several times for proper absorption to take place, meaning you've been drinking your experiments for _a while_, you stup—"

That was about when static filled Komui's ears and he couldn't hear anything behind the rapid pulse and sounds of his frantic breathing in his ears.

What was he feeling…?

Joy?

Fear?

Elation?

Guilt?

Wh-What would he tell people?

What would he tell _Mathilda_?

…What would he tell _Gracia_ when she came back…? !

"…You got me pregnant?"

Komui felt his heart shudder to a stop at the sound of Gracia's voice…

_Her voice…_

_Meaning she was…_

When he looked over at her, though, everything seeming to be in slow motion, he froze when he was met with the barrel of Judgment.

"_**You got me pregnant.**_"

…That voice… did not sound happy.

"The only reason," Gracia's head slumped forward and twitched to the side, her neck cracking as she let out a crazed giggle, "I agreed to have sex without protection… was because you assured me that there was no way I could get pregnant."

Blearily, Komui took a shaky step back when Gracia slipped off of the edge of the bed, stumbling a bit before turning back towards him, Judgment's aim never swaying. He would have tried to say something, but his tongue was still glued to the roof of his mouth…

…Well… not that he could have thought of anything to say, anyway…

"You said… I couldn't get pregnant… and you were _drinking your own experiments_? !" Gracia's head twitched to the other side, her neck cracking again and one narrowed, crazed gray eye locking on him, "What kind of _idiot_ **drinks** _their own experiments_? !"

Komui tried to swallow, but the action was sticky and painful. His voice was a rasp, "G…Gr… a…"

Her eye suddenly slipped over to Judgment and she blinked, as if she hadn't noticed it before, "…And _why_ do I have _Judgment_?"

"…You… synchronized… with it…?" Why was he able to answer _that_ question?

Gracia slowly looked back over at him, deadpanned. Then, her lips twisted into a crazed smile and she giggled.

"I'm really going to kill you this time, Mui."

The world blurred, and then Komui was running down the halls and screaming as loud bang after bang chased him, vases shattering here, wood splintering there, windows getting spiderwebbing holes and people stepping out of the way with calm expressions, as if they already knew why he was getting chased and felt he deserved it… (Then again, when does Komui get chased by murderous people when he _doesn't_ deserve it?)

"YOU REALLY SHOULDN'T BE RUNNING IN YOUR CONDITION, SWEETHEART! !"

"DIE, YOU HORNY EXPERIMENT-DRINKING BASTARD! !"

Lorelei and Lenalee blinked and watched as Komui and Gracia barreled by.

"…Huh, looks like Sister's back." Lorelei observed. She then blinked, "…Should we save Komui?"

"No." Lenalee sighed blithely, shaking her head, "He probably deserves it." She then glanced at her future sister-in-law, "By the way, you owe me ten guineas."

Lorelei sighed and dug out her wallet, "Never make a bet on Komui not being able to anger Gracia out of a stupor…"


	132. Protocol Stasis Recording Set 2: File I

*zombie* Tumblr is so much fun...

Oh, and as a forewarning for those who haven't gone to mine yet but are thinking about it, I have a _lot_ of Yullen/Arekan pics on there now, and not all of them are PG-13 and below (and I kinda have a potty mouth), so use caution, 'k? ^ . ^

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"To start the meeting, I would like to welcome General Solidor back to the ranks." Lvellie glanced at Gracia, nodding, "Gracia…"

"I'm not a General anymore." Gracia mumbled, sitting at the great table uncomfortably between Tiedoll and Klaud, the Branch Heads sitting across from them and Lvellie sitting at the head of the table. "Not without Sleep."

"Perhaps not." Lvellie nodded, "But the demotion of a General takes just paperwork as a promotion does, so until it is all filled out and processed, technically you still are one."

"Whatever." Gracia sighed, making a face and rubbing her temples, "Can we get this over with? These headaches are killing me, and I can't take my medication until this meeting is over because it makes me sleepy."

"Very well." Lvellie nodded again, clearly cutting her slack, Gracia noticed. He never would have let her talk to him like that around others before without reminding her of her tone… "General Solidor, what is the last thing you remember?"

Gracia sighed and close her eyes, rubbing her temples harder and wracking her brain. She just wanted this to be over with so she could get back to bed…

She couldn't help jumping slightly when a large, warm hand settled on her shoulder, and when she opened her eyes and glanced over, Tiedoll gave her a gentle smile.

"Take your time, dear…"

Gracia smiled slightly. She'd missed him… Nodding she closed her eyes again and sat back, letting out a long, low sigh and thinking.

"…Let's see… There was a sudden, worldwide emergency… My unit and I were sent to Jordan… I sent Allen, Madarao and Tokusa off to deal with a large reading Allen's Eye picked up… Kanda, Tewaku and I stayed behind to protect the camp with the Finders… A Noah…" Here, her eyes opened, "The Noah Wisely showed up. He said something about… needing Kanda's brain… then…" She frowned as things got fuzzy, "Something happened and we somehow wound up in North American Branch… Alma was woken… There was a fight… and then… Sheril Kamelot carried me through the Noah's black Ark Gate…" She paused, frowning and trying to remember, but also she got was… "And then black."

"And what do you remember after that?" Middle Eastern Branch Head Louis Fermi asked after a moment.

Gracia sighed and went back to thinking, to trying to remember… But all she succeeded in doing was aggravating her headache. "After that, I woke up here wanting to kill Komui because," She caught herself quickly, "Because for some reason or another I'm synchronized to Judgment instead of Sleep." She frowned deeply, looking around at all of the people at the table, "Where is Sleep?" She pointedly avoided looking at Komui.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Komui droop slightly, but she ignored him.

She was still pissed at him.

"…Gracia…" Tiedoll sighed and set a hand on hers when she looked over at him, "You weren't brought back with Sleep. When Renault found you… Sleep was already gone."

"…Gone…"

She felt a great void open up in her chest, an emotional and comprehensive emptiness that… felt familiar…

"Something happened in between the time you last claim to have a memory," Lvellie held up a folder when she glanced over at him, offering it, "And when you woke up here." When Gracia took the folder from him, opening and looking over the pictures that… seemed to depict… "Those are images taken by the security golems around this facility. They show that, several days after you were abducted from the scene of the attack at North American Branch, you somehow came back to the European Branch, only to be taken away again by the Noah Tyki Mikk, who, with the help of Road Kamelot, helped the Noah Allen Walker escape."

Gracia's eyes widened and snapped up, the pictures falling from her hand, "Did… did you just… call Allen… a Noah?"

"We need to know what role you played in his escape." He didn't answer her, "We also need to know if you saw Exorcists Lavi and Bookman while you were being held captive."

"They have Lavi and Bookman, too? !"

"General, please focus on the matter at hand." A prim young man standing beside Lvellie spoke up snootily.

Gracia just stared at him, her breathing a bit erratic.

Who was he…?

Where… Where was Link…?

Slowly, her eyes wandered back down to the pictures in front of her, her mind a maelstrom of thoughts, images, questions and emotions as she took the pictures in again.

And, as she stared at them, an… image… came to mind…

"…There was a man… in Allen's… cell…?" Gracia shuddered and pressed her palms to her eyes as she… "He was… white… really, really white… Looked like… he was made of… cracked marble… I think I… fought him…?" Her head throbbed, the image vanished and she shuddered and curled in on herself, feeling sick.

Instinctually, she reached out to Sleep for comfort, but…

…Sleep was gone…

"I'm sorry." Gracia mumbled, cutting off whatever was being said by whoever as she stood, "But I… can't remember anything else… and this headache just got worse… I need to… go take my medicine before I get sick." Before any protests could be formed, she turned and rushed out of the meeting room, grabbing the edges of the oversized coat she was wearing and hugging it shut over her swelled stomach as she went.

In truth, she couldn't take any medicine at the moment… With her history of miscarriages, and the fact that she hadn't had her period in over four years, the doctors were hesitant to give her anything, even things that pregnant women were _supposed_ to take.

It was all Komui's fault, him and his damned insistence on drinking his experiments…

The most she could do at the moment was lock herself in her room, close the curtains and try to sleep…

…Try to sleep this all away.

Kanda was gone.

Allen was gone and being called a Noah.

Lavi and Bookman were gone.

Sleep was gone.

She had apparently missed almost all of the last three months.

…She was pregnant…

…She hadn't stopped to look at her stomach or ask the doctors and questions.

Not even once. She saw no point in it.

The baby, after all, wouldn't—

Gracia locked her door as she shut it, walked across the room and drew all of the curtains shut, then went over to her bed and buried herself in the blankets. She shuddered at the feel of the sheets, the coolness, the slickness of the soft material…

When she got settled in, though, she noticed something. Something was wrong with the scent…

…It wasn't unpleasant, but it wasn't how her sheets should smell.

None of her rooms had ever smelled like this before…

After a moment… Gracia recognized it. It had been a while since she'd smelled it, apparently, which would explain why it had taken her a while to remember.

Komui's scent.

Her sheets and pillows smelled like Komui.

He must have been sleeping in her bed while she had been gone…

When she felt her face heat slightly in response to that realization, Gracia smiled to herself slightly.

Angry as she was with him, as much as she wouldn't be forgiving him anytime soon, she did still love him.

…But still, she thought as her smile faded, her hands going to her stomach as she curled up, that didn't change the fact that she was… That they had…

Gracia sighed and rolled over, only remembering when there was a tightness around her thigh and a pain in her hip that she was still wearing Judgment and its holster. Frowning, she sat up and pushed the blankets back, reaching down and struggling with the belt and straps. When she heard her door unlock and open, she kept working, not looking up.

Only two people, after all, had access to her bedroom, and one was off filling an official report both for the Order and for Mathilda…

"…Do you need help with that?" Komui asked softly.

Gracia pointedly didn't answer him, succeeding in taking Judgment's holster off a moment later and tossing it towards the end of the bed. She then laid back down and pulled the blankets up, turning her back to Komui as he walked over.

"…How's your headache?" The other side of her bed dipped slightly, springs creaking a bit and cloth rustling, "I can go talk to the doctor and see about getting you a light dose of one of the pregnancy-safe pain relievers…"

She still didn't answer, and when he set a hesitant, gentle hand on her back, she tensed, making him quickly pull away.

"…It's funny." Komui laughed mirthlessly, "I had always thought that… if I ever had the chance to have a child… it would be a happy occasion."

Gracia ground her teeth, curling up.

She didn't see what was so 'funny' about this _happy occasion_…

"…Gracia, talk to me, please." Komui pleaded softly, "I don't know how long it feels like it's been for you, but… but it was almost three months for me. Three _extremely long_ months. Three months of not knowing if you were alive or not, three months of having people dance around talking to me about you… And now that you're back… I…" He sighed, "I know you're angry at me, and I understand why, but at least let me help—"

He _understood_ why she was angry?

No. No, he didn't.

Because, if he did, he wouldn't have made that offer.

"I don't need help," Gracia started slowly, sitting up and glancing over at him with a glare, "Miscarrying, Komui. I've done it plenty of times before; trust me there's nothing science can tell me about it that I don't already know."

Komui blinked, a confused, shocked and worried look crossing his face, "Miscarrying? Who said anything about miscarrying? !"

"Oh, you aren't expecting me to carry it to term, are you?" Gracia felt a stab of bitter pity for him. He still had _hope_, "Komui, I am incapable of carrying children; this baby won't even make it halfway through the second trimester." She turned away, lying back down, "The doctor said I was near the beginning of the second trimester, right? Well… any day now, I'm going to miscarry; I'd prefer not to talk to anyone until it's over."

The stunned, painful silence that followed made the atmosphere in the room thick, which made it hard to breathe, which made her chest hurt, which made her choke up and curl in on herself tightly as her eyes started watering.

"…So you… aren't even going to try?"

A tremor ran through her body as the pain in her chest increased, the tears spilling when she clamped her eyes shut.

How… dare… he…

"I am sick… and tired… of trying." She spoke on each trembling exhale and worked hard to keep her inhales from sounding too sharp, too obvious, trying to keep herself from sobbing outright, "It… will never… work… Now get… out."

"…No."

Gracia's eyes widened and she tensed, breath getting caught in her throat.

"Even if you were miscarrying, I wouldn't leave you alone." Komui's voice was so firm, so stubborn, that she could imagine his expression; his brows furrowed, lips twisted in a grave, serious frown, eyes unwavering as the locked on her back… "And you're not miscarrying, and you're not going to. We are going to jump through _every_ prenatal hoop we have to and then some to make sure that both you _and_ this baby come out okay." Komui's voice firmed, taking an admonishing tone, "You are not giving up on our baby."

When Komui's hands grabbed her and pulled her upright, making her turn to face him, Gracia couldn't hold back the sobs anymore, couldn't keep back the wetness as it increased and flowed faster, making it hard to see.

Komui's grip on her eased up slightly, his tone getting soft, worried, "Why are you trying to push me away…? You know you can trust me, you know I just want to help… So why?"

"…Because you're not him…"

Komui's grip on her faltered, and Gracia lowered her head, sobbing.

"Y–You're not him. You'll stay by me… when it happens… You'll try to share the pain… Losing it… will affect you, too… But you don't know–You don't know how… how hard it is…" Gracia clenched her jaw, hugging her stomach and cursing the shakiness in her arms, "I didn't _want_ you to know how hard it is."

"…Gracia…" Komui murmured softly. She flinched slightly when his hands faltered, but when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, she relented, leaning against him and crying openly into his chest.

Back when she had been with… Back then, she had thought she would give anything to have not had to suffer through miscarrying alone. Not that those who had tried to help her meant nothing, but… they didn't have the same stake in it she did. Only one other person had, and he… he hadn't felt the same kind of pain she had.

She had suffered the pain only the parents could know alone.

But now… now she was with someone who would be willing to share that pain, and now she didn't want him to…

Komui…

…She didn't want Komui to know what that pain felt like, that sense of failure, of helplessness.

She wanted Komui to go through his life ignorant of the pain caused by the loss of a child.

She just… wanted him… to go away… so she could bear it alone, like life had equipped her to…

"You are _not_ going to miscarry."

She cried harder.

He sounded so sure, so convinced, so… _innocent_.

But experience had taught her that, yes, she would miscarry. The baby inside of her would die, no matter how hard they tried to prevent it, no matter how much she prayed otherwise.

The sobs that wracked her body started to make her diaphragm hurt, and where the pain localized… It was as if her body was reminding her of the pain she knew she would be experiencing soon enough.

"Gracia… Gracia, you have to calm down. You're going to hurt yourself and the baby…"

But she couldn't stop.

And she didn't until some time later, when she was exhausted and had run out of tears, when Komui was stroking her back slowly, rocking her back and forth, murmuring things in Mandarin her tired brain was too fried translate…

Out of energy, she went limp against Komui, and he gently laid her down, adjusting them both so he could rest alongside her with her still in his arms, pressed against his chest.

And as she dozed of, she was somewhat aware of Komui still murmuring to her, and she was finally able to understand what he was saying just as she tipped over the edge.

"_It's going to be okay… You're both going to be fine. I'm not going anywhere… It's going to be okay…_"


	133. PSR Set 2: File II

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"Sister!"

"Gracia!"

"My darling daughter~!"

Miraculously, Tiedoll got to Gracia before either Lorelei or Lenalee could, wrapping her up in a heavy, scruffy, blubbering hug and showering the side of her face with bristly kisses.

Gracia sighed jadedly and let it happen, then used her sleeves to wipe the tears off of her temple and neck when Marie pulled their General away with an exasperated smile thrown at her. She smiled back, then turned to accept Lenalee into her arms, smiling and hugging back tightly as she got a bit teary, herself.

"You're growing your hair back out… Good." Gracia smiled down at Lenalee's head, petting her hair, "Though I can't say I'm fond of how… fluffy it's gotten. You look so much cuter when it's flat and straight."

"I know, right~?" Komui gushed from somewhere nearby, making Gracia roll her eyes.

She then turned to Lorelei and hugged her, next, and when she felt a certain… slick presence sliding up behind her she tensed.

"Touch me from behind, Kate," Gracia started flatly as she aimed Judgment over her shoulder, glaring off into the space in front of her, "And I'll shoot you."

She could have laughed a bit at the looks that crossed the faces of those in front of her if Katherine hadn't slipped around from behind to stand in front of her, a sharp grin and sly look on her cousin's face.

"You know me too well, my precious Grace." Katherine purred before she lunged and wrapped her arms around Gracia's neck, kissing her.

Right on the mouth.

And when her cousin's tongue slipped into her mouth, Gracia twitched and flushed darkly, bringing Judgment around and swinging it at the somewhat older woman.

Artfully, Katherine ducked and managed to avoid getting pistol-whipped by twirling out of the way.

"Damn it, Kate!" Gracia spat after her, rubbing her mouth and tongue on her sleeve, "What have I told you about doing that? !"

Katherine just giggled and waved at Gracia with a wink, ignoring Komui's indignant sputters as she turned and sashayed out of Komui's office, "Later, Grace! I have work I need to do out in Belgium… Do warn me if you plan on disappearing again, alright? Your habit of dropping off the face of the Earth is starting to become grating. Let's go, Li~!"

Gracia glared after Katherine with a sneer (not noticing that Lorelei was looking after her with the exact same expression), watching her wavy brown hair as she practically skipped off with her slightly-amused-but-hiding-it (though not as well as Renault could) Asian head bodyguard not far behind her.

Once Katherine was out of sight, Gracia turned back to the gathered Exorcists, crossing her arms, "Alright, I'm back… And, as you can see, I don't have Sleep, meaning I don't have to nap anymore." She sighed, drooping slightly, "Not that it wouldn't be nice, but…" She shook her head and looked back up, "We have work to do. What are the new mission schedules like?"

"Missions? !" Komui stood behind his desk, his eyes wide and a crazed look flashing through his eyes, "You're not going on missions! Not in your condition!"

"Condition…?" Lorelei blinked, looking between her sister and Komui as she started to look worried, an expression mirrored by several others in the room, "Wait, what's wrong with you? !"

"…Yes, Komui." Gracia turned to Komui and smiled at him darkly, narrowing her eyes pointedly, "What _is_ wrong with me?"

Only Komui, Gracia, and the doctor who had analyzed Gracia and Komui's results knew that Gracia was pregnant, and Gracia wanted to keep it that way.

Komui knew that.

Komui also knew that he no longer had to worry about Gracia making him do embarrassing things with Alucinari… No, now he had to worry about getting shot.

And he'd take waltzing with Kanda in the mess hall again over being shot at again any day.

"…W-Well, you just got back." Komui pouted at Gracia, drooping and making a show of tearing up and starting to blubber slightly, "A-A-And you just r-r-recovered from a m-mental ailment… And you… you…" Komui wailed and lunged over his desk, and Gracia, as usual, could only brace herself as he slammed into her (noticeably more gentle than ever before) and hugged her tightly, sobbing, "I don't wanna let you goooooo! !"

That seemed to work, as the gathered Exorcists all rolled their eyes, Lenalee throwing Gracia a pitying and sheepish smile.

Gracia smiled back at her wryly, then let Komui have his moment of clinging and sobbing into her chest before she—

_Click_

Komui froze against her, then leapt away and hid behind Brigitte, peeking out from behind the now exasperated and twitching woman to throw Gracia a hurt look.

"…As much as I miss Sleep," Gracia looked at Socalo, smiling and raising the cocked Judgment, "This works _so_ much better! I don't even have to use a verbal warning anymore!"

Socalo smirked and snickered, and, beside him, Klaud smiled wryly and rolled her eyes.

Then, the female General stepped forward and nodded to Gracia, Lau Jimin chittering on her shoulder, "You can come out with Timothy and I on our mission in an hour. We're headed to Luxembourg."

"Very good, then." Brigitte nodded, apparently approving as she looked down at the clipboard in her hand, "Speaking of missions, the allotted time for this reunion is over. Everyone, you have your assignments; prepare if you have time and depart if you're ready."

Gracia sighed, watching as all of the Exorcists nodded and hurried out, "Back-to-back missions, huh…"

"We don't have the time or resources for anything less." Brigitte said, turning to Gracia, "General, I don't want to put pressure on you after you've just recovered, but your synchronization rate with Judgment is dreadful. We need you to work on it as quickly as you can and get it back up so we can start assigning you to solo or paired missions rather than sending you along as a third wheel."

"Brigitte!" Komui started, indignant.

"I understand, Miss Fay." Gracia nodded seriously, ignoring him, "Thank you for your candor."

Brigitte nodded, then her expression softened ever so slightly, "Welcome back, General."

Gracia smiled at her, then threw Komui a flat look, "I'm going to my room to meditate and analyze this new bond with Judgment. Leave me alone." That said, she turned and walked out, leaving Komui sputtering and whining behind her.

Before she went to her room, she made her way to the Science Division to check on the uniform she'd talked to Johnny about the previous day… Her old one wouldn't cut it; it didn't allow for the belt and thigh strap of Judgment's holster.

Though she was hoping she could keep the old design of her jacket… It covered her pregnant stomach so well…

"Johnny?" Reever hardly looked up from the paperwork he was scribbling at furiously, "I think he went out for some fresh air."

"…Huh?" That didn't… sound like Johnny for some reason.

What was that boy—

"Did someone need me?" Johnny suddenly popped up beside them with a towel hanging from his neck, soaking up sweat that was trailing down his skin. He then blinked and smiled, "Gracia! Here for your uniform? It's over here!"

Gracia glanced after Johnny for a moment, observing him as he trotted away before she followed him.

She wasn't sure if she was seeing things properly or if her memory was faulty, but… the muscles in his legs looked a bit more defined…

…When had he taken to wearing shorts?

"Well, I did my best to give you what you said you needed." Johnny started as they arrived at his workstation, reaching beneath his desk and pulling up a suitcase to set it on top of his paperwork and open it. He pulled out the first article of clothing, turning to Gracia and unfolding it to reveal a pair of pants, "They'll stay tight from about the thighs down to make cinching Judgment's holster's thigh strap easier, and the waistband's made of a very stretchy material so it should have plenty of room for growth…" He paused, then glanced at her, blinking, "Are you planning on gaining weight?"

"My appetite seems to have increased, so yes." Gracia answered cryptically, taking the pants and looking them over. Black, form-fittingly tight… Komui would love these, she realized wryly.

"…You also specified a shirt that you didn't want to need to be tucked into your pants." Johnny went on, turning back to the suitcase and pulling out the next article of clothing, "But it couldn't be short… and it also couldn't stop at your hips like your old tunic because, even with slits in the side, it would get in the way when you draw Judgment, so…" He held up his arms as he unfurled the top so it didn't brush the ground as it stretched out completely, "I made you something a bit dressier!"

Gracia blinked, setting the pants aside and stepping forward to grab some of the black material he was showing her to look at it closer.

Underneath all of the aiguillettes, buttons, pins and the cloth badge, it was clearly oriental in nature, designed to be sleek and following specific lines to the point where they flowed… She couldn't tell where it cinched shut; obviously the opening was hidden very well along one of the seams. It had a somewhat high collar, but even that was slick, designed to press flat against her neck, and the sleeves were long and fitting. Overall, it bore something of a coat-like design, but the bottom… The bottom would go clear down to her ankles and almost looked like a dress, but it was really just two flaps, one on the front and one on the back, that were open on the sides from about the hip level clear down.

"It's based off of the design of the ao dai, a traditional Vietnamese national costume." Johnny explained as she took it from him and looked it over carefully, "Only I… altered the pattern a bit." He smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, "The current trend in Vietnam is a bit too loose because the richer ladies like to wear multiple layers to show off how much money they have. This one just comes undone right here," Ah, there the clips were, right on the seam of the right side, "And then you just slip it on and clip it back up. You'll have to wear your undershirt, of course, but I altered the material for you to make it nice and stretchy, as you requested."

Gracia nodded appreciatively, smiling slightly, "Very nice…"

"And, of course, your usual overcoat." Johnny pulled out the last article of clothing from the suitcase, this one more thickly made than the others but just as slim-looking, "Made with two separate layers of fastenings this time so, if needed, you can button it up looser later on. The hood is also less padded and more functional as a weather covering since you…" He paused, smiling sheepishly, "Well, since you won't have to worry about head injuries as much anymore…"

…For some reason that… hit her more than she had expected it would.

And it must have hit her noticeably, because Johnny's eyes widened behind his glasses and he paled a bit, quickly raising his hands and waving them frantically.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean t—"

"Was there anything else…?" Her voice was a low mumble.

Johnny swallowed and reached beneath his desk again, pulling out a new pair of boots.

Taking them, Gracia slipped all of the clothes back into the suitcase to make carrying them easier, then thanked Johnny before she walked away quickly, heading back to her room.

She needed to at least get out of the Science Division before she started crying…

Sleep was gone.

She'd been so busy and out of it she hadn't really had time to realize it, but Sleep was _gone_.

And the way others were talking about it gave the impression that… they weren't expecting Gracia to be reunited with it.

They'd had her synchronize with a new Innocence.

They… they were acting like Sleep… had been… destroyed.

And, as much as she had separated herself from it, as much as she had been able to lessen her dependency on its presence… Sleep had _still_ been her companion through some of the hardest times in her life.

Sleep wasn't just a weapon. It never had been just a weapon.

Sleep had been an important thing, an important _person_ in her life… and now it was gone.

…And… to make matters even worse… she didn't even remember how it had happened.

Sleep had given her all she currently had… and she'd lost it without even realizing it.

The suitcase fell from her hands, clothes spilling across the floor of her room as she covered her face with her hands and buckled, starting to cry.

She didn't even notice she hadn't shut the door behind herself until she was being pulled upright and into someone's arms and pushed backwards, whoever had her using her to shut the door before they pinned her to it gently.

Her eyes swimming with tears, she had to react with touch and taste at the familiar sensation of someone else's mouth, brushing lightly at first and then pressing forward firmly.

She remembered this mouth, the way slightly chapped lips created friction against hers in a way that the mouths of Vincent, Katherine and Cross, with their smooth lips, hadn't… She remembered this taste, the taste of that unique coffee with the mild taste with no bitterness, a sign of high quality for it's brand, mixed with the taste of ink from too many pens chewed…

Gracia's mouth opened on instinct in response to the feel of Komui's lips parting, her body telling her what was coming next and her tongue sliding forward to meet and accept his.

She couldn't stop crying, though, and Komui, in response to this part of her figured, pressed her more firmly against the door, easing her up until she was almost off of her feet.

Gracia shuddered in response to the sense of helplessness this invoked, which only acted to intensify the sensations his mouth and tongue were sending down her neck and spine to light up the rest of her body, her arms, first, wrapping around his neck in response, and her legs following suit soon after and wrapping around his waist.

His mouth still moving intensely against hers, his body pressing forward and rubbing slowly now that it was in a better position to, Komui reached back and removed her arms from his neck, lacing their fingers together and pinning her hands back against the door.

He didn't know why she was crying, but the look he'd seen on her face when he'd walked in…

…He would talk to her about it once he'd calmed her down, once he'd wiped that look from her face.

Meaning he had some distracting to do.

"I see you're wearing the ring I gave you." Komui murmured, pulling back slightly and looking up at her.

Gracia, her face hot and her breath hitching as Komui's body moved between her legs, opened her eyes and looked down at him hazily, panting and shuddering at the look on his face. When he smirked up at her slightly, his fingers grabbing the ring on her left hand and twisting it, she bit her lip and looked away.

Jesus, he was sexy when his glasses shifted in the way they just had…

"Is that a yes, then?" He moved one pair of their hands up to nudge her cheek and make her look back at him, "Will you marry me?"

Gracia huffed as she felt her face get hotter as her blush darkened, "I suppose you'll cry if I say no?"

"Yep." Komui smiled up at her cheekily, his eyes closing, "And then I'll follow you around for a few years and poke you, asking over and over again until I get the answer I want."

"And if I still say no?" Gracia quirked a brow, smiling slightly.

"Well, I guess I'll move on eventually." Komui chuckled, "Men of my caliber are always hot in a specific niche of the market; I'm sure there's _someone_ out there who would want me."

"…You know, I don't like the sound of that." Gracia sighed, "I suppose I don't really have a choice, then."

Komui smirked and moved his body against hers again, chuckling in a lower, darker tone when he got her to shudder and moan softly.

"You never did."

* * *

Once she'd figured out how to properly secure her new tunic, she picked up Judgment's holster and wrapped the main belt strap around her waist, securing it as tightly as she dared (which was still about as tight as she once would have been able to; though she had gained a noticeable amount of weight, it wasn't yet to the point where she couldn't hide it with layers of clothes and a belt) before reaching down and tucking the straps of the thigh cinch through the open slit of her long, dress-like tunic, securing them around her thigh securely.

After twisting and stretching to made sure it all seemed to fit okay, she turned back towards her bed and picked up Judgment, slipping it into its holster and—

Gracia paused and blinked when she saw Komui staring at her.

Intently.

And, after several moments of silence occupied by him still staring at her, his eyes wide and his jaw almost looking like it wanted to drop, she sighed heavily, feeling a stab of annoyance.

"What?" She listened, her stare flattening, when Komui just sputtered something in Mandarin about her clothes. "Yeah, Johnny had to redesign them; the old ones were too baggy and focused on shielding my body from collapsing and hard blows. I have to change my fighting style for Judgment, so I needed a new uniform."

"…_It's… it's… it's…_" Komui sputtered, still in Mandarin.

Gracia sighed heavily and kept speaking in English, hoping that indicating that he should switch languages would make him more eloquent, "What about it?"

"…That style of clothing… looks _fantastic_ on you…"

Gracia blinked and stared at him, a bit caught off-guard, then blushed slightly and rubbed her neck. Well, at least he was forming proper sentences…

"Thanks…" She grabbed her coat and pulled it on.

"No, don't cover it up!" Komui whined.

Gracia rolled her eyes in disbelief, buttoning her coat up, "Komui, I have to go."

"W-Well, yeah, b-but…" A triumphant look flashed across his face and he pointed to her, "Luxembourg is fairly warm around this time of the year, so you don't need your coat!"

"…Luxembourg is also a very wet place." Gracia glared at him flatly, "And, need I remind you that I have the beginnings of a _baby bump_ to hide?"

"…But the bump looks so cute." Komui pouted. When Gracia narrowed her eyes at him harshly, her hand going for Judgment, Komui whimpered and raised his hands in surrender, "I give, I give!"

Gracia huffed and turned her back to him, sitting on the edge of the bed and making sure her boots were laced properly. She couldn't help shuddering slightly when Komui wrapped his arms around her waist, nuzzling the back of her shoulder.

"Be careful… Please? Even if you 'are' going to miscarry, you… you don't need to encourage it…"

Gracia paused at that. After a moment, she sighed, "Talk to that doctor… about getting started on prenatal care."

"…Really?" She couldn't help but cringe slightly at how happy, excited and hopeful he sounded.

"If you must." Gracia pulled away from him, standing and going on in a low voice, "Just… don't get your hopes up."

Komui squealed and lunged to his feet to hug her from behind again, cuddling with her back, "I promise it'll all turn out just fine!"

"Yeah, sure." Gracia blushed, struggling, "And will you let go and get some pants on? !"

"Aww, but don't you want to come home to me still in this state…?" Komui chuckled, nibbling on the back of her ear.

Gracia ground her teeth as the pressure in her neck and face from blushing became uncomfortable, jerking away from Komui and heading to the door, "G-Get dressed and go back to work." She cursed herself for stuttering.

Before she could open the door, a hand reached past her and pressed against it, another hand grabbing her waist and turning her around.

Komui smiled down at her gently as she leaned back against the door, his hair a bit mussed and his body… well… naked, save his glasses.

"Stay safe, alright?" He reached up and brushed his fingers through her still far too short hair, "Both of you…"

"…Quit worrying." Gracia mumbled, glancing off to the side so she wouldn't be tempted to… look… down… "It's not like I had ever miscarried because I was irresponsible…"

"I know, I know…" When Gracia started to fumble for the door again, Komui suddenly perked and wrapped his arms around her waist, nuzzling her neck, "Oooh, when you get back, let's start thinking of names!"

"Stop that!" Gracia whined, struggling and turning to fumble for the doorknob desperately, "I already agreed to do the damned prenatal care even though it won't do any good! ! Quit getting your hopes up!"

"Never~!" Komui cackled madly, still holding her close, "We're going to get married and have a baby and then you'll be shackled to me for eternity~!"

When Gracia finally managed to slip out of the door five minutes later, slamming it shut behind herself once she was safely in the hall, she twitched and blushed darkly at the flat look/perverted grin Klaud and Timothy, who were waiting outside, gave her, respectively.

"…I don't wanna talk about it. Can we just go?" She turned and stormed off down the hall, ignoring Komui's pained whines and Timothy's snickers.

She could see it now… and she knew it was going to give her nightmares.

Komui was going to be one of _those_ kinds of husbands/dads.

Damn it, she never should have directed his attention away from Lenalee…


	134. PSR Set 2: File III

*sighs* I miss being able to update more frequently, too, you guys…

Oh, and: HOLY SHIT, TODAY IS LOVE SLEEP, COME UNTO POVERTY'S FIRST BIRTHDAY! !

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia smiled, closed her eyes and inhaled deeply as she walked alongside Klaud and Timothy (Timothy, though, was skating on his inlines) through Luxembourg City. "Mmm, I missed Luxembourg… It's such a nice place…"

"It's wet." A soaked Timothy mumbled petulantly, drooping and furrowing his brow as he stuck out his lower lip, "It keeps raining."

"Well, you should have listened to Klaud when she told you to bring your jacket." Gracia cracked an eye open, glancing at the boy flatly, "She is your General, you know; you really should listen when she gives you an order."

Timothy sneered and rolled his eyes, muttering something in French.

…Something Gracia picked up on. She opened both of her eyes and glanced at him sharply, narrowing them, "I heard that, you little pervert, and the fact that you're stuck with two adult females does _not_ mean this is going to be fun for you. If I catch you, even once, trying to use Tsukikami on either of us for non-combative purposes…"

Timothy narrowed his eyes up at her and quickly ducked around to Klaud's other side, leaning forward and grinning up at Gracia mischievously as he used his General as a shield, "Too bad I'm not your apprentice!"

"I'll let her."

Gracia smiled smugly and Timothy looked up at Klaud with wide, helpless eyes as she glanced down at him flatly. The boy then glanced off to the side sullenly and seemed to grumble to someone who wasn't there.

…And then…

…She was the only who didn't react in time.

Lau Jimin must have warned Klaud.

Tsukikami must have warned Timothy.

Judgment… hadn't responded at all.

Thus, when there was a sudden explosion in front of the three, Gracia wasn't able to move out of the way as a large, sharp slab of stone flew right through her bod—

Gracia's breath froze in her throat as her body lit up with pain, a terrible tearing sensation pulling what she knew from experience with Judge-Sal to be either her mind or soul in one direction while her body was forcibly jerked in the other.

And, when she finally stopped tumbling painfully along the ground, she shuddered and curled in on herself, everything around her a cacophony of sound and her body, her _being_, suddenly feeling… naked… vulnerable…

There was another explosion nearby, _very_ nearby, and then she felt a presence looming over her and heard the loud whistling of air resistance as something fell and—

A strong pair of arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her up quickly but smoothly, gracefully twirling out of the way and holding her protectively as the razor-bladed edge of the tendril of the Level 3 that had ambushed them slammed down right where she had been, cleaving the stone pathway clear down to the soil underneath.

The Level 3 in question, which apparently hadn't been aiming for Gracia at all, kept up the fistfight it was currently in with the grown and battle-crazed Lau Jimin, a nearby, decisive crack of Klaud's whip barely keeping the Anti-Akuma Beast in line as it fought.

"Are you alright?"

Gracia looked up at the source of the rich, suave voice, blinking slowly up at the man who'd saved her.

He was wearing brightly colored robes that… looked like those a Shinto priest would wear, if Gracia wasn't mistaken, and his face was panted white and decorated with crosses done in blue.

And… underneath it all, he looked like—

"Timothy?" Gracia blinked. A very, very grown up Timothy.

"Tsukikami." The man smiled down at her smoothly, taking one of her hands and lifting it to brush his lips across the back, "That was a very close call, Lady Solidor."

"…Tsukikami?" Gracia quirked a brow up at him.

"Well, Tsukikami's 'second,' really." The man chuckled, "But Master named me Tsukikami for the sake of convenience."

"Ah… Wait," Gracia frowned, "Why can I see you?"

"Well…" Tsukikami nodded back towards where most of the noises that were crashing around them were coming from.

Gracia looked over, starting and staring in shock when she saw herself… _her body_ holding a seemingly unconscious Timothy under one arm while her other held out Judgment and fired rapidly but ineffectively against several Akuma that seemed to be at Level 2, her own face contorted in shock and fear…

…It took four bullets just to slow one of them down; hadn't Judgment purified things much more quickly when Cross—?

…Oh. Right. Her synchronization rate sucked…

"You should really pay more attention." Tsukikami sighed, "Those Akuma went straight for you."

"…I'm… not used to being more on edge than that." Gracia mumbled, "Sleep… Sleep always warned me…"

"Sleep must have really loved you, then." Tsukikami stood a bit straighter, starting to sound serious and battle-focused, "But Judgment isn't Sleep, and your synchronization—"

"I know, alright?" Gracia sighed heavily, pulling away from him, "Tell Timothy to get out of my body."

"Understood." In a flash, Gracia was being slammed back into her body, her face still twisted in an expression she hadn't put on it and her right arm snapping back as Judgment's recoil caught her off guard.

Timothy squirming under her arm snapped her back to reality and she pulled the boy up, hugging him to her chest with both arms and taking her finger off of Judgment's trigger as she jumped, dove and rolled out of the way when another tire-sized hunk of stone was thrown at her.

When she'd rolled to her feet again, Timothy was taking off, the wheels of his skates humming as he zipped about, and Gracia was taking aim again, using her free hand to brace Judgment this time as she went to fire.

She was met, though, with a dull click and no explosion.

Cursing, she turned her attention to Judgment and fumbled with the clip, trying to snap it open so she could empty the shell casings and reload. In taking her eyes off of the battle, though, she'd given the Akuma the chance to sneak up on her, and when the empty silver casings were finally raining down on the stone walkway and she was clicking the clip shut again, the Anti-Akuma Weapon reloading itself, she looked up and was met with the sight of a grotesque Akuma with a hideously cartoonish face grinning down at her, opening is mouth and letting several scaly snake tongues slither out, dozens of beady eyes locking on her.

_Run… What did I teach you? Did these last few months on your own teach your body nothing? ! RUN! !_

At the unknown voice's urging, Gracia turned and—

_Not that way, **towards** it!_

Her body obeyed without her really thinking about it and she adjusted her angle even as she ran, making to run past the Akuma, instead.

_Leg, right there! Jump!_

She sailed through the air as the appendage that was trying to trip her swung low, turning herself back towards it as she landed and skidding backwards on her feet. Nearly falling, she had to crouch and brace her hand against the ground, getting a friction burn.

_There's an opening!_

Not sure what else could possibly be seen as an opening, Gracia stumbled forward and ran up the large Akuma's sloped back before it could turn to her.

The whole time she was moving, she could feel muscles she didn't know were that developed pumping and getting drawn tight in her legs, moving her body faster than she'd remembered it being able to go…

…What exactly had she spent the last two or so months doing, running marathons?

Doing her best to focus on invoking the same feeling from Judgment that she had when using Sleep, Gracia crouched on the Akuma's shoulders and pressed Judgment's muzzle into the back of its head, firing without a pause or second thought.

Black, oily blood spattered on the ground as if a balloon filled with it had been dropped and burst, and beneath Judgment's muzzle a large, transparent but glowing sigil bearing the winged torso of a woman on a cross grew on the back of the Akuma's head and neck.

When the light it was radiating began to quickly grow, becoming blinding in almost a flash, Gracia's eyes narrowed and she held her arm out in front of her face, choking on a curse just before the Akuma below her exploded and she was sent sailing back through the air.

Acting on pure instinct, she curled in on herself, wrapping her arms around her stomach and pulling her knees in, setting her jaw and waiting to crash to the ground.

Briefly, a flash of worry for the bab—

Gracia slammed back into something somewhat soft that grunted and grabbed her, and when she peeled her eyes open and glanced back to see what could only be an Akuma, she quickly fumbled with Judgment and aimed back—

"W-Wait, wait!" The Akuma, which looked like a giant… strange… fluffy rabbit with a bodybuilder's fur-covered arms, cried out in an oddly warbling voice, shaking its head as its eyes widened, "It's me, Timothy!"

"…T-Timothy…?" Gracia stuttered slightly as the energy quickly drained from her body. She groaned, her eyes rolling back into her head and her arm going limp, Judgment nearly falling from her fingers.

"Ah! M-Miss Gracia! !"

The fluffy, muscled arms she was wrapped in slowly pulled away and she felt hard, cool, wet ground against her back, the cold quickly seeping into her clothes and starting to chill her suddenly too-weak body.

Overhead, she heard that odd Akuma's warbling voice calling out to her, but she couldn't focus…

She was so drained… Not tired, but drained… Barely clinging to consciousness…

Her hand… something… in her hand… was literally sapping the life out of her…

…Judgment? But why…

…Had using that much power on that Akuma… really drained her this much…?

Her synchronization rate really… really… sucked…

For a while, everything went black.

Then, she was floating back into consciousness and opening her eyes… And overhead…

…Was that… a giant rabbit… with muscled arms… trying to push back a… giant panda…?

…Yes… that was a giant rabbit… and a giant panda… with their opposable-thumbed hands clasped… pushing back against one another…

…What… in… the…

…It took her a minute to realize there was something wrong with both the panda and the rabbit; pandas didn't have long, thick metal tubes growing from their backs and metallic claws on their paws, and rabbits didn't have shark-like, razor edged teeth and furred dinosaur tails.

And as she realized this, the giant panda was throwing the giant rabbit aside and diving after it, making Gracia cringe as the tubes on its back whipped overhead and spattered her with thick, black oil that smelled of blood.

Blood Oil…

That's right… Akuma…

The, there was a loud humming and Gracia looked up again, a tremor running through her body when an unnaturally large, wasp-like Akuma roughly the size of a German Shepherd slowly moved to hover over her, bobbing and weaving slowly, hypnotically through the air as the bright, eye-catching colors on its body spiraled and slid over one another like oil on water.

The humming of its rapidly flapping wings seemed to briefly mimic laughter, and its pincers rubbed against one another as it hissed.

"What a weak but plump Exorcist woman…"

Gracia had to twitch slightly at 'plump.' She hadn't gained _that_ much weight yet…

Wait… Why was she worried about that…? She had to fo… cus…

The colors on the abdomen changed and her mind went blank, a dizziness overcoming her.

"Oooh…? And what's this ssssmeell?" The wasp closed in, its pincers moving faster and liquid starting to bead and drip from its mouth, "You're with _child_? Oooo, you will be delicioussss!"

…Child…

…wait… that was…

…right…

She was…

Gracia started to pant frantically as the Akuma hovered even closer, its pincers opening wide and closing in on her stomach.

No…

No.

"No."

There was a flash of silver, and Gracia swung her arm and Judgment, pistol-whipping the Akuma.

The wasp's body flashed dozens of brilliant, angry reds as it reeled and screeched, the hum of its beating wings increasing to a roar as it spun around and recovered, glaring down at her. It swung the back of its body around, its pincers grating loudly as the dagger-long stinger at the end of its body was bared, venom already beading at the tip.

"You little _bitch_! !" The Akuma screamed, snapping its upper body backwards and lashing forward with its—

**No.**

There was a loud shot, dulled somewhat by the rest of the sounds of battle around, and the wasp reeled backwards again, its body writhing in and around on itself as its dozens of legs flailed, black seeping from a hole in its abdomen.

Around this hole, the sigil of the winged female torso on a cross flashed…

"You will… not… touch my baby…" Gracia croaked, her arm still outstretched and aiming Judgment.

Rage.

As she thought back… on what that Akuma had tried to do… Rage flashed through Gracia's body and she ground her teeth, her grip on Judgment's handle tightening until her skin squeaked against the grip.

The Solidor Family poison flooding her veins, Gracia panted harshly and sat up, bracing her free hand against the ground and pushing herself upright.

Anger and adrenalin freeing her from the hypnotic effects of the wasp Akuma's body, Gracia turned to face it and aimed Judgment again, brushing it off when she saw the silver of the gun flash…

She knew that kind of flash; it wasn't anything to worry about.

It was a flash that meant… the Innocence was going to lend her more power.

Power to protect… Power to allow her to let out her rage.

…Rage?

Sleep had been protection and love…

But Judgment was… protection and—

Steeling herself, Gracia aimed Judgment, focused her line of vision down the sights, and fired.

Without waiting to watch as the wasp Akuma exploded, the same sigil as before flashing brilliantly in the airspace where it had been, Gracia turned and aimed again, firing at the giant Akuma panda Timothy, still in the body of the giant Akuma rabbit, was fighting, the panda letting out an unearthly scream as its body swelled where the bullets landed and sigils formed on its arm, the side of its stomach and its hip.

Taking advantage of the Akuma's weakened state as it faltered, Timothy pressed forward, pulling one burly, fur-coated fist back and throwing it forward to bury it in the panda's stomach before it burst out the other side, Blood Oil spattering and spilling.

Frowning at her bad aim, Gracia fell to one knee and held Judgment out again, pressing her free hand to the butt of the handle to steady her aim.

She fired again, and the panda Akuma's head jerked to the side, more Blood Oil spattering out the other side before its head swelled like the rest of its body.

All at once, the Akuma exploded, making Gracia cringe and step back and Timothy whine and hold up his muscly rabbit arms as he was sprayed with gore.

As the streets fell silent, Gracia shuddered and fell down on both knees, Judgment clattering to the ground as she lost the strength to hold it up, though her hands still held the grip.

After they'd gathered themselves together, Timothy skated over to Gracia, Klaud walking up behind her with a sigh.

"Starting to figure out Judgment's mechanisms?" The female General asked, offering Gracia a hand.

Gracia just stared up at her, feeling too exhausted to even try to lift her hand, "It's so… demanding… It needs me to make… so many subconscious decisions… I can't… keep up with it…"

"You'll have to learn to." Klaud sighed, reaching down and taking Gracia's upper arm as she pulled her upright, "Letting the Science Division alter Judgment's body will help. You should talk to Komui about it when we get back."

"Right…" As her alertness and adrenalin gave way to exhaustion, and not the kind she was used to, but a genuine exhaustion caused by exertion, Gracia became aware of the pains in her body, including… a rather sharp one in her stomach.

She gasped when Klaud tried to straighten her out, pressing one hand to her stomach and clutching at the woman with the other as she leaned against her and buckled. As her heart pounded and blood rushed through her ears, muffling the surprised and worried cries around her, she looked up at Klaud as her eyes watered.

"Klaud… my baby…" She rasped, making the General's eyes widen and her grip tense, "Doctor… please… My baby…"

"Don't worry…" Klaud murmured almost immediately or after a pause, Gracia couldn't tell… her vision was starting to flicker, "We're going now…"

Relief flooding her body to accompany the pain, Gracia let the flickering black take over as she passed out completely, the last thing she was aware of being the feeling of Judgment slipping from her hand.

* * *

As she floated back into a state of consciousness, she was vaguely aware of voices swimming in the blackness around her…

"_She's fine, aside from some minor spotting. Keep a close eye on that to make sure it doesn't complicate further and turn into a full miscarriage, and for the love of God, do _not_ let her strain herself like this again!"_

"_I understand completely, doctor… Thank you so much. How are her other injuries?"_

"_Minor bruising, a few friction burns, and what I suspect to be a few still healing bones were jostled a bit too much… Whatever kind of work it is you all do, she shouldn't do it for a while, if at all for the next six or so months. If she absolutely _must_ work, talk to your superiors about holding it off for at least two months."_

"_Alright. Thank you."_

"Thank you." Gracia opened her eyes and looked over as Klaud inclined her head after the doctor, who walked out of the room shaking his head. When the older woman turned back to Gracia, her expression softened but sobered at the same time, a frown forming on her face as she walked over, "Why didn't you say anything?"

"…Because it's not going to last, anyway." Gracia mumbled, "Keeping it is… really more for Komui." When Klaud narrowed her eyes down at her, Gracia looked away and started to sit up, "He said I'm fine, right? We need to—" Gracia grunted when a firm hand slammed her back down onto the bed, then went limp with shock as her head snapped to the side, her cheek stinging from the sharp slap she'd been given.

"I don't care how your other pregnancies turned out." Klaud hissed down at her, her voice livid, "Those are in the past. You are a mother _now_, and _this_ baby is depending on you to _try_, even if it ends up miscarrying. Now," Klaud pulled back, turning towards the door, "Stay there and rest for a bit longer. We'll head back to Headquarters in due time."

Gracia stared after Klaud as the woman walked out the door of what seemed to be a room they'd rented at a hotel. She then sighed and laid back, rubbing her cheek and staring at the ceiling.

…She was right, Gracia concluded after a bit, her eyes tearing up. No matter how futile she felt it was… that didn't give her the right to be irresponsible with the baby's life.

"…I'm sorry." Gracia mumbled softly, setting a shaky hand on her stomach.

Vaguely… she saw a humanoid form shift out of the corner of her eye.

_All parents… are allowed to slip up at least once._

Gracia tensed, her eyes snapping over, when she recognized the voice from earlier.

When she looked at where she'd seen the movement come from, though… there was no one there. Just an empty chair.

After looking around for a moment, Gracia reached over to the nearby nightstand, where Judgment was resting in its holster. Gun in hand, she laid back down, resting Judgment on her stomach as she closed her eyes.


	135. PSR Set 2: File IV

XD Oh, I can't wait for the next chapter… Guess why, ya?

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Truthfully, Gracia was relieved that Komui wasn't waiting at the Ark Gate when she, Klaud and Timothy got back from Luxembourg. Had he been there, he would have fawned over and hugged her, which just would have hurt…

As she started to carry a somewhat dazed Timothy, who had been a bit more wet than they had thought and was getting a bit sick because of it, to the medical ward, Klaud glanced back at Gracia sharply, "Go rest."

"Right." Gracia sighed, nodding and starting to walk back to her bedroom.

After they'd talked about it a bit (making sure Timothy only had a general idea that Gracia was ill), Klaud had agreed to leave the word 'pregnancy' out of her report (which would make its way back to Central) as long as Gracia let Klaud talk to Komui about keeping her participation in missions minimal.

Klaud would also be discreetly mentioning it to Socalo and Tiedoll, so they would be aware of the situation should Gracia be sent out with them…

Without even needing to be asked to, Klaud had wanted to keep Gracia's pregnancy secret from Central. Though she'd been grateful, Klaud's vehement insistence about as few people knowing as possible had startled and worried Gracia somewhat, though the fact that Klaud had muttered the last parts of what she had been saying as she'd stormed through the Ark Gate made it impossible for Gracia to be able to tell why.

Would Central be _that_ angry over her pregnancy…?

Gracia sighed as she walked into her room, then froze, her eyes slowly narrowing as she looked around. Something wasn't right…

…The blankets had been removed from her bed, leaving only the sheets, all of her personal effects were gone, her closet doors were open and the closet was empty… And when she walked over to her dresser and opened the topmost drawer, where she put her underwear, it was empty, as well.

Already having a good idea of who she needed to blame, Gracia turned and stormed out of her room, heading to Komui's.

When she walked into his room, though, she had to stop, her mind going blank from the sight she was met with.

Curtains drawn, lights off, room lit softly by at least two dozen candles, flower petals sprinkled all over the floor…

…And Komui lying on his side on the bed, propped up on one elbow with his other arm draped across his naked torso, clad only in a pair of black silk boxers.

He gave her a 'sexy' smirk, one groomed brow rising up when she just kept staring at him silently.

"Welcome home, dear." Komui purred, reaching out and rubbing the stretch of empty bed next to him, "Why don't you come over here so I can greet you properly?"

"…You are such a nerd."

Komui's face fell and he balked, his glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose as he started to pout, "What? !"

"You heard me!" Gracia narrowed her eyes at him, pointing back towards her bedroom, "And what happened to my room? ! It's been cleared! Where are my things? !"

"Your things all have new homes in here!" Komui whined, sitting up and waving his arms emphatically, "The right half of the closet is now yours, all of your bathroom things are arranged in the same way in the same drawers as they were in your old bathroom, and all of the drawers over there, save the bottom four, have your things in them!"

"…You handled my underwear? !" Gracia glared at him harder, twitching when Komui flushed guiltily, "And why are my things in here now? !"

"Because you're moving in with me!"

"Why? !"

"Why noooot? !" Komui whined back at her, "You're my fiancée! It's only natural that we should live together! Besides, you'll need help the further along you get, and I want to keep a closer eye on you while you're pregnant!"

"That is _Renault's_ job!" Gracia was unable to keep a whine of her own from entering her voice and not really giving a damn as she and Komui continued arguing, "And I don't _want_ to move in with you! !"

"Why nooooot? !"

"Because you're annoying, and I only have the patience to take care of one baby at a time! !"

"But I _love_ you! !"

"And I'm starting to _hate_ you! !"

They both went silent after that, glaring at one another and panting.

Then, a wide smile stretched across Komui's lips and he cried out happily, jumping out of bed and running across the room to hug her tightly, "You're so adorable when you're hormonal! ! You know, being easier to anger means it's gonna be a girl~!"

"That's a load of bullshit!" Gracia snapped, struggling against him, "Besides, if we're having anything, it's gonna be a boy! !"

"Oh?" Komui pulled back slightly, smiling down at her amusedly, "What makes you say that?"

"Karma." Gracia sneered back up at him, "You've spent so much time protecting Lenalee from boys that karma's gonna get you back by not only making this baby a boy, but also making him a womanizer."

Komui blinked and stared down at her, then his eyes widened and his face fell, his skin paling slightly as it seemed to dawn on him.

"Karma's a bitch." Gracia smirked, using the opportunity to jerk away from Komui.

"…Nooo!" Komui wailed after her, making Gracia squawk when he grabbed her again from behind, "It cannot be truuuue!"

Gracia whined and started struggling again, but when Komui's arms applied a bit too much pressure to her stomach, a sharp pain shot through her and she cringed, buckling and letting out a pained cry.

"Gracia? !" In a flash, Komui's voice was terrified and filled with concern, and he slowly eased her down into the ground, sinking to a crouch beside her and holding her to his chest, "What is it? ! Did something happen during the mission? ! Damn it, I knew I shouldn't have let you go!"

Flinching at all of the noise he was making, Gracia shuddered and leaned back into his arms, rasping, "I-It's fine, Klaud already took me to the doctor for it… Just a bit of spotting… I just need to rest…"

Quickly but carefully, Komui picked Gracia up, brushing petals off of the bed before setting her down gently.

Gracia shuddered again and sank back into the bed, panting slightly and pressing a hand to her stomach while the other went to fumble for Judgment's belt, which felt a bit too tight at the moment.

When she felt Komui's warm, slightly calloused hands brush hers aside, she relented and laid back, letting him remove Judgment and her coat. Komui then continued undressing her, making Gracia blush when he ran over to his dresser and came back with one of her nightgowns, easing her up and stripping her down before slipping the gown over her head.

As he worked, his hands moving over her body gently and sending pleasant sensations down her spine, Gracia's anger with him faded and she reflected on how much of a bitch she'd been, which made her tear up and get upset.

Komui sat down beside her and breathed a sigh of relief when he was done, blinking down at Gracia when he looked down and saw her looking up at him with tear-filled eyes.

Feeling extremely upset (and not quite sure why she was feeling it in an extreme), Gracia reached up and wrapped her arms around Komui's neck when he started to lean over her with a concerned expression, pulling him down against her to hug him tightly and strangling sobs against his neck.

"I-I'm so sorry…" She rasped, hiccupping, "I-I don't know what came over me to make me so angry… I'm sorry I snapped at you…"

…Truth be told, she also didn't know why she was apologizing so tearfully. Usually she'd just sigh, mumble a weak but sincere apology, and Komui would grin, hug her a bit too much and make her blush/give her a reason to be annoyed with him all over again…

…Then, Komui was chuckling and wrapping his arms around her, rolling onto his side and pulling her close to his chest as he stroked her back. "You're so cute when you're hormonal." He observed with an amused tone, nuzzling her cheek.

…Ah, right. Hormones.

Now, with a reasonable explanation at hand, Gracia sighed and managed to calm herself down, pulling away from Komui enough to rub her eyes. As soon as she was done, though, he had her pressed against his chest again, though she let it happen, relaxing.

"…How bad was it?"

Taking a moment to realize what he was referring to, Gracia sighed and assured him in a gentle tone, "Not bad at all, really. Nothing compared to a miscarriage… I just got tossed around a bit too much." She paused when he let out a sigh of relief, then went on hesitantly, "Klaud… knows."

"…I thought she might have learned through this." Komui nodded slightly, his chin digging into the top of her head.

"…She's going to talk to you… about lightening my workload." Gracia paused, then sighed again, "And she said she wouldn't put it in her report."

"That's good." Komui had a slight smile in his tone, "Though I hadn't thought she would."

"…She… scolded me." Gracia mumbled, feeling some of the guilt from before come back, "About… not being concerned enough about the baby." When she felt Komui's grip on her change, softening slightly, she looked up at him, "She'll probably have a few words for you, too, when she talks to you."

"…Heh, yeah, probably." Komui smiled sheepishly, "Klaud can be quite the mother hen in a scary way…" He then glanced away, looking a bit nervous as he mumbled, "Though, since I'm not the pregnant one, she'll probably be a bit more open about her anger with me than she was with you…"

Gracia stared up at him silently and didn't say anything to that, her mind already on other matters…

…Should she tell Komui about the voice she had heard? About the shadow she had thought she had seen?

…Well… she hadn't seen or heard anything since then… And, after she'd recovered her memories and gone in for an examination, the doctors had warned her there was a slight possibility of her experiencing auditory and visual shadows leftover from whatever she had gone through while she had been out of the Order's eye…

And, as she'd done with dreams in the past, Gracia felt more inclined to keep these shadows to herself unless it was absolutely necessary.

Besides… unlike those dreams, something felt… different. She didn't feel as… inclined to talk about these shadows.

There was still something about them she didn't understand, something she recognized at the same time, and, thus, something she wanted to figure out before she told anyone.

Even Komui…

"—acia? Gracia…"

Gracia blinked and looked up at Komui, sighing and smiling slightly when she saw the worried look he was giving her, "Sorry… tired."

Komui sighed, chuckling, "Well, that's one thing about you that hasn't changed, Sleep or no…"

Gracia felt a stab at that and flinched, looking away.

"…I'm sorry." His large hand cupped the side of her face gently as he went on in a low murmur, "That was callous. I guess I was thinking… that you'd…"

"I haven't gotten over it." Gracia mumbled, interrupting him, "And I'm sorry, but I don't think I will for a while, so if we can just not talk about it…" She looked down at her right hand and wrapped her hand around her wrist, where Sleep had once rested, where the skin was still pale…

"Alright, we can do that…" Komui nodded, cuddling with her gently and settling down as the candles started to drown in their wax, "…Hey, you wanna start picking names?"

"Again with this…?" Gracia sighed. She paused, then decided to skip over the strong possibility of her miscarrying and went straight to, "We don't even know what the gender is; we still have five, six months."

"Yeah, but if we pick a name and start talking to the baby now, she'll be smart by the time she's born~!" Komui gushed, grinning, "And then she'll be a super baby, and I can start teaching her to make robots~!"

"For the last time, it's gonna be a boy." Gracia sighed again, heavily. She then looked up at Komui with narrowed eyes, "And if you get a goddamned Komlin anywhere _near_ the baby before he's seven, he'll have _two_ mothers, one biological and one surgically altered."

Komui paled a bit, then pouted, "Fine, fine."

Gracia sighed and closed her eyes, relaxing.

"…Xue."

Gracia's brow twitched and she cracked one eye open.

"…Jun… Fen… Kom—"

"If that one is in any way, shape or form related to the Komlin, I'm going to knee you."

Komui huffed petulantly and fell silent.

"…And those are all female names." Gracia glanced up at him with her one opened eye, "And they're all Chinese."

Komui quirked a brow and looked down at her flatly, "Your point on the second note being…?"

"I'm European." Gracia's own stare flattened, "And we Solidor's have very strong bloodline traits, ones that Mathilda, Lorelei and I tend to exemplify; red or blonde spectrum hair color and gray or dark eyes."

Komui snorted, rolling his eyes and smiling smugly, "Well, we Lees come from a _very_ handsome stock, and we are _very_ Asian."

"…Do you listen to yourself talk even just _once_ in a blue moon?"

"Of course I do! I'll have you know I frequently plot out any and all conversations you and I could possibly have so I can think up responses to anything you might say to me at least ten days in advance!"

"…Oh, so it's just the fact that you're stupid. That makes sense."

"Aah!" Komui let out an offended cry and half-pouted, half-gapped down at her.

Gracia snickered, and when Komui pushed her onto her back and rolled over to pin her, they 'glared' at one another for a moment before they broke down and started laughing, Komui bracing his elbows on either side of Gracia's head and lowering his face to her neck to laugh against the curve and Gracia relaxing, closing her eyes and giggling weakly.

They trailed off after a moment, Komui doing his best to keep most of his weight off of her stomach and Gracia staring at the ceiling, blushing slightly.

"…I like Silas."

At that, Komui paused against her.

"…After your father?" His tone was soft, his breath light and warm against her neck.

Gracia shuddered, nodding, "Y-Yeah…"

"…Alright." Komui said softly, nodding. Then, his voice picked up a bit and he sat up, smiling down at her teasingly, "If that's what you want your one name choice to be, fine. But I'm telling you, you're wasting your option; she is _not_ going to be a boy, and _her_ name is going to be—"

"Hold on, why can't I pick a female name, too?" Gracia frowned up at him, "We should both pick one of each!"

"Why bother? You're so convinced she's going to be a boy, it's not like you'll pick a female name that holds any significance to you. Besides, I'm happy with picking a girl's name! I don't need to pick a boy's name!"

"He's going to be a boy."

"Girl!"

"Boy."

"Girl! !"

"Boy."

"GIRL!"

Gracia sighed, "Silas, your father is an idiot, so be warned."

"Hey!" Komui whined as he dove forward, lips puckered.

Gracia quickly rolled onto her side, leaving him kissing the pillow as she curled up with a sigh, "Goodnight, Komui." She smiled slightly at the moment of silence that followed, then shuddered and pressed back when Komui chuckled and wrapped his arm around her waist, settling down and pressing close to her from behind.

"Goodnight, Gracia." He then rubbed her stomach, "晚安，小女孩."

'_Goodnight, Little Girl._'

Gracia rolled her eyes and dug her elbow back into Komui's stomach, making him grunt and chuckle, then settled down and tried to go to sleep, not letting on that tears were welling up and slipping down her face as she worked hard to keep her breathing even.

She couldn't help it…

She tried not to, but… part of her hated Komui in that moment for getting her hopes up.

Why was it so hard… to accept the fact that she wouldn't be carrying this baby to term?

And now… now he'd made her name it…

Gracia closed her eyes as she shed more silent tears, pressing a hand to her stomach and apologizing mutely to the baby she would never meet…


	136. PSR Set 2: File V

Retpahc noinuer. (No, this isn't another language. I did something very simple to this spoiler. You don't have to try to crack it if you don't want: XD It's for this chapter, you'll know what it means by the end.)

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia sighed heavily as she sat at Komui's desk, filling out his paperwork and setting the pages that needed his signature aside.

He'd gone back to Asia to see Zu Mei again… Apparently, the old man's condition was worsening.

Gracia would have gone with him, if Komui hadn't insisted that it was a bad idea since Lvellie was there…

"Well, it's nice to see that at least one of you works diligently." Brigitte commented as she took the stack of papers Gracia had just set in the impromptu "Done" box Komui had made her, thumbing through them and nodding approvingly, "And has such nice handwriting…"

"Well, this is really all I can do…" Gracia mumbled, "Klaud chewed Komui out, and now he's afraid to even let me dress myself… I haven't bathed in my own in two days." She had to twitch and narrow her eyes slightly at that.

As soon as they were alone in his bedroom, Komui _glued_. _Himself_. _To_. _Her_. _Hip_.

He brought her her meals while she was in bed, no longer letting her go to the cafeteria, her uniforms were hung up in his closet where he could monitor them and Komui would whine if she so much as looked at them, she had assistance into, during, and after her baths (he wouldn't let her shower anymore)…

Komui was just shy of trying to take Judgment from her, but he knew if he even tried he'd find himself staring into the barrel of the gun.

And missions… she wasn't allowed to go on missions.

She was stuck sitting back and watching the other Exorcists struggle to keep up with the workload, Komui making up a story about her health that Klaud went along with and Timothy couldn't refute because the boy had, indeed, seen that something was wrong with Gracia, though he was too young to know what.

So, Gracia was stuck inside, doing Komui's paperwork…

And there wasn't even much she could do there; spellchecking, sorting, thorough read-throughs to look for legal loopholes, interpretations of reports that were in languages Komui didn't know, fact checking, a different perspective on Central-proposed changes that Komui didn't really need but said he did so she wouldn't be bored…

It wasn't working.

It had only been a few days, but she was already going batshit.

And she was gaining weight.

She was fat, hormonal, and batshit.

Gracia was turning into an unpleasant person to be around.

In an effort to hide the weight that was slowly becoming more and more evident, she's brushed off the new clothes Komui had bought her in favor of her old, baggy, thick traveling clothes, even pulling on the old overcoat she had first worn to the Order that she now remembered had once belonged to her father…

Frankly, though, it was getting to the point where she didn't care if anyone found out she was pregnant. She was cranky, she was bored, and she was actually _restless_.

She wasn't _supposed_ to be restless.

But she was.

Because Sleep wasn't around to curb her energy levels.

And, as new things tended to with her, this new state of being was pissing her off.

And having nowhere to direct this anger was starting to make her be more unpleasant to Komui, which was totally his fault. He shouldn't have started to isolate her…

She wouldn't have minded being sent on easier missions, or even being made to train with someone like Miranda, but _completely_ cutting her off had _not_ been what she had in mind when Klaud had said she would be talking to Komui about her workload.

At first, it had been fine… It had given her more time to sleep, and she had been _tired_ after all that had happened.

But without Sleep there, without its chemical in her body… Her constant drowsy state had come to an end.

And, even worse, it had come to an end during a time she no longer remembered.

She hadn't had time to acclimate; after she'd rested up, the drowsiness had suddenly just _stopped_, and being cut off that quickly was disconcerting and anger-inducing on several levels.

Add to that the pregnancy, Komui's overbearing nature, the fact that she was no longer allowed to go on missions, the fact that she had nowhere to direct all of her new energy…

Gracia snapped out of her thoughts when she heard something tear, sighing and drooping when she saw the sharp tip of the pen in he hand had torn through the documents she had been writing on.

There was a moment of silence, then Brigitte sighed and took the paper with her, being almost too gentle as she said, "It's alright, I can get you a new copy of that."

Gracia looked up and watched as Brigitte walked across the room, mumbling dully, "Not to be rude, but I would have expected a bit more of an exasperated reaction from you…"

"Normally, perhaps." Brigitte nodded, setting the torn paper down on a cart loaded with papers, making a small note on a notepad before she went on, "But you are already stressed, and yelling at stressed pregnant women hardly makes them focus."

…Where Gracia would have normally felt a stab of shock, she just sighed, jaded, "So, you know."

"The Supervisor isn't exactly the most discreet person in the world when he is in a panic and indirectly trying to get advice." Brigitte answered the not-quite-a-question flatly as she turned to another cart behind the paper cart, poured something, then walked back over to Gracia and set a tall glass of milk in front of her, "Now, drink and take a break."

Gracia sighed and leaned back in Komui's chair, picking up the glass and drinking. She'd need the calcium, she supposed… For some reason, she hadn't miscarried yet…

_Don't be so pessimistic…_

Gracia stiffened when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye, able to distinguish the form a bit better this time.

Male… definitely male… Wearing a faded suit and—

"—acia?"

Gracia jolted when Brigitte set a hand on her shoulder, looking over sharply at where she'd seen the man.

The area where he'd been, though, a corner in the room where the bookshelved walls met, was empty…

"…Gracia?" When she looked back up at the woman, Brigitte frowned down at her, "Are you alright?"

"…I'm fine." Gracia mumbled, pressing a hand to her neck and twisting her head slightly, "Neck is just a bit stiff…" Fortunately, her neck cracked when she twisted it enough.

Brigitte's frown deepened, but she seemed to accept the excuse as she turned and walked off to do a bit of paperwork of her own.

Once she no longer had someone's attention on her, Gracia shivered and glanced back over at the corner, drinking some more milk absentmindedly as a finger of anxiety trailed down her spine.

She was seeing things… She was really, _really_ seeing things…

Wonderful… Losing Sleep had tipped her over the edge.

Or maybe it was the baby.

Or maybe it was Komui.

Gracia sighed, setting the milk down and pushing Komui's chair away from the desk so she could lean forward, brace her elbows against her knees and drop her head into her hands.

She wanted things to go back to the way they had been three months ago.

She wanted her relationship with Komui to go back to being affectionate and slightly awkward.

She wanted her Innocence to be Sleep.

She wanted to be a General with Allen and Kanda in her group, on the verge of fighting yet again, with Link standing back and rolling his eyes.

…Allen… Kanda… Link…

…She wanted her boys back.

Three months… She'd fallen asleep for three months, and it had cost her her life.

Now she was stuck in this awkward, stressful mess, and it was only looking to get worse…

"GRAAAAACIIIAAAAA! !"

Gracia's mouth twitched into a scowl and she sighed heavily, her eyes burning as she held back tears.

Crap, Komui was back… and he sounded energetic…

How could he _not_ have an off switch?

Gracia and Brigitte looked over at the door with near identical glares as it burst open, Komui racing inside.

Either ignoring or oblivious to the looks he was getting, though, Komui just barreled across the room and swung around his desk, jerking Gracia to her feet as she turned to him and hugging her tightly as he spun around in a circle with her.

"You won't believe who I just brought back from Asian Branch~!"

Gracia sighed heavily and went limp, letting the hugging and spinning happen as she glanced over at the door slowly, "Have you and Bak finally found a way to be stu…" She trailed off when she saw the person who walked through the door with Lenalee and Marie.

Absently, she was pretty sure she heard Brigitte gasp, but the static that filled her ears as she pushed away from Komui and stumbled across the room slowly made it hard to tell… and then her mind brushed it aside and she forgot all about it.

Though Lenalee and Marie were regarding her with soft expressions (which she barely saw as her peripheral vision tunneled in to focus on the person she was staring at), _he_ didn't seem to notice as he shut the door behind himself then glanced around for somewhere to throw his ratty overcoat and scarf.

When he finally noticed her staring at him intently, he blinked and looked down at her, tipping his head slightly as his free hand went to rub the back of his neck.

"What?"

…

…

…Before she realized what she was doing, Gracia was acting on the rage that flared through her veins at that simple, obliviously indifferent question, her fist connecting solidly with Kanda's jaw and sending him crashing back against the door behind him, his head knocking against the wood and a surprised grunt bursting from his lips.

"You impertinent little ASSHOLE!"

Marie grabbed her from behind as Lenalee pressed her hands to her own mouth, watching with wide eyes as Gracia struggled to get back at Kanda, who was blinking slowly and rubbing his jaw as he stood straight again, one hand braced against the door behind him.

"'WHAT? !' YOU DISAPPEAR FOR THREE FUCKING MONTHS, YOU'RE GIVEN A NEW LEAF BY SOMEONE YOU WERE NEVER ANYTHING LESS THAN A COMPLETE AND UTTER _BASTARD_ TO, YOU LEAVE ME WITH _THAT_ IMAGE OF YOU, AND ALL YOU CAN SAY WHEN YOU SEE ME AGAIN IS '_WHAT_?' ! AND IN _THAT_ TONE OF VOICE? ! YOU _LEECH_! ! YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE _SHIT_! ! H-How DARE YOU go and… and…"

Gracia shuddered and slumped back against Marie, panting and shaking and pressing one hand against her stomach when Marie loosened his grip on her enough to allow her some use of her arms.

A slow tightness forming in her stomach made her control her breathing and force herself to calm down, her vision swimming and thin trails of heat dribbling down her face as her flushed skin quickly got cold from her rapidly dropping heart rate.

"…_Shit_, you have a good arm… What sort of training have you been doing over the last few months?"

Gracia let out a choked laugh, slumping forward further, then lunged when Kanda straightened out and wrapped her arms around him tightly, burying her face in his neck and digging her fingers into his back.

"You _arrogant_… little prick…" She sobbed, shaking, "You were free… so why…?"

"…Honestly, woman." Kanda sighed, "Pull yourself together." Still, his hands pressed against her lower back, making Gracia shudder when he actually almost returned her embrace, though his action was more for stability and support than affection…

Still, his tone didn't change, and that made Gracia, still swimming in a vortex of hormones, angry again.

Kanda grunted yet again and doubled over when Gracia buried her fist in his gut, stumbling and letting her push him aside. He then glanced after her when she threw the doors open and stormed out and down the hall, sighing and rolling his eyes as he straightened again, one hand rubbing his stomach.

Damn, she had a good punch…

A giggle made Kanda look over, his eyes narrowing and his lips pursing when he saw Lenalee stifling giggles with a hand over her mouth and a still stunned look on her face.

"She's gotten quite forceful." Lenalee giggled again before lowering her hand and biting her lip with a mixed expression, "Since she lost Sleep, that is…"

Kanda blinked at that, his eyes widening slightly. He then glanced at Komui, scowling, "…What's been happening over these last three months?"

* * *

The woman didn't look over at him as he walked into her room (well, the Supervisor's room, really).

This made Kanda roll his eyes and sigh as he walked across the room, sitting on the edge the bed and bracing his elbows against his travel-worn pants as he leaned forward slightly, his eyes locked on her figure.

She was wearing her own travel-worn, baggy clothes, though through it he could tell that she'd… gained a bit of weight.

Not that it was a bad thing; she'd always been almost stick thin.

As the silence dragged on, him waiting for her to acknowledge him and her sitting on the windowsill, staring out the window at the observatory, Kanda twitched and started to scowl. He sighed again and straightened when his position got uncomfortable, rubbing his neck.

He was going to have to start their talk? Fuck…

…Well… he supposed he could start with…

"…I wanted to thank you."

It didn't get him the reaction he'd been hoping for.

He'd fucking _thanked_ the woman, something he'd only done for a handful of other people a handful of times before, and she didn't even twitch.

…He was starting to understand why she'd responded so negatively to him being nonchalant when he'd greeted her earlier. It was annoying to not get the reaction one was expecting.

Still, Kanda sighed and went on. "I didn't take you seriously enough when you said you had people on the outside who would look for me on your behalf… and I should have. I can't begin to count… how many times knowing your name saved me."

Well, 'saved' him was probably an overstatement, but it sure had made things a hell of a lot easier.

And, he would admit (only to himself), he didn't exactly know what his limits were now that his regenerative seal was weakened, so… there might have been a few times that having somewhere to stay and food to eat probably _had_ saved his life…

Not to mention the new, warm clothes, no matter how dirty and tattered they'd gotten…

"…Once word got around that I knew you, people actually went out of their way to help me. Some even looked for me when my path didn't exactly follow what they'd expected." Kanda sighed, "After a while, they even started to greet me by name… It got to the point where, as long as they knew my name, I didn't have to worry about getting defensive. And, more than half of the time, they didn't even speak English."

Still no response other than silence.

Kanda scowled and dug his fingers into the back of his neck as he scratched, starting to feel awkward and out of place.

It had been three months, after all… Even if she didn't remember most of it because of the memory lapse from when she'd gone feral, maybe, after he'd left at the North American Branch, she hadn't expected to see him ever again and she'd just… brushed him from her mind…

Maybe he wasn't importa—… to her any…

"…I also wanted to thank you," Kanda mumbled as he stood, "For the way you treated me, and everything you said up at the end, both to me and to Alma… You really…" He paused, then sighed and gave up when she didn't even glance at him.

"Whatever. Later."

Before he could turn to walk away, though, she'd lunged at him yet again, and Kanda cringed slightly, expecting _another_ smarting blow (hell, the other two _still_ stung).

When he found himself wrapped in yet another hug, the woman's face pressed against the curve of his neck again as she resumed her earlier sobbing, Kanda sighed and relaxed, letting it happen.

"…Old man Zu is dead." Kanda mumbled after a bit, "He passed away… a few hours ago."

Gracia heaved a shuddering sigh against his neck, nodding.

"…Were you there to see him off?"

"Yeah." Kanda sighed, "…He told me that he was the one who proposed the basic idea of the Second Exorcist Program."

"…And what did you tell him?"

"…I forgave him."

He felt her smile against his skin, "Good boy, Yu. My little man is finally growing up…"

Kanda snorted and rolled his eyes. Of course, his 'growing up' had to occur right after his body started to…

"Don't call me that."

"Which one?"

"Both."

"Of course." Gracia laughed lightly. She then paused, "…What will you do now?"

Kanda pulled away from her and rolled up his sleeves, holding out his arms. He watched quietly as she carefully reached out and traced the stigmata on the undersides of his forearms.

"…I came back, as Kanda Yu, to become an Exorcist of my own volition."

"I see Mugen approved of your choice." Gracia smiled slightly as she looked at the permanent wounds, brushing her fingers over the slightly reddened edges gently, "He crystallized for you…" She then looked up at Kanda seriously and calmly, "…I'll take Master Zu's place. If you still see them… if you still need someone to talk to… I'm here."

He didn't need her for that.

Zu Mei's death had allowed him to stand on his own and face this problem, these illusions of the lotus flowers that were now dying around him.

No matter what responsibility she was willing to bear, that he honestly wouldn't have minded giving her a few months ago, he wouldn't tell her that his body was—

"I know." Kanda sighed, nodding.

"…But you won't let me, will you?"

Kanda blinked down at her, then sighed again, smiling slightly at the knowing smile she was giving him.

How long… How long ago had it been that he'd let her so close she could read him like this?

"Alright." Gracia sighed, nodding and ceding, "Keep to yourself what you will, then…"

Kanda started to nod, then grunted and stumbled slightly when she took his hand and jerked him towards the door. Fuck, she really had gotten forceful…

"I'll just impose my care on you in other ways, then. First, to the medical ward to make sure those don't get infected. Then, to Hevlaska to check on your synchronization rate and make sure the crystallization process went smoothly; it's been three months since you last held Mugen, and I don't like how it liquefied and let you drink it so quickly, no matter your emotional and personal changes. Then, we'll get you down to the Science Division and have you fitted for a new uniform; I think you got a bit taller…"

Feeling the back of his neck heat slightly, Kanda scowled and started barking protests he knew she wouldn't listen to, a small, small part of him he would forever deny relaxing slightly at the familiar feel of someone, _her_, particularly, fretting over him.

He'd missed it, more than he would ever let on, and part of him… wanted to enjoy it while he still could.

* * *

_(Forewarning, the next chapter is, like, an overload of sorrow. Seriously, I cried while I was writing it, and I got choked up a few times after while I was editing it. OTL Then again, I'm a bit of a sap, and I used some tear-jerking country music for inspiration, so… Yeah. ^ . ^')_


	137. PSR Set 2: Record Manually Prioritized

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"…-o I was thinking, after lunch, while we still have the time, we could… Gracia? Gracia."

Gracia blinked and jerked, looking over at Lenalee, "Hmm?"

"Are you alright?" Lenalee tipped her head, frowning at Gracia worriedly, "You've been… out of it for a bit now…"

The other Exorcists at the table gave her worried glances, and even Kanda glanced up from his soba.

"…Eh?" Gracia blinked, then shook her head when Lenalee's worried frown deepened, "Oh, no, no, I'm fine… I'm just… keeping an eye out, in case Komui comes barreling in here when he finds I'm not eating in his room." She refused to say 'our,' because she still felt like she was being made to bunk in his room against her will.

"Ah…" Lenalee gave her an exasperated smile and nodded sympathetically, then turned back to the rest of the group and kept talking.

Gracia smiled at her and acted like he was listening, but let her mind wander again.

…Truthfully… she wasn't really 'alright.'

Something was wrong.

She'd been feeling it all day… She just wasn't sure what the problem was.

Nothing seemed to be out of place, no one seemed angrier or more stressed than usual, the doctor had allowed her to go on prenatal vitamins and her pregnancy was progressing smoothly…

But something was still wrong.

She knew it.

She could feel it in her… chest.

And not in an 'I need my atropine injection' way (not that she could take her atropine anymore).

In a 'some instinct I don't use often is telling me something bad has/is/(going to) happen(ed)(ning)' way.

She felt a twisting pain and… and _worry_ in her chest.

And not a normal worry…

The kind of worry she felt when she was concerned for someone else's life.

…Something was wrong…

Suddenly, across from her, someone jolted, and Gracia looked over to see Lorelei looking around nervously and rubbing at her chest, her teeth worrying her lower lip and her brow furrowed.

"…Lorelei?"

The conversation around them seemed to die out as the two sisters looked at one another, both seeing they were feeling something similar.

"…I wanna call Mama." Lorelei mumbled, shifting.

Gracia frowned deeply.

Lorelei never called Mathilda 'Mama.'

When both Solidor sisters stood, Lenalee glanced at them, worried again, "Gracia…? Lorelei? What's wrong?"

"We're going to go to Komui's office to use his phone." Gracia gave her a weak smile before she turned and walked off with her sister, their lunches abandoned.

Had it just been her, Gracia would have brushed it off, but with Lorelei also acting nervous and worried…

Gracia glanced down at her sister when she grabbed her hand as they walked, Lorelei pressing close to Gracia's side for comfort and lacing their fingers. She frowned down at the younger woman, linking their arms and keeping their hands clasped, and when they got to Komui's office…

…He looked up from a phone call he was taking, appearing to be stunned at their presence, and Brigitte nearly ran into them as she rushed to get out the door.

The secretary stopped, blinking at them, "Gracia… Lorelei. I was… just coming to…"

Komui and Brigitte might have been stunned, but Gracia and Lorelei were too concerned to focus on the surrealism of them showing up right when they were needed.

Something was wrong.

Something was really… really wrong.

Gracia and Lorelei held one another's hands tighter, their knuckles turning white as they walked into Komui's office.

"…Gracia… Lorelei…" Komui started softly as he hung up the phone, standing, "We… have to go to Nalbina. Something is—"

"Don't say it." Lorelei croaked, starting to shake against Gracia's side.

"Something is wrong with Mathilda." Gracia didn't react when Lorelei jolted and looked up at her with wide eyes, keeping her own eyes locked on Komui's as he stared back at her, "And it's… bad this time."

When Komui nodded slowly, Lorelei's grip on Gracia's hand tightened to the point where her manicured nails dug into her older sister's flesh, though Gracia didn't say anything about it.

Instead, she gently untangled herself from Lorelei and nudged her over to Komui as he walked towards them. "You two go on ahead to the Gate… I need to get Renault."

Komui nodded, taking Lorelei's hand when she reached out for him desperately as Gracia turned and walked out of the room.

As she hurried down the hall, Gracia pressed a hand to her chest, swallowing harshly as the pain worsened.

This was bad.

This was really… really bad.

It hadn't been a letter… it had been a phone call.

True, last time it had been a letter because Christopher hadn't know the Order's phone number, but the look on Komui's face… the way he had spoken… the way she felt…

This feeling…

This feeling… what was it?

How had it come to her?

How had it come to Lorelei?

How had they both gone from not knowing where it had started… to knowing it had something to do with their mother…?

Was it coincidence that Lorelei had suddenly wanted to talk to their mother?

Was it coincident that they had both felt the same/a similar worry and panic?

Or was… as it something else…?

Gracia was shredding her lower lip with her teeth as she knocked on the door to Renault's bedroom, which had been moved right next to Komui's when Komui had made her move in with him.

Renault answered quickly enough, and when he saw the look on her face he blinked, his usually blank expression flickering with concern.

"Mistress…?"

"Renault…" Gracia paused, swallowing, "Something… Something's wrong… with Mother…"

Slowly… the concerned expression on Renault's face melted to one of calm understanding.

Gracia didn't like that expression, she decided.

Renault nodded, stepping out of his room and closing the door behind himself, "Let us go to her side once more, then."

* * *

Nalbina's halls didn't hold the same oppressive foreboding air they had the last time Gracia had walked through them. Instead, they seemed black with a grim resignation, with even the sky overhead overcast, as if the house and the sky knew something Gracia and Lorelei, most especially Lorelei, didn't yet want to admit they were fearing.

Unlike the last time she had come to Nalbina because of Mathilda's health, the atmosphere didn't have the same tenseness as before; the tenseness that had come with the house being filled with powerful and dangerous people sniffing around, tasting the blood on the air like sharks in the water.

When she walked into the circular sitting room right in front of her mother's bedroom, the atmosphere, instead… was solemn, and contrite.

Her relatives, all seated in the semicircle of sofas, were silent as Mathilda's personal medical staff rushed in and out of her room.

From Gaulle's side, Christopher looked up with puffy, bloodshot eyes, then stood and dashed over, throwing himself into Lorelei's arms and shaking against her chest as she bit her lip and hugged him back, pressing her face into his hair.

Gracia looked over as the heads of the Solidor house all glanced at them, nodding slightly when a few nodded at her and waving when Landon, auburn haired, blue eyed and in from the Americas, and Gil, fair-haired, dark-eyed and in from Australia, smiled at her weakly. When she felt a looming presence step up beside her, she looked up at Renault and nodded to her mother's door.

Renault nodded shortly and walked across the room quickly, leaving his coat on the glass-topped table with the map as he rolled up his sleeves and walked into Mathilda's room when there was a gap in the procession of harried nurses and doctors.

As he left her side, Gracia stood on the threshold of the sitting room, hesitant to step in further.

If she continued… she would have to be involved in the rest of the proceedings as they unfolded.

It suddenly hit her that she was on the edge of the turning back point; everything would continue to unfold even if she left, but if she took another step, it would follow her if she tried to leave later.

Lorelei and Christopher, clinging to one another, walked across the floor and over to sit by Gaulle, Katherine looking up when Gracia didn't follow after a moment and staring at her younger cousin with an unreadable expression.

Gracia felt something inside of her freeze over at the calm, heavy look Katherine gave her.

Even her…

Even Katherine had been silenced by the looming future inside of Mathilda's bedroom…

Even Katherine was being solemn, with her black pantsuit, hair pulled back into a simple ponytail, makeup done in darker colors than the usual, deadly crimson…

A hand on her shoulder made Gracia jump slightly and look back, and she shifted and swallowed slightly at the weak smiles Komui and Lenalee offered her, Kanda looking exceptionally calm.

…As much as she didn't want to continue… she'd regret it for the rest of her life if she didn't.

Sighing and nodding, Gracia turned and walked over to the sitting area.

Katherine smiled up at her and shifted over, nudging Benjamin to make him scoot so they all could sit.

Gracia sat right by Katherine, Komui and then Lenalee sitting, as well, while Kanda stayed standing, the crystal type Mugen tucked away in its cloth sleeve and clasped between his arms as he crossed them and stared at the empty fireplace.

When a feminine hand slid into hers, Gracia glanced at Katherine, then sighed and gave in, lacing their fingers together and prompting Katherine to lean her head against Gracia's shoulder.

Silence fell after that, no one talking, with only the clicking of heels as the medical personnel rushed through the doors a bit more before they all retreated back inside and shut them firmly.

Gracia wasn't sure how long they sat there… a few hours, at least.

Then, the doors were opening and Veronica, her eyes rimmed with red and her face tear streaked, rushed out and disappeared down the hall, returning a bit later with…

…With a grim-faced priest.

Gracia looked up and watched silently as Veronica and the priest walked into Mathilda's room, the doctors and nurses trickling out slowly a bit later until only Renault, Veronica and the priest were the only ones left in the room. Gracia bit her lip harshly and lowered her head, grasping Komui's hand harshly when he reached out and took hers gently.

She made it a point to… not look up when Mathilda's door opened yet again, the white of Veronica's pinafore entering her vision, accompanied by the soft click of heels, as the nurse came to a stop in front of her and crouched.

"…She's declined further treatment." Veronica's voice was hoarse and tight, small from being restrained, "She's… asking for you, My Lady."

Gracia swallowed thickly and nodded, standing. Katherine's hand slipped out of hers easily, but when Komui hung on she turned to him and leaned in, kissing his forehead absentmindedly before pulling away and following Veronica as the nurse led her over to the double doors of her mother's bedroom.

As she walked towards it, everything seemed… fake.

Her steps felt too light.

The air around her felt warm and too fluffy.

Her head was filled with cotton.

She almost felt like she was swaying…

It was… like a dream…

…Was this a dream?

Maybe it was… Things had been getting better before today, after all.

Maybe this was a stress-induced dream.

Yeah… Yeah, this was all a dream…

…And then she stepped into the room and the weightlessness was crushed by gravity, the world becoming solid and real again.

It wasn't a dream.

Mathilda, lying in bed, her skin sallow and her eyes closed and sunken into her head, her hair pulled over one shoulder and tied in place, her body clad, once again, in a white medical gown and tucked beneath the blankets, was really… she was really…

…And this time… this time, there was no medical equipment around, keeping her body functioning.

Gracia's arms shook slightly, her legs getting a bit weak when she saw the priest close the Bible in his hands and step away from Mathilda's bedside. When he glanced over at her and nodded, Gracia swallowed harshly, her throat suddenly dry, and she walked across the room slowly, the priest walking away as she sat in the chair by Mathilda's bedside.

It was only when the soft clicking of heels faded and the door clicked shut that Mathilda opened her eyes, looking over slowly until her eyes were locked with Gracia's.

Gracia felt something in her chest… whither.

"…I am sorry."

A jolt ran through her body and her eyes widened, the shaking in her arms getting worse as she sat up straight and stared down at Mathilda in disbelief.

Mathilda looked up at her with an exhausted expression, her blinking slow and her breaths a bit wheezy.

"Not long after you came back… when Malcolm took you to see if you wouldn't synchronize… I was the one… who told him to try… and then I left. I knew… you might become a Fallen One… but I didn't stay… to see the outcome… I was… afraid."

"…Stop that." Gracia croaked. "You're Mathilda Solidor. You don't get afraid."

"I've… been afraid of you… your entire life. I knew… early on… that you would never meet my expectations. But my own mother… my own mother didn't tell me how to handle a weak child… And I became angry. Angry at you… for not being strong enough… to protect the legacy my mother pounded into my being. And you… and her…" Mathilda laughed weakly, closing her eyes, "By the time you were born, my mother was old… and a bit senile… She loved you… so much. I had never seen her love someone as much as she did you… Not even my father… or me."

"Mother… Mother, stop talking…"

"I envied… how she could handle you… And I envied… how you could get her to look at you… without that cold expression she'd given me my entire life… She knew what would be expected of you… She knew you were the firstborn Solidor heir… She knew that, at the time, you were our only hope of keeping our bloodline in power… She knew you were weak… And she absolutely adored you. And part of me… hated you for that."

"Mom, be quiet."

"And when she and your father were gone… and I was left to handle you by myself… I didn't know what to do. So I married you off… so I didn't have to deal with you."

"Shut up."

"I've always been afraid… of how you would come to think of me… after seeing my predecessor be soft towards you… and suffering my harsh treatment your entire life. I was like my mother… so we bonded in a way that still made me love her, the way she treated me aside… Much like how Lorelei and I are. You and I though… are two completely different people… I couldn't bond with you. I never did bond with you. …I was afraid you'd grown up to hate me."

"Mathilda, _shut up_!" Gracia stood quickly, clenching her hands at her sides and digging her nails into her palms until she felt moisture.

"…" Eyes still closed, Mathilda smiled softly, "I have been waiting… so long… to hear you say that. I really do… have to thank… that useless Supervisor… don't I…?"

"Stop… talking…" Gracia begged hoarsely, slumping forward and bracing her hands against the edge of Mathilda's bed, "I hate it when people do this… I hate it when people save all of their regrets… for their deathbed. This is not… how you apologize, goddamn it. You live… and make it up with actions…"

This wasn't like Zu Mei Chang's death at all.

Zu Mei had spent his entire life trying to do right by Kanda.

Mathilda had practically treated Gracia with cold indifference up until the end.

"I can't repair what I've done to you…" Mathilda sighed.

"Then make it up by doing right by your grandchild."

Mathilda's eyes opened as quickly as her weak body could manage, looking up at Gracia with wide eyes as Gracia's tears spilled over and her hand grasped Mathilda's, pressing it to her stomach.

"You're going to be a grandmother." Gracia rasped, her throat tight and tears dripping down onto the bed between them, "And I need help. I can't do this alone, and this isn't something anyone but you can help me with. I still need my mother, damn it! You're Mathilda Solidor… fight, damn you! If you can survive a massive heart attack, why can't you survive this? !"

"…You're pregnant." Mathilda smiled, tears welling in her own eyes, "You're pregnant… And you haven't miscarried yet. It… It must have happened at least three, four months ago, right? And you haven't miscarried yet… You're actually going to be able to carry this one to term." She shuddered and closed her eyes, "Oh, God… Thank you… Thank you so much…"

"Stay focused!" Gracia choked on her scream, gasping, coughing and digging her nails into the back of Mathilda's hand, which was still pressed to her stomach, "I'm telling you that you need to stay alive to help me with this! I only know how to miscarry! I don't know how to act with something that's actually going to make it!"

"You'll figure it out…" Mathilda looked back up at Gracia, smiling weakly, "That boy in your unit… Allen Walker… I saw in his face and words what he thought of you. You did a fine job with that boy… And Lee's sister… She adores you… And your own sister… You're good with kids. You'll do just fine…"

Gracia ground her teeth and sank to her knees, slamming Mathilda's hand back down against the bed, "No… No, I need you to stay…"

"…Gracia… look at me."

She didn't want to.

Not when Mathilda had that tone in her voice.

She'd rather look at her when Mathilda sounded furious and disappointed with her…

Why?

Why did people's personalities change just before… just before they…

Swallowing harshly, Gracia lifted her head, gasping back a sob when Mathilda lifted her hand and gently pressed it to the side of Gracia's face.

"What did I teach you…" Mathilda's gaze was soft, her voice getting weaker, "About visiting?"

Shaking, Gracia lifted her own hand, pressing it to Mathilda's, "A lady… always knows… when to—" She couldn't finish, the words getting choked as her throat twisted shut again.

Mathilda, though, was satisfied, and she nodded. "That's right… And I know. It's time."

A shuddering sob made its way through her closed throat and Gracia leaned forward, pressing her face to her mother's chest and hugging her tightly, not wanting to let go.

No… No, she didn't want to let go yet.

No matter what Mathilda had done, Gracia wasn't ready to let her go yet.

She let out another choked sob when she felt Mathilda's arms wrap around her weakly, a shaking hand stroking the back of her head slowly.

"…I'm sorry, Gracia." Mathilda's own voice was unsteady, now, choked with emotion, "I truly am… so very sorry…"

"Stop apologizing… please…" Gracia begged, doing her best to swallow and control her voice, "You don't need to… please… please stop…"

"…I love you."

"Oh, God, no—" Gracia's shoulders hunched forward and she was no longer able to hold back her sobs, starting to cry uncontrollably, "N-No, no, no, no! !"

"I love you…" Mathilda said it again, her hands faltering against Gracia's back and slowly sliding off of her, her voice starting to taper off, "I love you…"

"I love you, too!" Gracia sat up and clutched at Mathilda's limp hand, hugging it to her chest as she stared down at Mathilda desperately, her face slick with tears, "I love you! Please, you can't! You can't leave me like this!"

Mathilda, though, was no longer coherent enough to answer. Her eyes, which had been locked on Gracia, slowly slid off to the side as they dimmed, her lips moving silently and her chest no longer moving to breathe.

"Mother…? Mother!" Static filled her ears and Gracia became less and less aware of what she was saying.

_Mathilda! !_

_Mathilda, don't go!_

_I'm begging you, don't leave like this!_

_You're Mathilda Solidor! You're not supposed to apologize or feel remorse for your actions!_

_Everything you did you did for the family, didn't you? ! So why? !_

_Don't leave me with this image of you!_

_Leave me with the image I grew up with! PLEASE! !_

_DON'T LEAVE ME LIKE THIS! !_

_Mommy, PLEASE! ! Please come back! !_

Mathilda Solidor inhaled one last, shuddering breath, and her eyes closed as her head tipped to the side gently, her body going limp as her spirit left and she passed on.

* * *

Some time later, Gracia stepped out of her mother's room numbly, absently aware of a vaguely familiar, looming presence stepping out with her and shutting the door.

Vaguely, so very vaguely, she was aware of people crowding around her, but she could really only see one of them.

A girl with blonde hair… hair like her father's… and eyes like—

"Sister…?" The girl looked up at her, looking utterly lost, "What… What happened in there? Can… Can I go see Momma now?"

"…No." Was that her voice? She hadn't expected it to be that steady… That weak, yes, but not that steady. "No, you can't. Not like that."

"But I—" When she held out her arm to stop the girl from stepping around her, the girl looked up at her, eyes widening with disbelief, "…You… you can't be serious… She… She didn't… No…"

…How to word this… without sounding harsh…

"…What… did she teach you about visiting?"

"Oh no!" The girl choked, her eyes quickly welling with tears as she raised her hands and covered her mouth, shaking her head quickly and taking a shaking step backwards, "No, no, no, no! !"

"A lady… always…"

"NO! !" The girl lunged forward and tried to throw her aside to get to the door, but she stayed steady, wrapping her arms around her tightly even as the girl struggled against her, "SHE DIDN'T DO IT! ! SHE WOULD'T DARE! !"

"A lady always knows… when to leave…"

The girl let out a loud, pained cry, then broke down into sobs and slumped against her as her legs gave out.

She lowered them to the ground carefully, kneeling, hugging the girl close and staring off into space as she felt wetness soak through her shirt and touch her chest, above her heart.

She stayed in place, letting the girl cry it all out.

She, herself, didn't cry, though.

She… had already run out of tears.

* * *

_Sitting with Mama_

_Alone in her bedroom._

_She opened her eyes_

_And then squeezed my hand._

_She said "I have to go now,_

_My time here is over,"_

_And with her final words_

_She tried to help me understand._

_Mama whispered softly,_

"_Time will ease your pain._

_Life's about changing,_

_Nothing ever stays the same,"_

_And she said,_

"_How can I help you_

_To say goodbye?_

_It's okay to hurt,_

_And it's okay to cry._

_Come let me hold you_

_And I will try…_

"_How can I help you to say goodbye?"_

"**How Can I Help You Say Goodbye**", Patty Loveless, _Only What I Feel_, © 1993 by Epic Records & Sony Music Entertainment, NY, NY


	138. PSR Set 2: File VI

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"How's she doing, Komu?" Jeryy asked softly as he diced some grilled chicken breast and cucumber to sprinkle on Gracia's salad, reaching for a nice, thick, creamy dressing to drizzle over the platter. Gracia hadn't eaten much since coming back after Mathilda's death, and she needed all of the nutrients she could get, even the fattening ones…

"Not well." Komui mumbled in answer, staring off into space and drinking some of the red wine one of the cooking staff had poured and handed to him, "She hasn't said a word in two days… All she does is lay in bed and stare off into space. I'm not even sure if she's been sleeping…"

Jeryy flinched, setting a smaller bowl filled with Mandarin oranges drizzled in honey on the tray, next to the larger bowl of salad, before going over to one of the many beverage refrigerators and looking around inside.

"You might want to see if Miss Fey won't let you take some of your work to your room, Komu… She's not sounding too good." He pulled out a pitcher of raspberry-flavored water and headed back over to Gracia's tray, pouring her a glass.

"Already working on it." Komui finished off his glass of wine, setting the glass down near one of the sinks, "After I take her her lunch, I'm going to go back to my office, do a few more things Brigitte wants me to, then take the rest back to my room."

"Good boy." Jeryy smiled, proud of his little Komu, then picked up the tray and turned to Komui, quirking a slight brow as he hesitantly offered it, "Now, are you sure you don't need help? You're quite clumsy… I could send someone to—"

"Don't be silly!" Komui pouted, taking the tray with a huff and starting to turn, "I'm perfectly capable of–waaaah—!" Komui shrieked and tried to step back with his back foot while his front foot kept going forward, resulting in him slowly sinking down to do the splits and narrowly avoiding a long baguette that three people hurried past him with.

Jeryy quirked a brow down at Komui, crossing his arms as Komui stayed in place, stuck, and whimpered, the back of the nerdy man's neck going red.

"…You okay down there, Komu?"

"Just fine!" Komui squeaked, his voice unnaturally high.

"You need hel—"

"No!"

Jeryy sighed, leaning his hip against the counter and waiting.

Then, a few minutes later…

"…Jeryy…"

"I'm coming, Komu." Jeryy chuckled, walking over and taking the tray from Komui, first, setting it on the counter. He then grabbed the back of Komui's collar and effortlessly hoisted him to his feet, keeping a grip on Komui so he didn't fall as the nerdy man let out a high-pitched whimper and pressed his legs close together, hunching over slightly.

Much as Jeryy had tried to brush it off, the strength he'd built up from training the first years of his life in his family martial arts dojo had only found a way to work its way into his current job…

"Thank you, Jer." Komui mumbled, a bit sullenly, before he started walking off, not looking back after having made a thorough ass of himself. His sullenness only increased when Jeryy giggled after him.

"No problem, Komu~."

Komui heaved a heavy sigh as he walked out of the cafeteria and looked down at the tray in his hands as he started to make his way back to his bedroom, thinking about the spread of food seriously.

Recently, Gracia had expressed a dislike for egg, mustard, pickles (not that she'd cared for them much before), most kinds of cheese, orange juice, any kind of thick beverage that wasn't milk, and anything that had been around coffee.

As much as she had disliked coffee before, now she was practically a sensor for it; if it had been within six inches of coffee grinds or even anything coffee _smelling_ or _flavored_, she didn't want it near her.

That included him, Komui had realized.

Initially, he'd taken to carrying around tiny bottles of mouthwash with him, but now he was thinking it was time to think up a more convenient, geekier, science-ier solution. Maybe he could find a way to pack the power of mouthwash into a dissolvable strip one just put on their tongue and sucked on…

…All of this, Komui knew, was just his way of avoiding thinking about the dark and depressing scene that awaited him in his bedroom, and bad as he felt for it, Komui knew he needed the reprieve.

When she had had Sleep, Gracia's troubles had never lasted for long.

Now that she was free to brood and had nothing that would pull her back from the brink before she toppled over the edge into a full-out depression, Gracia had become a depressing and tiring person to be around.

And it wasn't that Komui didn't desperately want to help her, didn't desperately want to stay with her…

…But…

…He knew there was nothing he could do for her.

Years of dealing with depressed Exorcists and Finders who had lost comrades in battle taught him that, sometimes, words and rationalizations and diverting tasks were just a balm.

Sometimes, closure was something one had to find alone, and when it concerned Mathilda, this was something he definitely couldn't help Gracia in.

Because as much as she had reason to hate her mother, as much as she didn't mind not having the time to be around her or interact with her, if only over the phone, as much as she really hadn't wanted to be around Mathilda when she hadn't needed to be… something in Gracia broke the day Mathilda's health had finally failed her and she had passed away.

Gracia had still needed her mother, even if it was to only exist somewhere in the world.

There had still been something Gracia had needed from Mathilda; something that, after so many years of it being neglected and unlabeled, Gracia probably wouldn't have ever gotten from her, but something nonetheless.

Gracia had several loose ends and heartstrings that part of her had desperately needed to tie up with Mathilda, and now she wouldn't be able to.

Now, she would have to accept the fact that those feelings would remain unresolved.

And that wasn't something Komui could help Gracia with, because he knew she knew it, if only in some instinctual way.

Now she only had to cross the bridge of acceptance…

But crossing such bridges had never been something Gracia had been good at; she either accepted things and awoke already on the other side of the bridge, or she simply didn't accept them and typically remained rooted in place, staring at the other side impassively.

She couldn't do that, though. Not this time.

Because staying on the side of the bridge she was on now was affecting her on a massive scale and causing her to shut down…

This wasn't something she could avoid.

Painful as accepting the fact that things would remain unfinished between her and her mother would be, Gracia needed to do it.

And all Komui could do was be there for her emotionally, take care of her as she tried to stay shut down…

Being around her when she was in such a state, though… it was depressing.

Komui found himself starting to miss Sleep; even if it was just a balm and blinders, it had made her feel better.

As close to his fiancée as he had gotten, dealing with her without Sleep, when she was as depressed as she was, was new, and it would likely be the first major emotional issue, her pregnancy aside (because he was sure things still hadn't been entirely resolved there), that he would deal with without the Innocence's help.

Outside of his bedroom, Komui paused, closing his eyes and inhaling, then exhaling slowly before opening the door with his elbow and slipping inside.

The room was dim, as it had been since they had gotten back from Nalbina; Gracia had drawn the curtains and spent so much time in the dark she couldn't really stand having the lights turned on… Some brightness leaked in from around the edges of the curtain, courtesy of the bright sun outside, but that was it.

Using his foot to shut the door behind himself softly, Komui kicked off his slippers and padded across the floor quietly, walking around to the other side of the bed.

Gracia, currently a long lump on the bed buried beneath the blankets, only her head out but her still short (though still quite a bit longer than before) hair hiding her eyes, had taken his side of the bed without saying anything, so he let her have it, even draping the uniform coat he had been wearing at the time over her. She had seemed to have appreciated it, because she had adjusted her grip on the blankets to hold it, as well, and it was still there…

"Hey." Komui smiled down at Gracia's unmoving form gently as he sat on the edge of the bed beside her, balancing the tray on his legs, "I brought lunch…" When he didn't get an answer, then glanced down at the tray before picking up the small bowl of honey-drizzled oranges, waving it in front of her face, "Jeryy made you something sweet…~"

Gracia's nose twitched, then she sat up slowly and quickly took the bowl from him, snatching up the spoon meant for the treat and downing the sweet little orange slices quickly.

Komui perked, beaming at her proudly, "That's an improvement!"

"…smells good." Gracia mumbled the first words she'd spoken in days, scooping the last dregs of juice-saturated honey from the bottom of the bowl and sucking hard on the spoon to make sure she got it all before she set it back on the tray on Komui's lap. After a pause, she picked up the salad, next, taking the fork and starting to carefully pick out only the slices of chicken, cucumber and only specific pieces of lettuce, putting the leaves she carefully sniffed and apparently didn't approve of on the opposite side of the bowl, out of the way.

Komui watched with mixed relief and mild flashes of amusement; pregnant women and their pickiness about food… When she set the bowl back down once she'd had her fill of salad and turned her attention to the drink on the tray for a moment before starting to settle back down, Komui held up his hand and stopped her.

"Aaah, I think this one's okay; the water's flavored this time. Don't worry, Jeryy and I learned from our mistake…"

Gracia paused, then sighed and sat up completely again, taking the glass and sipping. She took a moment to contemplate, then, satisfied, took a few long, healthy swallows before setting the glass back down on the tray and settling back down beneath the blankets again.

After staring at her for a moment, Komui sighed heavily and set the tray aside, turning and crawling across the bed until he was behind her. He then plopped down and snuggled close to Gracia's back, wrapping an arm around her waist.

He smiled softly, feeling more relief when she sighed and pressed back into his chest.

"…Think you might wanna go outside today?"

His answer was silence, followed by a sigh.

Komui sighed in return. "You have to go back out sooner or later." He said softly, "Staying stationary isn't good… For either of you." He rubbed her stomach gently.

"…Komui." He blinked at the back of her head, a bit shocked at the quite tone in her voice, "…I'm… really going to be able to carry this baby to term… aren't I?"

"…" Komui's gaze softened, his arm hugging her a bit tighter, "Yes, Gracia. I really… really do believe you will." He frowned worriedly when she shuddered and curled up. What was going through her head…?

He didn't have time to ask when someone knocked on his door, and rather urgently.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Komui rolled over and slid across his bed, standing and walking across the room.

A numbing jolt ran through his body when he opened the door to find Lvellie standing on the other side, the man's new assistant standing behind him.

Said assistant made a disapproving face, narrowing his eyes, when he looked past Komui to see Gracia sitting up slightly and glancing back at them listlessly, and Lvellie kept his eyes locked on Komui's, his face blank.

"…Supervisor, you and Exorcist Solidor need to meet me in your office at your earliest convenience."

Komui heard Gracia sigh behind him, presumably as she noticed what he had.

Lvellie hadn't called her "General."

And now the man had visual confirmation that Komui and Gracia were in an illicit relationship.

* * *

Sitting behind his desk, Komui wrung his hands out of sight, trying desperately to hide how nervous he was as Lvellie paced the length of the room between Komui's desk and the sofa across from it that Gracia was sitting on, the man going on a very long, very loud, and very wordy rant about relations in the workplace.

"You should save your breath – we're already engaged."

Komui's jaw dropped and he stared at Gracia in horror.

Lvellie twitched to a stop, a look that could only be associated with shock crossing his face.

Gracia, in her uniform with Judgment strapped to her hip, sat slumped back on the sofa, staring over Komui's shoulder and out the window with a look of complete and utter indifference on her face.

"…How long… has this… been…"

"At this point? …Probably a little more than half a year."

"And is it—"

"Many physical intimacy milestones have been met and crossed."

"How many—"

"I think pretty much everyone in this building and most over at Asian Branch has a general idea, and everyone else is at least suspicious. I think even you might have had your sneaking suspicions… Only a select few know the full extent."

"…Why didn't you—"

"Unless it interfered with our work, it wasn't anyone else's business."

Komui's horror only grew larger and larger as Gracia just… kept… talking, not even letting Lvellie finish his sentences anymore.

Were the questions he had in mind even remotely related to the answers she was dishing out?

Komui had no idea.

But Gracia _was_ just answering the general questions that one in the Inspector's position would ask, so either way…

Lvellie was now staring at Gracia seriously, his back to Komui, "…Are you with child?"

At that, Gracia turned her attention to Lvellie fully, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Are you saying something about my weight?"

That bought Gracia and Komui a few moments of awkward silence, the corner of Lvellie's eye twitching and his mouth opening and closing before he resumed pacing.

"…You have to understand the position this puts me in; it has been something that has been considered before, but with the lacking female Exorcist populace and the fact that those females we did have were powerful combat-types who were much better used out in the field, other projects took precedence."

While Gracia started to frown deeply in confusion, Komui felt a foreboding chill crawl up his spine.

He'd… been so worried that it would come up… been so desperate to keep it from becoming a possibility that… he'd put it from his mind… But now that Lvellie knew…

"And then the matter of the humane treatment of Exorcists was brought into question," Here, Lvellie threw Komui a scathing look, "And the proposal fell completely off of the map…"

"…A breeding program?"

Both men looked back at Gracia, whose brow was furrowing deeply as an enraged look started to settle on her face.

"First the Second and then the Third Exorcists, and now a breeding program? !" Gracia's voice rose as she stood, her hands clenching at her sides.

"Actually, the breeding program was considered before even the Second Exorcist Program." Lvellie corrected, becoming slick and calm, "But that was a very, very long time ago, when removing female Exorcists from battle was not ideal. A few attempts were made with relatives of Accommodators, but nothing resulted from it."

"Are you _kidding me_? !" Gracia snapped, Judgment flashing in its holster, "That's _disgusting_! !"

"Your case, though, would be quite different." Lvellie ignored her, starting to pace again, "There are a few records in Central of past Solidors showing potential as Accommodators, and while I suspect there are more, the Solidor Family had most of the records expunged so they could keep their heirs in their grasp. Taking into consideration, though, that both you and your sister are Exorcists…"

"_Are you listening to yourself? !_" Gracia seethed, sounding so venomous Komui couldn't say anything, his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth as shock after shock crashed over him as his fiancée and the Inspector went on talking.

"And while Komui, himself, isn't an Accommodator, his sister is a powerful Exorcist, so it stands to reason that your child could be—"

The room went silent when a pointed click cut through the tense atmosphere, Komui paling and Lvellie looking over slowly to see Gracia had drawn Judgment and was aiming it at him, the hammer drawn back.

"You try to touch my baby," A feral, sickening grin stretched across Gracia's face as her eyes lidded heavily, "And I'll blow your fucking brains out."

"…I'll chalk that up to the hormones." Lvellie quirked a brow smoothly.

As a dark anger began to accumulate between the two, Komui quickly found his voice and stood, throwing Lvellie a sharp look, "Inspector!"

Lvellie easily turned his attention away from Gracia, as if to prove that he was still in control enough to, and looked at Komui expressionlessly, pointedly ignoring Gracia's sharp glare as he asked, derision thick in his tone, "Yes?"

"Given Gracia's past with miscarriages," Komui gave the man his own pointed glare, frowning at him deeply, "I really don't think that putting her through his kind if stress is wise, no matter what Central decides to do in the future about this."

And, with that, Komui succeeded in making Lvellie blink and deflate, the anger between the Inspector and Gracia starting to dissipate, if only on Lvellie's part. Though Gracia was still glaring at the man intensely (and was starting to look a bit childish), it was ignored as the two men reached a silent agreement.

"…Gracia," Komui started, not looking away from the Inspector, "Why don't you go back to bed? Inspector Lvellie and I need to… talk."

Gracia twitched, turning her glare on Komui as disbelief flashed across her face.

Komui resisted the urge to bite his lip and shy back, instead slowly turning his gaze to his fiancée and staring at her evenly.

Gracia pursed her lips, glaring harder, then growled deep in her throat and braced her thumb against Judgment's hammer as she lowered the gun and pulled the trigger, catching the hammer before it could slam back into place and easing it back, instead. She then turned on her heel and stormed to and out the door, shoving Judgment back into its holster as she slammed the door behind herself.

Komui sighed heavily after her and slumped back into his seat, pushing his glasses up to his forehead as he rubbed his face. When he heard a deep, irritated inhale, he parted his fingers and watched jadedly as Lvellie's blurry form resumed pacing.

He had a feeling the Inspector was far from being done with yelling at him…

* * *

Gracia stormed through the halls and towards the Science Division, deciding to take advantage of the fact that she was wearing her uniform to go have Johnny resize it to make it a bit looser.

When she got there, though—

"What do you mean he's _resigned_?" Gracia growled, glaring at Reever darkly as her already irritable mood only worsened.

Reever swallowed nervously, leaning back in his chair and fiddling with his pen as he looked around for support, only to see that the other members of the Science Division who were in hearing range were shying away from the irate, hormonal woman, "H-He's resigned… He's been working on it for the last week and a half, and he just left yesterday. He's probably already on the mainland, boarding a train to take him home; his grandma has become quite weak, he said, and needs him to go home to take over the family shop to support her."

"…_You expect me to believe that?_"

Reever shuddered, "Th-That's the story he insisted was the truth. He comes from a family of tailors, you see, and his grandma was a seamstress who, until recently, was able to take care of herself without him around."

"_Reever_…" Gracia leaned in, bracing her hands against the armrests of the Science Division Leader's chair to box him in as she pinned him with a heavy glare, "_Where_ did Johnny _go_?"

Johnny loved his job.

Johnny loved the people he worked with.

Johnny had a family in the Order.

Johnny had Cash, who he was still desperately seeking the approval of.

Johnny had an ingrained quest he seemed to have taken upon himself after Tup's death.

…

Johnny was one of the few people outside of Allen's closest friends in the Exorcist forces who still believed in the boy.

"…He… went after Allen."

…

Mathilda's death…

Malcolm making worrisome remarks about the future of her pregnancy…

The crushing weight that loomed overhead, born from the stress of the fact that she really would be having this child, and that she had no idea how to handle it…

…

Gracia pulled away from Reever and stood straight, turning on her heel and starting to walk away.

"G-Gracia!" She vaguely heard Reever call after her, "What do you plan on doing? !"

"…Taking yet another leaf out of Cross' book."

She walked out of the room without saying anything else.


	139. PSR Set 2: File VII

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia sat on a bench on one of the overhead passes that overlooked the London Paddington station, keeping a sharp eye on the crowd below.

Though Johnny had a day on her, if he had resigned from the Order she doubted that they would have let him use the Ark Gates anymore… And she had been right. He had been forced to go to the town on the other side of the island Barheim was located on, board a ferry to the mainland, and make his own way from there.

His own way to here, which was the only real lead she had been able to get upon asking around back at the Order…

She, though, still being an Exorcist (not to mention a General, since it seemed Central hadn't made the suspension of her rank publicly known yet), had full access to all of the Ark Gates, and thus had reached Paddington not even a full hour after talking to Reever.

She should have gotten there either slightly before, or slightly after him, if he made his way straight to the station… And, even if he'd already left, she could always use the rank that was still sewn onto the badges on the uniform she was wearing to sequester the station's passenger records.

Oooh, she'd find the boy… One way or another, she would find Johnny.

Because, frankly, she didn't much care to be back at the Order.

And she was just hormonal and angry enough to not care about how stressed Komui would be when he found her missing.

She was not looking forward to dealing with handling Mathilda's funeral and the Solidor house succession.

She did not want to hear another word about her unborn child becoming an Exorcist.

She did not want to be around people who knew about her pregnancy and would insist on reminding her of it whenever she did something that could be considered "not good for the baby."

And if Johnny was going after Allen… she had the chance to find and then hug and punch the white-haired boy _and_ drop off of the Order's radar for a bit.

She wanted to escape the problems that loomed behind her and forget things for a while… And the easiest way she knew how was the same method she'd employed five, almost six years ago: Disappear for a while.

And since Johnny was already doing it anyway…

Unfortunately, it was hard to find someone with lightly-colored hair and Northern European features among a sea of Londoners.

It was, though, _much_ easier to find long tresses of raven-black.

Gracia immediately knew the person she was now watching like a hawk was Kanda, despite the long hair and (no matter how much Kanda vehemently denied it) slightly feminine figure. She frowned at his back as he wove his way through the crowd. What was Kanda doing here?

Kanda suddenly stopped walking and turned around in the sea of people, a scowl on his face as his eyes darted back and forth.

Gracia blinked. What… or who was he looking for?

She saw, rather than heard, Kanda huff, and she kept watching him intently as he walked over to a nearby staircase and started ascending—

—to the very overhead walkway she was on.

Quiet and calm, Gracia watched Kanda walk right over to her… and not notice her at all as he looked over the railing on both sides and into the crowd below.

Alright; he was looking for a "who."

…Wait…

…He couldn't be…

When Kanda suddenly stopped and leaned over the rail a bit, his eyes locking onto something below, Gracia stood and stepped forward subtly, looking, down, as well.

And there, boarding a train, was Johnny.

Gracia was just noting the two odd men he was boarding the train with when, a few feet to her left, Kanda looked back and forth subtly before leaping over the railing and dropping onto the train below.

…He really was going after Johnny…

After looking back and forth, herself, to make sure no one had seen Kanda (a few people had, but they were blinking and stunned, as if they couldn't believe it), Gracia turned and hurried to the end of the walkway, rushing down the steps and over to the train to board it.

_Properly._

Honestly, boys and the stunts they pulled…

After flashing the Rose Cross hidden under the plain gray overcoat she was wearing (a plain overcoat having recently become standard to the Exorcist uniform regimen), Gracia looked up and down the corridor, which was lined with private booths, as the attendant shut the door just as the train started to move.

Johnny had actually gone through a door one car down, so…

She turned and started walking, heading towards the next car. If Kanda really was going after Johnny, she might be able to meet them both at the same ti—

Gracia froze and watched with wide eyes when, just as she entered the next car, one of the doors of the private booths in front of her slammed open, someone who could only be Johnny, if that hair was any indication, falling out of the doorway.

Why was he wearing a gas mas—

"_Binding Wing!_"

Gracia's hand immediately flew to Judgment as Johnny's arms were bound to his sides with CROW spell strips, and she walked forward as the two men Johnny had boarded the train with stepped out into the hall.

"This is unmistakably traitorous behavior Johnny Gill. Our destination has changed… You are headed for prison."

Gracia was just drawing Judgment with vague images in her head of pistol whipping the men into unconsciousness when the window directly above Johnny shattered, a heavily booted foot thrusting through and meeting the first man's face harshly.

She stopped, watching in shock as Kanda swung himself into the train through the window and landed in front of Johnny protectively, his fist swiftly meeting the stomach of the other man with such harshness that the man actually threw up a bit.

Then, Kanda stood up straight, clutching the now unconscious man by the middle of his dress shirt and waistcoat before he carelessly, childishly threw him back into the booth with his companion, tromping in after him and slamming the door shut.

Gracia's brow twitched slightly at the ensuing sounds of… well… someone getting their ass kicked.

Suddenly, the binding strips that surrounded Johnny went limp and dropped to the ground, Johnny looking down at himself in shock before he stood nervously and inched towards the now silent booth, opening the door and peeking inside.

"Umm… Excuse me… That's you… right, Kanda?"

After thinking on it a moment, Gracia decided to take advantage of the fact that she had yet to be noticed to listen in.

"…eard the news from Marie." Kanda's voice came and got a bit louder as he walked towards Johnny, but still stayed within the booth, "Do you know where the _Moyashi_ is?"

Johnny, who apparently didn't know Kanda's nickname for Allen or was too shocked to remember it, blinked, "Um… That would be…?"

"Well, how about it?" Kanda growled dangerously, making Johnny jump, a flash of realization crossing the former Science Division member's face.

"I don't know! I'm sorry! B-But, I do have a plan for finding Allen!"

Gracia blinked at that, her interest perking more than it already had.

"Really…?" Kanda asked, sounding a bit skeptical.

"Ah… yeah…" Johnny nodded distractedly, peeking around Kanda as he came to a stop right in the doorway of the booth, "But before that… Those guys are still alive, right?"

"Relax." Kanda chuckled darkly as Johnny slipped past him and into the booth, presumably to check on the two CROW Kanda had beat the shit out of, "You can't be too careful with CROW, so I've beaten them to a pulp." A wide, sadistic smirk spread across Kanda's lips, "Now you're officially a fugitive from the Order as well."

Gracia quirked a brow and walked forward, still unnoticed as Kanda turned and stepped back into the booth with Johnny.

"Why do you look so happy, Kanda?" Johnny sounded a bit nervous. "And why did you come here…?"

"I'm going with you." Was Kanda's blunt, simple answer.

There was a pregnant pause, then—

"Eh? !"

"I'm saying that I'll be escorting you until we get to where the _Moyashi_ is."

"Oh _will you_, now?"

Both boys, crouching over one of the bruised and bloody CROW as Johnny checked the man's vitals and Kanda hovered behind and slightly over Johnny imposingly, tensed, their shoulders stiffening. Then, they slowly looked back at her.

Gracia made sure to make herself look exceptionally imposing, one fist on her hip and her eyes narrowed down at them as she tapped Judgment, still drawn, against her leg.

"…Support unit…?" Kanda's brow twitched in disbelief.

"G-Gracia? !" Johnny squeaked at the same time.

"So… both of you thought you could just slip away without telling me a goddamned thing…"

Johnny sputtered a bit and Kanda's lips pursed as she walked towards them.

Gracia glared down at them harder, her brow twitching and the beginnings of what she could feel to be a crazed grin spreading across her face as a giggle bubbled up in the back of her throat, "Johnny I'm not so worried about, but _you_, Kanda?" She turned the full force of her glare on the dark-haired young man, growling down at him, "Did you _really_ think you could just slip away and I'd be _okay_ with it?"

"…Wait…" Kanda's brow twitched again, "Did you _follow_ me?"

"…Well… no." Gracia admitted, her slightly over-the-top anger fading a bit, only to be replaced by annoyance when Kanda glared at her, "But I would have had I found out that you had run away."

"…If you didn't know I'd run away, why are you here?" Kanda frowned at her.

"That's of no importance!" Gracia snapped, holding out Judgment and waving it between Johnny and Kanda, "What is pertinent is the fact that, if you're going to be looking for Allen, I'm coming with you two!"

Johnny squeaked at the gun waving and shied back, and Kanda tensed and scowled, reaching out and smacking the gun off to the side with Mugen, "Don't point that at people, you idiot!"

"_I'm_ the idiot? ! Who's the inconsiderate jackass who ran away from the people who are worried about him after he _just came back and revealed himself to be alive_? !"

"Oh, don't pull that bullshit! You and I both know that, as far as _your_ memories are concerned, I've only been 'missing' for a few weeks!"

"That doesn't change the fact that those weeks were filled with nothing but pain every time I remembered our last moments together!"

"U-Uh, guys…?" Johnny spoke up nervously, "These two are gonna wake up if you keep screaming at each other…"

That made Kanda and Gracia stop, both of them glancing down at the unconscious CROW.

"…Woman." When Gracia glanced at him, Kanda sighed and stood, "Take him to the next car and find a cabin. I'll join you two after I take care of these guys."

"…Fine." Gracia sighed heavily, taking Johnny's hand when he stood and pulling him out of the booth and down the hall.

When they made it to the next car, Gracia only had to knock on a couple of doors before she found an empty cabin, her pulling a bit lighter as she drew Johnny into the small room after her before she let his hand go and slumped down with a sigh, removing her duffel bag strap from her shoulder.

There was a nervous pause, Johnny shifting a bit before he sat down and set his own luggage on the floor.

"U-Uh… General?"

"I'm AWOL, Johnny." Gracia mumbled as she settled back into the corner between the wall of the cabin and the back of the plush bench she was sitting on, "Call me Gracia."

"Right… Gracia." Johnny paused, then went on, "If… you weren't following Kanda… why were you here? I thought the Supervisor wasn't sending you on missions because you were ill—" He seemed to realize what she said, "Wait… AWOL? You don't mean—"

"Absent without leave." Gracia filled in calmly.

"…So… no one at the Order… knows you're here?"

"Of course not." Gracia sighed, "I didn't even bring my golem… They probably haven't even noticed I'm gone yet."

"…So… why _were_ you here?"

"…I was looking for you." Gracia answered honestly, opening her eyes and looking at him.

Johnny blinked and sat up a bit straighter, his face flushing a bit, "R-Really? Why?"

"I heard you were looking for Allen." Gracia shrugged and didn't say anything else, closing her eyes again and settling back down.

She had to open her eyes yet again, though, and look over when someone knocked on the door.

"K-Kanda?" Johnny called out, raising his voice slightly.

Immediately, the door opened and Kanda silently slipped inside, shutting the door and removing the scarf from his neck before he plopped down beside Gracia without a word.

"…U-Uh… Kanda?" Johnny started nervously after a moment, "What… What did you do with those guys from Central?"

Kanda shrugged nonchalantly, propping Mugen up against the edge of the seat beside him, "Threw them out."

"…O-Off of the train? !" Johnny squeaked, looking mortified, "Did they survive? !"

"They're CROW; of course they probably did." Kanda snorted, rolling his eyes, "But you shouldn't worry about _them_; do you have any idea what they would have done to you if I hadn't stepped in?"

"…I guess…" Johnny ceded with a sigh.

Kanda grunted, then glanced at Gracia with a scowl, crossing his arms, "So, how long are we stuck with you? 'Till the next stop?"

Gracia glared at him, "I _said_ I'm going with you two, Kanda; as in, I'm _won't_ be leaving either one of you for a while."

"It'll be easier for them to find us with a larger group." Kanda bristled, glaring right back, "Not to mention that _idiot_ Supervisor will _definitely_ find a way to track you down. If he hasn't planted a homing chip in your skull, he'll probably send your bodyguard after you again."

"I'll have you know I can avoid being found when I want to." Gracia sneered at him. "And, like you discovered during your three months 'on your own,' I have countless friends on the outside who would be more than willing to help us."

Kanda snorted, rolling his eyes, before his stare turned wry, "I guess Sleep really was the better part of you; you've gotten really bitchy."

"And you've gotten more immature!" Gracia snapped. "Did you even remember to pack clothes? ! Or bring _money_? !"

"This is the nerd's expedition; _he's_ probably got our finances covered!"

"For _one person_, Kanda! He packed for _one_!"

"Well, did _you_ bring any money? !"

"Well… no, I—"

"What the hell, you damned hypocrite woman? ! Your arguments aren't as thought out as usual!"

Had Kanda not had a look on his face that was a mix between confused and somewhat concerned, Gracia would have found something to snap back.

He was right, her arguments were weak… She wasn't really thinking at all; she didn't _want_ to snap at Kanda, she loved him.

Her hormones were just… making her confrontational.

Grumbling and exhaling loudly, Gracia didn't answer as she turned away, leaning against the wall and staring at the opposite wall as she crossed her arms over her stomach.

After a moment, Kanda let out an annoyed "Tch" and slumped back in his seat, crossing his arms.

"…So," Johnny started after an awkward moment of silence, "What _did_ you bring?"

"…" Gracia turned to her duffel bag and opened it, rifling through its contents, "Two more uniforms, three pairs of civilian clothing, a few books, a first aid kit, a manual hook up in case we need to place an emergency call to the Order, a few random serums I stole from the Science Division because their labels made them sound like they might be useful, a gun cleaning kit and—"

"Are those… cans of Mandarin oranges and bottles of honey? !" Kanda snapped incredulously, looking at her opened bag with wide eyes and a twitching brow.

"…" Gracia didn't answer, quickly becoming distracted when she found the oranges and honey; she was suddenly hit by a strong craving.

Pulling out one of the cans and one of the bottles, she popped the can of oranges open with the help of the pull-tab and unscrewed the top of the honey bottle to squirt some inside. She then fished a spoon out of her bag and stirred the oranges, scooping out a huge bite and groaning when the taste hit her tongue.

When she finally noticed the awkward silence in the cabin, she looked up at her two younger companions, swallowing the mouthful and jerking the spoon from her mouth when she saw them staring at her.

"What? !"

"…Great." Kanda sighed, his stare turning dull, "You got bitchy _and_ stupid."

"Fuck you." Gracia growled at him, suddenly feeling intensely protective of her sweet treat, "I'm hungry." Still, part of her couldn't blame him; he didn't know she was pregnant.

"Tch." Kanda rolled his eyes, scooting away from her as she went back to downing the honey-drenched oranges.

Johnny sighed wistfully, weakly.

This mission was going to be a bit less peaceful than he had originally thought…


	140. PSR Set 2: File VIII

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"…You guys are lying to me, right?" Komui asked Lenalee and Marie bluntly.

Though he didn't want to believe his precious sister would _lie_ to _him_, even Komui could see how suspicious the smiles on their faces were, especially Lenalee's.

She needed to learn how to lie better.

"We're not lying, brother." Lenalee said brightly, the air around her practically sparkling.

…Sparkling with _lies_! !

"You _really_ don't know where Kanda went? !" Komui burst, slamming his hands against the top of his desk as he stood, knocking over a stack of papers, a book and his phone.

"Nope!"

Since when did Lenalee say "Nope" in the face of her older brother's annoyance? !

She was a _liar_! !

A smiling, sparkling _liar_! !

Oh, what had that horrible Kanda done to his precious Lenalee to make her _lie_ to him? !

Beside Lenalee, Marie glanced off to the side, no longer smiling and looking a bit sick.

"Really, really, really, really, really, really? !" Komui pressed, making Lenalee go from smiling and lying to indignant and lying in a flash.

"I don't know! !" She snapped back at him.

"Supervisor! !" Brigitte snapped, as well, clearly getting annoyed, "Master Zu Mei's funeral ceremony is going to start soon! Can you stop arguing with your sister and get ready? !"

"How can you _not_ know where Kanda went to? !" Komui demanded, ignoring his secretary/Central-imposed babysitter, "I _just_ sent him on a mission with you two!"

"One minute he was there and the next he was gone! !" Lenalee shouted back at him, "Maybe he went to buy new hair ties!"

"Are you _kidding me_? ! If you're gonna lie, make up something better than that! !"

"I'm not lying!"

"Yes you are! !"

"Are you calling Marie a liar, too? !"

"Marie isn't saying a thing! !"

"Because there's nothing left to say! We don't know where Kanda is!"

"You _sparkling __**liar**_! !" Komui burst, taking a step back and pointing to his sister dramatically, "You are not my sweet Lenalee! ! My sweet Lenalee would _never_ lie to me so _poorly_ while _**sparkling**_! ! What have you done with my baby sister? !"

"Quit being stupid, I am your sister!" Lenalee burst back.

"Supervisor, funeral! ! _Now_! !"

"He _can't_ go missing again! !" Komui moaned, dropping back down into his seat and slamming his forehead against the desktop, "He _just_ got back! !"

Just then, Komui's office door opened and the Finder he had sent to tell Gracia to get ready for Zu Mei's funeral shuffled in, looking terrified.

"S-Sir, she wasn't in your room…"

Komui jerked his head up, a piece of paper sticking to his forehead as he looked at the Finder with wide eyes, "…What?"

"M-Miss Gracia… She wasn't in your room."

"Komui," Jeryy sighed as he suddenly walked into Komui's office, crossing his arms and pursing his lips as he stared at Komui flatly, "I know Gracia is craving Mandarin oranges and honey right now, but, really, there is no reason to completely clean out a whole shelf. We can _always_ buy more."

Komui's eyes widened further as he turned his attention to Jeryy, the paper falling from his head, "…I didn't steal any oranges and honey from the kitchens…"

Across from Komui's desk, Lenalee's eyes had widened, a worried look flashing across her and Marie's faces.

Even Brigitte had faltered at that, the secretary being the only person other than Komui and Jeryy who knew of Gracia's pregnancy and knew of her recently developed craving for honey-sweetened oranges.

Kanda missing…

Gracia missing…

Oranges and honey missing…

It could only mean…

"…I knew it." Komui moaned, dropping his head on his desk again, "The baby is Kanda's and they've run off to elope."

"…_**WHAT? !**_"

* * *

"…Support unit." Kanda sneered down at Gracia, prodding her head, "Support unit, get off of me."

Against his side, Gracia just mumbled and pressed closer, nuzzling his shoulder.

"Woman, come on." Kanda rolled his eyes, prodding harder, "Off."

She whined and pulled her legs up, tucking her feet in and draping her bent legs across his lap somewhat.

"_Gracia_." Kanda seethed, ignoring it when he felt some heat build up on the back of his neck and ears, his face throbbing a bit, "_Get off_."

"Aww, Kanda, just let her sleep." Johnny, still sitting across from them, sighed tiredly, rubbing his eyes as he pulled his rucksack onto his bench and pushed it to the end as he laid down to use it as a pillow, "You can use her like a pillow, too, and at least when she's propped up like that she can't just slump across your lap completely…"

Kanda groused and muttered a few choice Japanese curses under his breath before he reluctantly gave in, lowering his prodding hand and trying to force his tense body to relax and stretch out a bit. His brow twitched slightly when the woman cuddled closer and relaxed against him as his move made his body more available, but he supposed, like Johnny had said, it could have been worse.

_Much worse_, Kanda shuddered to remember what had happened in Iceland what seemed so long ago.

He couldn't help shuddering again when the new position she'd snuggled her way into led to her breathing against his neck, and he grabbed his scarf and wadded it up to put at least some space between them, inadvertently also giving her a softer pillow.

"You should follow her example…" Johnny muttered as he took off his glasses and tucked them into his pocket, "It'll be nightfall by the time we reach our first destination, and most of our searching will have to be done during the night."

"…" Kanda frowned slightly and looked at the older but still fairly childish-looking man, "Why?"

"'s the only time that they're open…" Johnny mumbled, giving no clue as to what 'they' were before he dozed off.

Kanda sighed heavily and tipped his head back, twitching and flushing yet again when the woman shifted against him as his movement stirred her.

Tch, he'd have to try to keep still.

…Still… their positioning could have been worse, really.

She could have been sleeping on his left side and accidentally come into contact with his—

A world-weary look crossed Kanda's face, one that someone of his age of a mere nine, going on ten years, should never have had the emotional and mental scars to bear.

Not that it would matter much longer, though…

Soon.

Soon he would fix what he had done wrong to the _Moyashi_, and then… then he could welcome death in peace, whenever it came.

…His battle with Alma had almost completely exhausted what was left of his life force reserves; he had barely won against Alma, and what was left of him, compared to before, wasn't anything to speak of.

He wouldn't be able to heal like he once had ever again; at his current level, his healing speed would likely either be on par or slightly below one of his physical age.

On top of that, he was starting to… break… starting where the regenerative core was at.

And if the woman saw that… Hell, Kanda didn't want to begin to imagine how upset she would get if she found out.

He'd seen how she'd reacted to her mother's death, and, as far as he could tell, she hadn't cared about the woman nearly as much as she did him.

If she knew he was dying, too…

Kanda scowled and closed his eyes.

It wasn't supposed to turn out like this.

He hadn't just been a bitch to everyone he had met just because he hated human contact and the Order; he'd been a bitch to everyone he had met and had to work in close quarters with because he didn't want attachments.

He had been created to fight and die; beings like him weren't supposed to have attachments. Beings like him had an easier time of going through their short lives without attachments.

…After Alma, he had tried his hardest to never develop attachments again.

But the people around him, the emotional leeches they were, had latched onto him, the fact that they could die at any time and only had those around them to depend upon for emotional stability fueling their efforts to get close to anyone, even him.

Few had been able to reach him on his precipice, unable to scale the heights and bear the emotional/oxygen-deprived atmosphere long enough to come to where he was and touch him…

…But she had.

She had latched onto him in a way that most others hadn't; she had made it so he had almost felt an inclination to (more than that, which he didn't realize/wouldn't admit to) reach out and latch on in return.

Was it because, when she had met him, she had already been desensitized to the emotion-deprived atmosphere?

Was it because, in her own way, she had become attached, had lost, and had tried to avoid further attachments, as well?

She had been born into a world where emotional attachments tended to be hollow, had become genuinely attached to someone whose resolve was weak, had lost that someone at an early age, and had later been deprived of the attention she craved until, when she finally did get returned affections, it had confused her and led to her pushing it away…

Had she not ended up with the Innocence she had, had Sleep not numbed her, would she have turned out as hardened as he?

The weakness she had been born with led to him being inclined to say no, but seeing how crude, how anger-inclined she had become since losing Sleep, he was also inclined to say yes.

…Then again… there was also the fact that—

"_If I have a spine, you're one of the ones who helped it develop…"_

…She had said that to him, three months ago, back in Jordan Camp.

The first time she had both been annoyed with and sworn at him…

…He'd brought this on himself, Kanda realized with a sigh.

He'd let her get close enough that some of his mannerisms had rubbed off on her…

…He hadn't wanted attachments.

He hadn't wanted to leave loose strings behind when he died.

But with this woman, and likely one or two others… he would be.

He would leave behind people to mourn his passing. People who wouldn't just mourn at his funeral, but people who would likely mourn every year, on the anniversary.

He hadn't wanted attachments.

Attachments would try to cling to him as he left, try to drag him back to the world of the living, breaking off bits of him as they desperately clawed when they should accept, like he had long ago.

Attachments left marks, pieces of him all over he world.

And he didn't want to be scattered… He was tired.

He wanted to be whole and forgotten, so he could rest in peace.

But this woman… She wasn't that kind of attachment, and he knew it.

While she would sob, likely hysterically, as he passed on, as long as he made it clear that he was fine with it, and as long as she understood, she wouldn't try to make him stay.

And, in its own way, _that_ kind of acceptance pissed him off, because she wouldn't be accepting it because she understood and agreed. She would be accepting it because she knew it would make him happy.

She would be accepting it at her own expense.

With her, he would leave behind a self-sacrificial attachment that would do what he wanted because he wanted it, and slowly have itself worn away a bit more with every year, every anniversary that passed, until there was nothing left.

He would leave behind an attachment that would leave pieces of itself in his remembrance, and thus, by extension, drag shadowed bits of him back from the grave; no one would be able to place his name, but they would know the pieces of her were left behind because of him.

_"She would never admit it, but every year on this day, she mourned the loss of someone… Who? I don't know. But whoever it was, they must have meant a great deal to her…"_

It left the wrong impression, not to mention a bad taste in his mouth.

Fucking woman…

Kanda glanced down at Gracia and tried to muster a cold expression, but couldn't. He simply sighed as she shifted against him yet again, her arm moving to drape across his lap and clutch at his waist lightly.

Was she hugging him, or the flippy-haired idiot…?

Either way…

Sighing, Kanda slid down slightly in his seat and tried to relax, deciding to take Johnny's advice and get some sleep so he could be rested for… whatever the former Science Division nerd had planned for the nightly searches for Allen.

…What places would the _Moyashi_ frequent that were only open at night, anyway?

…After thinking on it a moment, Kanda's nose wrinkled and he decided that, since the _Moyashi_ was the pupil of Cross Marian, he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know just yet.

He already had a bad taste in his mouth because of the woman, he didn't want his sleep disturbed, as well.

Trying to shake off the unwanted mental images that were already creeping into his mind, Kanda closed his eyes and tried to get comfortable, sleep coming much easier than he thought it would have, given his position.

* * *

…He should have brought a camera, Johnny decided.

He really, _really_ should have.

Because _no one_ would believe him when he told them he had been blessed (cursed?) with a vision of the once-in-a-lifetime rare scene before him.

Gracia's cuddling was a given; she'd started it up almost immediately after she'd fallen asleep and slumped against Kanda, after all.

But Kanda…

…Kanda was…

…Kanda… was…

…cuddling… _back_.

Gracia's legs having slid down again from their perched position some time while she was asleep, she had had the room to lean forward a bit more, and with Kanda slumping back in the corner between the wall next to the window of their compartment and the back of his seat, having turned back towards Gracia slightly so he could plant his back in the corner, Gracia was left no longer resting on Kanda's shoulder, but against his chest, instead.

And Kanda, his chin resting on her head, had one arm draped lightly around her back, the other hand sort of dangling so it could brush Mugen…

When Gracia shifted, mumbling as their train jolted slightly as it slid the rest of the way into its resting position, Kanda's lips twitched into a frown and he tightened his hold on her slightly, letting out a low, warning growl.

Oh, Komui would die crying (though not before he left his entire Komlin force with the dying order to kill Kanda at all costs)…

…Johnny wanted a camera…

Since he didn't have one, though, he stuck with sitting in place, his feet tucked under him and one hand adjusting his glasses, as he stared intently at the scene in front of him, burning the image into his memory so he could describe it in full detail to Allen later on, after they found him.

Once he had started to feel satisfied that the mental image wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon, Johnny was just leaning forward and prod one of them when the train suddenly blasted its whistle.

Automatically, Kanda's eyes snapped open, and Johnny felt dread well in his stomach and the color drain from his face, his body knowing by instinct that, if this made Kanda angry, it would be _baaaaad_…

A tiny part of his mind was screaming at him to play dead, _now_.

Having been woken so suddenly, Kanda stayed perfectly still as he waited for his mind to catch up, soothed somewhat when he was able to reach down with his unoccupied hand and wrap his fingers around Mugen.

…Wait.

…Unoccupied?

What was his other hand… and why couldn't he… and why was he so…

When his mind got around to catching up and registered the weight his body was telling him he could feel on his chest, Kanda's eyes wandered down, widening as they took in the vision of the top of a head with shaggy, auburn hair and, beyond it, a feminine shoulder with a feminine arm resting against a feminine waist attached to feminine hips and legs.

One of his arms was pinned behind a feminine back, his hand clutching lightly at the upper half of the feminine arm.

As he stayed there, frozen, the whistle of the train blew again and Gracia finally stirred, tipping her head up slowly when she felt something digging into the top of her head.

She blinked up at Kanda lazily, then waved.

"Good morning."

"…WHAT THE HELL? !"

Scratch what he had said earlier.

It was Iceland all over again.


	141. PSR Set 2: File IX

…I am running dangerously low on chapters.

…Hoshino… throw me a bone…

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

Gracia stared at the long, secluded street of buildings proudly displaying their red lights, her eyebrow twitching slightly and the can of honey-drizzled oranges in her hand getting a dent in it as her hand tried to fist.

"…Vacation stop, Johnny?" Gracia's narrowed eyes slid over to focus on Johnny coldly, her hormone-influenced mindset feeling particularly satisfied when Johnny shivered and cringed, his face turning a bit green.

Between them, Kanda was giving Johnny a flat glare.

"N-No, really!" Johnny turned to them both and waved his hands, "We're looking for people who might have seen Allen, right? ! Well, the people who would be most likely to remember Allen would be the ones he owes money to!"

…Having no choice but to concede to the logic of that, Gracia angrily dug her spoon back into her can of oranges and scooped out another mouthful, swallowing the sinfully delicious juices and sucking the honey off of the spoon as she followed the two boys into the red-light district.

She did not, though, follow the boys when they went into the brothels and bars; just standing outside of the buildings and breathing the air, heavy with the smell of alcohol, cigar/ette smoke and incense that failed to cover up the underlying hint of sex, was starting to make her feel drunk.

It was bad enough she'd _walked_ into this area while pregnant; she didn't need to risk anything by breathing the air _inside_ of these places…

Still… watching the boys walk into whorehouse after whorehouse quickly made her angry (not that most things weren't making her angry recently)…

"If we're going to work under the logic of finding Allen though those he owes money to," Gracia started with a low, angry growl as she dug into her third can for oranges that evening, "Why don't we start at the bigger places like De Wallen?"

"We're actually working our way over there." Johnny smiled at her sheepishly, his face a bit red, "There are a lot of locations between here and there, though."

Gracia frowned and paused in her eating, taking in his appearance.

Before, she had just attributed the blush to embarrassment from being around so many scantily clad women (who had likely thrown themselves at him and Kanda once they had entered the many brothels), but the slight stumble in his gait…

When she looked at Kanda and noticed that even _his_ face was red, she started to become incensed in a new way.

As if _Kanda_ would blush over _prostitutes_.

"You've both been drinking." Gracia growled as she stopped walking.

Kanda sighed heavily and rolled his eyes, stopping, as well, and tipping his head to the side but otherwise not acknowledging her.

Nervous over the explaining having been, apparently, left to him, Johnny turned to face Gracia, his sheepishness worsening as he rubbed the back of his head and shuffled nervously, "W-Well, establishments like these places kick you out if you don't buy anything… At people are a lot more likely to talk if you're willing to spend money."

"…Is that what your excuse is going to be when one of you ends up in bed with a whore?"

Johnny flushed and sputtered, starting to wave his hands, and Kanda turned back to sneer and glare at her.

"Woman, what the f—"

"_Neither_ of us will be paying for those kinds of… 'services!'" Johnny's squeaking cut Kanda off, "Buying alcohol will be more than enough to get away with just casually asking 'Have you seen this person!'"

"The workers and manages here can be very, _very_ sly." Gracia glared at Johnny and Kanda harshly, "Sometimes just buying a specific kind of drink is enough to imply that you want to buy a specific girl associated with said drink for a few hours! And you," She pointed to Johnny, "Have 'innocent doormat' written all over you, and you," Her finger swung over to land on Kanda, "Are too pretty – oh, don't look at me like that! – to get away with not garnering any attention! Someone could end up _slipping_ you something! ! And would _either_ of you know? ! No! ! You're both way too damned innocent in your own ways!"

"If you're so fucking worried about us," Kanda snapped, upset over the 'pretty' remark, "Why don't you _contribute_ to our efforts and actually _come inside_ to keep an eye on us? !"

"…Can't." Gracia didn't elaborate, looking away.

Unfortunately, her answer only made Kanda angrier and he twitched and growled before shouting something at her in Japanese and storming off.

Gracia sighed after him and drooped slightly as her irritation and anger gave way to guilt and desolation, the emotional change occurring so quickly it felt like a physical blow to her chest, which made her tear up as she looked down at her oranges.

Vaguely, she could see Johnny's eyes widen slightly as she started to stifle sobs, and when he came over and nervously reached out for her, saying things she couldn't really make out, she leaned against him and buried her face in his shoulder, shaking.

She was starting to really… really hate emotions.

And hormones.

…She wanted Sleep back.

When Johnny tentatively wrapped his arm around her shoulder and urged her onward, she let it happen, unable to stop herself from crying and needing the guidance.

"Kanda… Kanda, wait up!" She absently heard Johnny call out.

Somewhere ahead of them, there was a loud, angry huff, then a short silence broken only by the sounds of bar goers around them before Kanda spoke, his voice louder than before as he approached them, "What?"

"Kanda, maybe we should call it a night… I don't think Gracia's doing well."

Just when she could practically feel the air around Kanda crackling as he prepared to bark something, Gracia let out a small gasp of a sob she couldn't quite contain, followed by a few more when the air around them went silent.

"…Take the luggage and hand her over." Kanda sighed gruffly after a bit.

Beside her, Johnny heaved a sigh of relief, and Gracia stumbled slightly when she was gently pushed forward, drooping guiltily when the stronger arm of the taller Kanda wrapped around her waist and forcefully started dragging her along. Her bags were jerked from her shoulder and tossed back carelessly, and she sighed slightly when she heard the sounds of Johnny squeaking and scrambling.

As Kanda jerked her along, Gracia was vaguely aware of Johnny falling further and further behind, but the irritated young Japanese male didn't seem to care, and she was still a bit too occupied holding back sobs and trying to keep her grip on her precious can of honey oranges…

"Woman, what in the fuck is your problem recently?" Kanda growled as he continued pulling her along, "You're pissing me off in a way you never have before. Does not having Sleep really make you _that_ annoying?" God, he hoped it didn't…

Gracia drooped, feeling even worse.

Was Kanda starting to hate her…?

"…It… It isn't that…" Gracia whispered, "It–It's something else, okay…? I… I'll get over it… but right now it's… it's just…" She bit her lip and started sawing with her teeth.

She couldn't tell Kanda she was…

Because then he'd make her go back… And if she went back, she'd have to deal with…

If she could just get him to accept the fact that she couldn't talk about it, then in a week or so her hormones would balance out and she wouldn't be this… all over the place with her emotions.

"Something else?" Kanda stopped and looked down at her, and Gracia could see him scowl slightly out of the corner of her periphery when she didn't look back at him, "What is it? Are you ill or something? Or is it…" He paused, then his scowl deepened, "Are you running away from the idiot Supervisor over something moronic he did?"

"No…" Gracia mumbled, her throat starting to hurt and her eyes welling with tears again as Kanda got dangerously close to being right, "I-It's nothing I can't handle, okay? C-Can we just… not talk about it?"

"…Does it have something to do with your mother?"

Even though it really didn't (though it kinda did), hearing Mathilda mentioned when she had just started to forget her had Gracia's hormones spiking at an accelerated rate, her depression reaching a climax and making her need to slump against Kanda and bury her face in his chest as she burst into tears.

Vaguely, she could feel Kanda's surprised jolt, hear him curse in mixed English and Japanese, hear Johnny catch up and call out to them worriedly, but once the flow had started, she couldn't get it to stop.

She even tried to get it to stop, but once she'd tired herself out trying and had to let go and let it loose again, she just ended up wailing pathetically and sobbing harder.

Instead of getting pushed away when she only got more emotional, like part of her depressed mind was sure would happen, Gracia choked on a half-sob, half-squeak when Kanda just scooped her up into his arms, her body jostling against him slightly as he started to storm down the street. She looked up at him through watery eyes, hiccupping, but Kanda just glared ahead pointedly as he kept storming.

Soon after, Kanda was kicking a door open and the sounds of his storming got louder as his boots stomped against wooden flooring.

"Give us a fucking room."

"Of course, sir." The person sounded rather coy, "And would you and your wife like the honeymooners suite, or perhaps you would like to consider the more experienced 'intense lov—'"

"She's not my fucking wife, we're not here for the fucking sexual aspect, we're fucking exhausted, now just give us a normal goddamned room!"

The person just giggled, "Of course, _Master_."

Gracia, her head on his shoulder, could hear Kanda grind his teeth, but shortly after there was the sound of keys jingling and then he was storming again, boots stomping loudly first against floor, then against stairs, and then the sound was muffled by carpet and she was bouncing slightly as she was dropped on a bed.

As she slowly rolled over and pushed herself upright, Gracia could hear the door slam and Kanda's voice hiss something along the lines of "You handle her" before everything went silent. Gracia swung her legs over the edge of the bed she'd been dropped onto and kept her head lowered as she clasped her hands on top of her lap, no longer crying but still hiccupping a bit.

After a few moments of silence broken only by a few soft, metallic sounds, the bed dipped next to her, and Gracia looked over to find Johnny sitting next to her with a worried expression. He also had an open can of Mandarin oranges with the spoon already in them in one hand, her most recently opened bottle of honey in the other.

"Oranges…?" He offered tentatively, holding out the items.

Sniffling, Gracia felt her depression give way a bit more at the offering of citrus and sugar, taking the can and squeezing the rest of the honey into it before she stirred the oranges and started eating.

Johnny sighed, relieved, then stood and mumbled, "I'll go ask about getting another roo—"

"Don't bother." Kanda cut him off with a growl, "You share the bed with her and I'll stand guard over by the window, here. …And woman."

Gracia paused and looked up from her oranges, rubbing her eyes with a palm as she swallowed sweet, tangy mouthful.

Kanda frowned at her, "Cut back on those sweets; you're a lot heavier than you used to be."

…And, in a flash, Gracia felt her sorrow quickly being replaced with rage, bending the spoon in her hand without really realizing it and glaring at Kanda darkly.

"…Did you just call me fat?"

* * *

Later, when it was too late to be considered dawn but too early to be considered night, when even the red-light district below was sleeping, Gracia's eyes snapped open as she jolted awake, her body snapping into a sitting position as she gasped desperately for air.

On instinct, her hand flashed out to grope around for the gun at her bedside table, but the sheets plastered to her sweaty skin left her fumbling for thirty seconds before she finally managed to pick up Judgment, and by then she was awake enough to rationalize that she didn't need it. Still, she saw… movement out of the corner of her eye and aimed the gun, anyway, grinding her teeth when she saw the same silhouette of a human figure as before…

"Ngh… G-Gracia?"

She jolted slightly, then slowly looked down at her bedmate, Johnny blinking up at her blindly with his face a mess from drooling and his unruly hair almost engulfing his entire head.

"Y-You okay…?" He asked through a yawn, rubbing an eye with his palm as he curled his fingers slightly.

"…'m fine." Gracia mumbled, lowering Judgment even though her mind was still screaming at her to keep it trained on the figure out of the corner of her eye she knew wasn't really there. "Nightmare…"

"Oh… 'm'kay." Johnny settled back down sleepily, cuddling close to her somewhat before he started his light snoring again.

Once he was asleep, Gracia sighed and ran a hand through her still somewhat short hair, shuddering and feeling a bit disgusted when she felt her palm dragging sweat from her forehead through what would eventually grow out to be her bangs again. Ugh, she hated waking up sweat—

"What did you see, support unit."

Gracia froze.

The coolness in his tone, the fact that he didn't word it as a question, his obvious level of alertness…

…Kanda had been awake for the whole thing.

When she looked over at him slowly, Kanda was turned towards her, his face illuminated by the red lights of the street below and his dark eyes almost looking red with the way they were trained on her.

"…Nothing." Gracia finally sighed, forcing herself to stay calm, "Saw an Akuma in my nightma—"

"How damned stupid do you think I am?" She could just barely make out Kanda's lips twisting into a slight scowl in the faintly red darkness. "I know what it looks like when a person hallucinates; you aimed the gun well after the 'dream' had faded, and you were aiming it at something you were seeing right in that moment. What did you see, Gracia?"

Gracia paused, thinking.

Should she tell him?

He would understand…

And it wasn't as if he didn't already know now…

But still…

…After thinking it over for a moment, Gracia sighed and lowered her head, and when Kanda growled slightly but didn't press the matter, she laid back down and went back to sleep.

And she kept Judgment in her hand for the rest of the night.

* * *

Komui sat silently at the meeting table with a pained expression and pursed lips, trying to block out but also take in all of the arguing that was going on around him.

On one side of the argument were the Solidors, who no longer had a family head.

On the other side were officials from Central, who were getting quite irritated with the Solidor House's internal problems and wanted to seize full control of the family.

And, once again, he couldn't say anything.

Because if it became known that Gracia was not only engaged to him, but also carrying his child, things would only get worse for the noble family…

Komui drooped slightly, the pain in his chest increasing.

Gracia…

Why had she left?

Why hadn't she…

"Mathilda did leave us an heir!" Alexander slammed his fist down on top of the table, snapping Komui's attention back to the present, "She left us an heir in her second born, Lorelei!"

"Unfortunately, according to the Vatican's records, Mathilda Solidor's successor is her firstborn, Gracia Solidor." One of the cardinals argued smoothly, the official paperwork to defend him laid out in front of him, "And since she has, once again, gone missing…"

Komui ground his teeth.

Either she'd forgotten, the paperwork hadn't gone through yet, or the Vatican was using this opportunity to try to seize control of the noble house… No matter the situation, Mathilda's desire to make Lorelei her successor hadn't been made official in all of the right places.

In the Vatican's eyes, Gracia was the successor.

In the Vatican's eyes, Gracia was unfit.

And her absence wasn't helping her family on either front.

"In addition," Another cardinal spoke up, looking down at the folder he was in charge of that held all of Lorelei's personal data, as recorded by the Order, "Lorelei Solidor is hardly old enough to have the knowledge necessary to control a noble family of House Solidor's caliber… The Vatican cannot condone her succession to the position of family head."

Komui tensed.

That was _bunk_.

The Vatican had condoned the successions of _children_ much younger than the nineteen-going-on-twenty-year-old girl to the _throne of Britain_.

They weren't even hiding the fact that they wanted to seize control of the Solidor Family.

Then again, they technically didn't need to…

"If you cannot produce an heir from the head line," The first cardinal sighed, shaking his head and sitting back, "And you cannot give proof that the Solidor head named a subsidiary heir, then, on His Holiness' authority, I have no choice but to—"

The conversation and side arguments were cut off when the door to the meeting room opened, Komui's eyes snapping over and widening when he saw a pale-faced, red-eyed Lorelei shuffle in weakly, Christopher at her side and helping her along.

After she'd heard that her sister had gone missing again, this time of her own conscious volition, the already distraught girl had only become even more brokenhearted. It had even been necessary for her to be sedated…

"…Miss Lorelei," One of the cardinals turned to her, sighing, "I'm afraid you are not—"

"I have a letter… that Sister left," Lorelei mumbled, "Concerning the matter of the succession of the family head…" In her hands, she was clutching at a badly wrinkled and, from what Komui could see, tear-stained paper.

"…How nice of Lady Gracia to try to help." The cardinal didn't bother keeping his disdain-sprinkled disinterest out of his tone, "But I'm afraid that she cannot—"

"The Vatican approved _her_ as the successor. Sister became the head of the house the moment mother died." Lorelei cut him off again, her voice commanding even when it was a raspy mumble, "That means she has final say in who is to take over in her stead should she be unable to fulfill her duties."

The cardinals were silenced at that.

Komui relaxed slightly. They _were_, after all, the ones who had said that Gracia was the officially recognized successor…

"…Who is it, Lorelei?" Benjamin asked, his voice a bit hoarse from shouting.

Lorelei's hands trembled slightly as she looked back down at the letter Gracia had left her. When Christopher set a stabling hand on her back, she inhaled and nodded, then started to read:

"_I, Gracia Amberley Solidor, of sound mind and body, hereby recognize the fact that, due to a decision I have made, I will be unable to fulfill my duties as Solidor Matriarch for an indefinite amount of time._

"_I realize that, as the supposed head of a noble family, this is unacceptable for one of my title, and, as my training dictates, it is necessary for me to name a successor I feel will be able to live up to the standards set by my predecessors._

"_Therefor, I, Gracia Solidor, once again of sound mind and body, name my successor and the new head of House Solidor to be…_"

Lorelei paused, then looked up and over at the person in question, finishing softly.

"…Katherine Solidor."


	142. PSR Set 2: File X

Sorry. Completely forgot today was Saturday. *sighs*

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

"I don't want it!" Katherine wailed, clutching at the railing on either side of the short, industrial metal staircase as she tried to throw herself through the Ark Gate, "Lemme go, Li! I'm going back to work! !"

Behind her, her bodyguard, Li, sighed, keeping his arms wrapped around her waist calmly and not budging, "You know I can't do that, Mistress. If I let you go, you'll run away."

"So? ! It's not like you wouldn't be able to find me, anyway! Lemme go! I gotta get back to that site in Grenada! I wanted to finish it by the end of the week! !"

"I'm afraid you won't make that deadline. You have several duties you need to fulfill as matriarch before you can go back to your own work."

Katherine wailed again, struggling, then looked back at Li with wide, tearful eyes, "Why would she name _me_ the successor? ! No one in their right mind would name _me_ the successor! Unless—" Katherine gasped loudly, then looked off to the side and narrowed her eyes dangerously, a sadistic grin quickly splitting her face, "She's doing it to _get back at me_! That sly little bitch is _punishing_ me!"

"…" Li sighed, "Mistress, I don't think Lady Gracia would _name you family head_ as a form of punishment."

"Oh, then you don't know Grace very well." Katherine cackled, looking back at Li with a crazed expression, "She is one _sadistic_ little wanker!"

"…Mistress, I think you're mistaking Lady Gracia for yourself."

"That's my point!" Katherine argued almost nonsensically, quickly going back to being petulant and wailing, "You'd have to be pretty fucked up in the head to name someone like _me_ the successor!"

"…" Li blinked down at her, "You're acknowledging the fact that you have a problem. That's excellent progress."

"Oh, please." Katherine rolled her eyes, relaxing as the topic changed, "I've known for _years_ that I have a problem. I just find it quite entertaining and don't care to fix it." As Li sighed and rolled his eyes, Katherine went back to struggling, pulling at the bars of the railing she was still clinging to desperately as she tried to 'crawl' towards the Ark Gate, even if it meant taking her bodyguard with her.

Li sighed, still not budging. "…Mistress."

Katherine kept struggling and whining.

"…Mistress."

Katherine started kicking.

"Mistress."

She turned her head to try to bite him.

Li took the opportunity to let Katherine go, grabbing her face with both hands with a slight slapping sound and staring down at her flatly as she paused and looked back up at him.

"_Did it not occur to you_," He started, speaking in his mother tongue, "_That she might have handed the title of matriarch to you because you were the one she felt was most suited for the job?_"

"…" Katherine drooped, speaking back in like, "_But Li… If I accept the job, it means I'll be accepting the fact that… that she's gone again…_"

"…_She's gone whether you accept it or not, Kate._" Li sighed, "_And the last person she asked for a favor from was you._"

"…" Katherine sighed, pouting and mumbling, "Oh, fine, you people-lover."

Li nodded and let her go, and when she walked off, mumbling to the other present heads of the Solidor house who were part of the stunned, observing crowd, mentioning something about a 'family meeting' as she dragged her feet down the hall.

As Alexander and Benjamin sighed, shook their heads and followed, Li blinked when he was left being stared at by a visibly stunned Komui, Brigitte, Lorelei and Christopher.

"…I'm sorry for the scene my Mistress caused." Li bowed formally.

"…How… how did you _do_ that? !"

Li straightened, blinking again, "I'm sorry, Supervisor Lee?"

"Y-You… You got her to _obey_ you!" Komui burst, waving his arms emphatically, "And she was acting so… so _childish_!"

Komui had thought Katherine had been scary _before_; seeing her act like _that_, though, after having gotten used to her poisonous nature as her version of 'normal'…

"…I think she has a crush on me." Was all Li could really offer, his face deadpanning. He then bowed again and made to follow Katherine, only to pause when he came up beside Komui, glancing at him, "Now that you're engaged to Lady Gracia, you do realize that you actually have to _order_ Renault to look for her before he actually can head out, right?"

Komui blinked, confused, "Huh?"

Li's brow twitched slightly, an exasperated look crossing his face, "Did Lady Gracia _not_ explain the terms of Renault's contract to you?" When he just received another dumb blink, Li rolled his eyes slightly and sighed, "Now that you're engaged to her, you fall under the spousal clause of Renault's protective agreement. The only reason Renault _hasn't_ gone after her is because she left willingly, and because you're closer."

Komui's eyes widened slightly, "…Are you serious?"

Li flattened his stare at Komui in answer, then walked off without saying anything else.

"…Sister's gotta start explaining things to you better." Lorelei mumbled, though her words went unheard as Komui turned and took off, ignoring Brigitte's enraged calls as he started to look for Renault.

* * *

"She did not explain it to you, then." Renault sighed, shaking his head as a flushed and slightly sweaty Komui stood in his doorway, panting, "I was wondering why you had not sent me after her…"

Komui stared at Renault, then slapped his forehead.

Honestly, Gracia could be so forgetful…

"Well, with this, I can actually go after her." Renault sighed, walking back into his room and going over to his closet, pulling out a suitcase.

Komui stared at Renault as he packed, "…Why didn't you tell me you were only staying to keep an eye on me? Gracia's the one who really needs your—"

"Mistress ran away." Renault cut Komui off as he laid out the suitcase on his bed and opened it to pack, "She woke up after being more than slightly autistic to find that Sleep was gone, she found out she was pregnant, she learned about what had happened three months ago, she came under question, her mother died, and then she ran away. That was how she chose to deal with everything that has happened."

Komui frowned at the bodyguard's back, "That still doesn't explain why you didn't ask me if you could go after her; she's in a delicate state, Renault!"

"She has been pregnant many, many times before." Renault glanced at Komui from pulling a few suits out of his closet, "Even if she is struggling with the idea now, she still knows how to take care of herself. Besides, she needed to make this mistake." When Komui didn't say anything, his jaw clenching and his hands fisting at his sides as his anger increased, Renault sighed and walked over to his suitcase, folding the suits and putting them in, "You have been smothering her since you found out she was pregnant. That, added with the shock of losing a crutch she had been losing her grip on for months and the death of someone she, psychologically, still needed, likely left her feeling like she was backed into a corner. She needed to have the freedom to make her own decision, no matter how bad it was."

"She might have put our baby—" Komui's angry rant was cut off when Renault zipped his suitcase shut and stepped over to loom over Komui, making Komui shudder and instinctually cringe back.

"Your words," Renault said slowly, "And your anger are best reserved for her." With that, the bodyguard slipped around Komui without another word.

And Komui was left, standing alone, in Renault's room, frowning deeply at the floor as he thought and realized…

…That he really was mad at her.

* * *

Gracia sighed and leaned back against the building behind her, crossing her arms and trying to ignore _it_.

…_It_ being the shadow in the corner of her periphery that had become… permanent.

…Was this how Kanda felt while being surrounded by those flowers all of the time? This feeling of… annoyance?

She'd ask him, but… he was angry at her, though whether it was because she hadn't talked to him when he'd gone out of his way to ask or because she'd thrown up on his uniform while washing it, she couldn't be sure.

She hadn't _meant_ to throw up on his clothes – morning sickness sucked (not that she could tell him that).

And she had her own reasons for keeping things to herself; she felt like hoarding the truth about a few personal things at the moment. Why should anyone take offense if she just simply didn't want to talk? Maybe it was a hormonal teen thing…

When Kanda and Johnny emerged from the strip club,_ Fuzzy Handcuffs_, Gracia straightened and walked over to him, frowning slightly when she saw they were already stumbling a bit but not saying anything.

Fortunately, her emotions had evened out since her outburst the night before, which, she had learned after Johnny had made her eat a bland, oatmeal breakfast rather than more oranges and honey, hadn't been helped by the amount of sugar she had been ingesting.

Sugar, she decided, was evil.

"Anything?" Gracia asked, scratching her neck and sighing when Johnny jumped slightly before turning to her. Honestly, all of this drinking was—

"Nah-ah." Johnny shook his head. He then glanced back at Kanda, "You go'h any luck, Kahnda?"

Kanda just grunted, his eyes lidded and an almost sleepy expression on his face, though it was tinged with some of his old anger.

Gracia stared at them flatly, feeling a bit exasperated… "Are you two just ordering the most alcoholic things you can possibly think of, or are you just slamming too many back and not knowing when to ask questions?"

"Hey!" Kanda turned on Gracia with a growl, pointing an accusing finger at her and sneering, "Don't bitch when y'er not helping."

Gracia sighed, not saying anything further. He had a point…

When Johnny slurred out the name of another sex shop for them to stop at and started leading, Gracia followed them, trailing behind a bit and… thinking, now that she wasn't so hormonal she couldn't focus.

Briefly, she wondered when/if Renault would come after her… And how she would convince him to not make her go back once he found her.

In all honesty, she couldn't think up a single, usable argument that didn't make it sound like she was just running from her problems.

Now that her thoughts and emotions were evening out, she was starting to feel… guilty for what she'd done.

Poor Komui…

…And poor Katherine; _why_ had she named her her successor again?

Honestly, she couldn't remember the reasoning.

Wonderful… she had probably destroyed House Solidor.

And then there was Lorelei… Lorelei, who Gracia had left to bury their mother alone.

Gracia flinched.

She really had been selfish…

…At the same time, though, she also didn't want to know what she would have done if she had stayed; it had all just started _stacking up_ and _smothering_ her. She had needed to _get out_ before she'd… before…

As she managed to somewhat rationalize to actions, if only to make herself (once again, selfishly) feel better, Gracia reached into her bag and, without realizing it, pulled out a can of oranges and a bottle of honey.

She was craving citrus-y sweetness…

"Woman, I told you to stop gorging yourself on sweets!"

Jolting, Gracia choked and jerked the spoon out of her mouth when she nearly swallowed it, stopping and almost dropping the can as she gasped, gurgled, and choked the suddenly too-wet mouthful down before she started coughing and panting.

Someone stumbled over to her, and when she received a few firm slaps to the back, she choked up some orange that had gone down the wrong way, then inhaled deeply and swallowed.

Once it had passed, Gracia, panting, looked up and glared at Kanda, a flushed and drunken Johnny standing beside her with a worried look on his face and a hand on her back.

"Ka-anda…" Gracia rasped, still panting slightly, "Don't do that again, _please_."

"I wouldn't have to if you'd quit eatin' alla those sweet oranges!" Kanda slurred slightly as he snapped, glaring at her with a look on his face that would have been adorable if she weren't annoyed, "Yer gonna get fat! Aren't you gettin' sick'a those? !"

"I'm craving them." Gracia mumbled, her poor word choice not really registering.

Kanda's brow twitched, "How can you crave honey-soaked oranges day in and day out? !"

"Maybe my body's telling me to gain weight!" Gracia snapped back, starting to feel annoyed and not caring that arguing with a drunk person (a drunk _Kanda_, at that) was pointless.

"Guys, guys, really!" Johnny quickly, nervously, stepped between them, holding out his hands, "They're just _oranges_! And aren't you two supposed to get along really well? !"

"I liked her better when she was slow and stupid." Kanda growled, glaring at Gracia with as much darkness as a drunken person can manage.

"I liked him better when he wasn't a busybody." Gracia countered with her own growl, glaring back at Kanda with as much darkness as a hormonal, more-than-slightly self-absorbed pregnant woman could manage.

"Oh, _I'm_ a busybody." Kanda snorted, rolling his eyes.

Gracia was about to snap back when the silhouette out of the corner of her periphery, which she had just managed to start forgetting with her limited focus on Kanda, suddenly jumped closer, until she could have sworn the genderless form was _right next to her_.

_When did my little Grace become so confrontational…?_

Instinctually, Gracia turned and leapt back, screaming as she held out her right hand and tried to draw on Sleep's power–

–only she didn't have Sleep anymore.

She realized this too late, but it ended up playing out to her advantage; not having a weapon in hand kept her from attacking, which kept her from flinching from the recoil, which allowed her to clearly see the face of the silhouetted figure for the first time.

Gracia's hand fell to her side again as the face of Silas Solidor, the face of her father, turned to smoke before her eyes.

Numb, Gracia was vaguely aware of a voice, which she could only guess was Johnny's, calling out to her, someone shaking her shoulder, but she was frozen in place, stuck staring straight ahead.

When she was finally able to move again, Gracia turned her head to look over at Johnny, but ended up looking over his head when she saw the dark, piercing glare a seemingly more sober Kanda was pinning her with.

She could see his mouth moving, and even though she couldn't hear him over the blood rushing in her ears, part of her had a good idea, words echoing in the back of her head.

"_What did you see, support unit?"_

* * *

"I remember now." Gracia mumbled, her hands clasped on her lap and her head bowed, "Part of it, at least… I remember what the Earl told me about Sleep."

"…What did he tell you?" Johnny asked softly, worriedly, as he sat across from her.

On the other side of the room at the inn they were staying in, Kanda was silent, leaning back against a wall with his arms crossed.

"…He said… that my father had been Sleep's Accommodator before me. Dad had had Sleep in his possession for a while, but it… abandoned him and joined me."

Johnny frowned, "If you has synchronized with Sleep, even back then, why didn't it come into your possession fully until after you had run away when you saw Vincent become an Akuma?"

"I don't know." Gracia sighed, rubbing her forehead, "I'd never really noticed Sleep before, and I guess my dad… wasn't too happy about me synchronizing with it… He probably hid it or something. And then, when he died and I married Vincent, it was one of the things I inherited from him…? And then it…" She paused, then sighed and dropped her head into her hands, "I don't know… I just don't know."

"…And now you're seeing hallucinations of your father." Johnny changed the subject somewhat, sighing. He then paused before going on, "When did these hallucinations start?"

Gracia frowned deeply.

In her conscious state? A while ago…

But… when she thought back as far as when she'd been 'autistic'… she was also sure she remembered seeing shadows then, too.

It was hard to tell, though; she hadn't really understood anything she'd seen back then, and couldn't really rationalize what she'd seen now.

She did know this, though…

"…I'd never seen them before I'd lost Sleep." Gracia mumbled softly.

There was a moment of silence, during which Gracia became aware of a heaviness in the air.

"…You said Sleep affected you as deeply as your subconscious, right?"

Gracia glanced over at Kanda as he spoke, realizing as she did that the heaviness was coming from him.

He stared at her with a void, unreadable expression for a moment, then sighed and looked at the floor.

"Then maybe your old man left something behind in Sleep when it desynchronized with him."

After thinking about it for a moment, Gracia frowned slightly, "What, you mean Sleep… took a piece of Dad with it?"

"With an Innocence that affects the Accommodator as deeply as the subconscious," Johnny started after a pause, "It's not entirely improbable… Like that Innocence ring that belonged to the deceased Mr. Martin; remember, the one Link had to beat in a game of chess?"

"…I wasn't on that mission." Gracia sighed.

"Dead old man's head kept coming back every night to play chess with whoever challenged him." Kanda summarized bluntly.

"…Ah." Gracia nodded. She then sighed again and stood, "Well, you get the gist of it now, right? Let's head back out."

After a pause, Johnny nodded and jumped to his feet, "Right, okay!" He then gabbed some of their luggage and hurried out the door, calling back and saying he was going to speak to the receptionist about something.

Gracia stood slowly, slinging her duffel bag over her shoulder making her become aware of how tight her stomach felt, and when she was standing straight she pressed a hand to her stomach, panting softly.

"Support unit."

As she jerked to a stop, it briefly flashed through Gracia's mind that Kanda might have noticed that, too, paranoia filling her as she wondered if he suspected—

"You tried to use Sleep out there instead of going for Judgment." Kanda glanced back at her from the doorway, his eye narrowed slightly, "Accept the fact that it's gone and move on. You're an offensive unit now; that pansy-ass shit you pulled back when stuck to featuring from the sidelines isn't going to cut it."

Gracia nodded after him even as he stormed off, letting out a heavy sigh of relief and pressing both hands to her stomach.

Beneath her coat and uniform, she could tell that she'd swelled a bit more…

"…Damn it, Silas." Gracia mumbled before she hurried after Johnny and Kanda.

Whether she was talking to her father or the baby, though, she couldn't be sure.


	143. PSR Set 2: File XI

I'm sorry; I know I haven't been answering some very important questions you all have left me in reviews. I'll get to those.

Also, a thanks to ZodiarkSavior, who was the 800th reviewer. OTL Holy crap, you guys are awesome.

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

About the time they had arrived at the fifth red-light district on Johnny's list, Gracia was well into feeling guilty about just… up and leaving Komui like she had, and no amount of rationalization was making her feel better.

In fact, the more she tried to rationalize, the more fragile the arguments felt in her hands, until they were crumbling and leaking through her fingers as if they'd been made of sand.

So, after Johnny and Kanda had walked into a particularly large and fancy hostess club called _The Kitten's Purr_, she had walked across the street and towards a payphone, glancing back at the entrance of the club frequently to make sure the two boys didn't come out as she closed herself into the booth.

After looking around a bit more, her chest tightening and her stomach getting an odd, tingling feeling as paranoia made her feel like someone was off in the shadows, watching her, she reached into her bag and pulled out a telephone handset. She continued looking around nervously as she unwound the cord. She felt around on the back of the main body of the payphone, then slipped the connector at the end of the cord she was holding into the hole she found, turning her attention to the handset when a dial tone came out of the speaker end.

It took her a moment to remember the number to the phone in Komui's office…

The handset was something she'd stolen from the Science Division; it was basically the equivalent of a golem in that one could dial the Order directly, but it required that one actually remember phone numbers and it as quite heavy and outdated. Still, it didn't record things like golems did, and it didn't act as a short-range tracking beacon when it wasn't in use. She wasn't too sure about when it was on, though…

Which was why she didn't want Kanda and Johnny knowing she was using it; they'd all agreed they wouldn't use it unless absolutely necessary, in case the signal could be tracked through the landline.

If Kanda found out she was breaking her word to call Komui, he'd—

"_Hello?_"

Gracia froze, her train of thought coming to a crashing halt.

Komui's voice… It had a croak in it; he sounded haggard, exhausted.

She had to stop herself from speaking when she opened her mouth to ask about his health; if he knew it was her, who knew if he couldn't just reach over, dial a number on his phone and use it to—

"…_Hello?_" Komui asked again with a heavy sigh, "_Bak? Or For… Probably Bak?_" Gracia bit her lip, staying silent. "_Look, I don't really have the time or the energy to play around right now; if you don't actually need me for something, I'm hanging up._"

At the sound of papers rustling, making Gracia think he was reaching across his desk to hang his phone up, her heart leapt into her throat and she stepped forward a bit, unwittingly letting out a soft, protesting noise.

And, at that, the other end of the line went silent.

"…_Gracia?_" Komui's voice had become a soft, desperate whisper.

After jerking, Gracia pulled the handset back and looked down at it, quickly pressing the red "End" button and jerking the hookup out of the payphone.

She didn't realize until she felt her pulse in her throat that she was panting, and as she wound the cord back around the handset and shoved it back into her bag, she opened the phone booth and stepped out into the cool, late night air, inhaling deeply.

It wasn't chilly or anything, but her temperature had spiked so sharply each breath felt like a dagger of ice in her lungs…

Gracia wasn't sure how long she just stood there, practically hyperventilating and panicking, but when a door across the street slammed she jumped, her head snapping over and her eyes locking on Kanda and Johnny as they walked (well, stormed, in Kanda's case) out of the club.

"Support unit!" Kanda snapped, taking off down the street without looking at her, "Let's go!"

Gracia blinked and trotted after him, relieved that Kanda and Johnny hadn't noticed her being next to the payphone but confused about Kanda's already sour attitude.

He'd been fine enough when they'd gone into the club…

"What happened?" She asked Johnny in a low voice, "Is he already drunk?"

"N-No…" Johnny shook his head, also keeping his voice low, "He… uh… found himself another male admirer."

Gracia blinked, then sighed.

It had become an increasingly frequent occurrence that men would… hit on Kanda, especially during the later hours of the evenings/early hours of the mornings.

It had even happened, on occasion, that the men would continue even when they found out Kanda was male.

…This, it seemed, was one of those special occurrences.

Just as they were rounding the corner to move onto the next location, the building the club was in still to their right, a large… strange bald man in leather pants with a fur-lined leather vest over his bare chest leapt out of the alley they were about to pass, his eyes darting back and forth and his arms out with fingers curled in an… almost groping motion.

Quickly, the man's eyes locked on Kanda and…

…in response to the hungry look on his face, Gracia found her eyebrow twitching and her hand moving to settle on Judgment's butt, a finger absently curling to unsnap the safety strap on the holster.

"There you ar—" The man started to dive for Kanda, who retaliated without blinking by thrusting a cloth-covered Mugen forward, the butt-end of the grip slamming into the man's cheek powerfully enough to knock out a few teeth.

Johnny yelped, pressing close to Kanda's back, and Gracia jumped and drew Judgment as two men and a woman she hadn't previously seen because of the man's bulk ran forward.

"Buh-BOSS! !" The two similarly bald, tattooed men wailed, one with tattoos of roses on his bald head turning to Kanda angrily.

"What in the hell are you doing? !"

"He was in my way." Kanda answered with blunt disinterest, sighing and looking to the side indifferently when his answer just angered the men further.

"It's fine to sock someone for just being in the way? !" Rose Tattoo demanded, his voice really more of a pathetic whine than a bellow.

"Wasn't he the one picking a fight to begin with? !" Johnny demanded with his own bit of indignation.

"He wasn't picking a fight! !" The other man, this one with tattoos of butterflies on his bald head, howled, "Our boss loves beautiful things—"

"To a sick degree!" Rose Tattoo added.

"He desires all beautiful things in this world…" Butterfly Tattoo said with a brief, whimsical tone before he went back to whining/shouting, "He's a hunter of love, you bastard! !"

Off with the still immobile, occasionally twitching man, the girl (who was wearing bunny ears) had fallen to her knees beside the man and was calling out "Boss!" in an annoyingly high, pitchy voice.

…By that point, Gracia, though confused, had gotten the general gist of what was going on and was biting the inside of her cheek and swallowing hard to keep from laughing.

As if it wasn't enough that Kanda, once again, was being sought by men, now they were being yelled at by cue ball-headed, flower/butterfly tattooed guys in wife-beaters, suit jackets and striped/polka dotted ties.

"And you say _I_ attract weirdoes." She glanced at Kanda wryly.

Kanda threw her a sharp, indignant glare, growling at Johnny, "How much further is the next stop?"

"U-Umm…" Johnny pulled out his list and flipped through it, "_The Rabbit's Bottom_? Umm… almost there."

"Don't ignore us!" Rose Tattoo snapped, almost in tears by that point.

"H-Hold on, guys."

…If Gracia hadn't seen the man move, if the two bald lackeys hadn't turned to him and called out "Ah, Boss!", she would have taken much longer to realize that the high-pitched voice had come from the large man Kanda had knocked out.

The last time he had spoken, his voice hadn't really registered with how quickly Kanda had knocked him out, but now…

"I-I can't stand it…" The bald, high-pitch-voiced man stumbled to his feet, the metal clamps on the scar on his bald head gleaming in the red light and his face sweating profusely, "Wh-What a painful attack… I've never seen such a beautiful, refined person before…" He then lunged for Kanda, his hands in their groping positions again, "I'm going to kidnap him and bring him back home!"

"Hyuu, Boss~!" The man's lackeys cheered on as the parted to give him room.

Gracia sighed and grabbed the back of Johnny's collar, forcing him to stumble to the side with her as Kanda, his hair shadowing his eyes and the veins and tendons standing out on his neck from how fiercely he was grinding his teeth, dropped the rucksack in his hand and proceeded to…

…Well…

…Pound the shit out of the burly, feminine-voiced man.

…Gracia wasn't sure whether to let Kanda have at him or pity the man for his misguided affections and save him from Kanda.

When she noticed the man's two bald lackeys starting to creep towards Kanda, though, pulling out switchblades, she stepped forward and drew Judgment, aiming it at the men with a smile.

"I don't think so." She chided, shaking he head, "Not unless you want a very large caliber bullet lodged in your skulls." When the men froze, looking between her with hateful glares and behind her, presumably at their boss, with worried, tearful eyes, Gracia sighed, "Kanda, can we just move on?"

"…Tch." The sounds of the beating stopped.

Gracia lowered Judgment (which had never even had its safety taken off as Gracia never had any intention of firing) and stepped aside with a sigh, and when a rough hand grabbed the back of her neck and jerked her to the side as the bald men and the bunny woman rushed to the, once again, unconscious man's side, she went a bit limp and let Kanda drag her along for a block or so, the sounds of Johnny scrambling behind them never far away.

When they got to _The Rabbit's Bottom_ and Kanda kept dragging her along, Gracia frowned and dug her feet into the ground, struggling slightly and trying to get away.

Kanda pointedly ignored her and dragged her into the bar, sitting her down almost violently on an empty, dark leather sofa with a low table in front of it before he sat beside her, Johnny shuffling around the other side to sit so both boys were boxing her in.

Even as she frowned and looked for a way out, not wanting to be in a bar environment when she was pregnant (not that she would have wanted to be there even if she wasn't pregnant), dozens of girls in fur/feather-lined, one-piece suits with rabbit ears and bunny tails flocked to their sitting area, most of them immediately going to hang off of Kanda and a few almost wrapping themselves around Johnny as they cooed about how cute and small he was.

Gracia's eyes widened and she pressed herself back against the sofa when a petite blonde thing with shimmering pink lips and nails slid across Kanda to straddle her lap, giggling and waving down at her with a cute tilt of her head.

Kanda's anger faded long enough for him to glance at Gracia with what could have been considered, in an alternate universe, as amusement. He then glanced at the girl who tried to weasel her way between his knees and narrowed his eyes darkly, growling, "Ale. Two. Doesn't matter what kind."

The girl pouted slightly at having to abandon her efforts but gave a chipper nod and bounced to her pointy little heels, hurrying off with clicks that were quickly drown out by the sounds of the other patrons of the bar, _largely_ male in population, enjoying their own drinks and women.

Gracia glanced around uncomfortably, getting the feeling that she was the only woman here who _wasn't_ part of the entertainment.

"So," Gracia looked back up at the girl straddling her lap, trying to press herself further back into the sofa when she saw the girl had leaned in, "What are _you_ doing participating in a boy's night out?"

"…They're my sons." Gracia answered bluntly, trying to best to stay deadpanned but unable to keep her face from reddening a bit at the closeness the smaller woman was insisting upon, "Their father is a deadbeat, lazy bastard, so I'm the one taking them to their first nudie bars."

On either side of her, Kanda and Johnny choked on their own spit and tongues.

The pink lipped/nailed bunny girl covered her mouth daintily with one hand, giggling, "Oh, you're a funny one! Most women who come in here are the pissed ones looking for their husbands; I've never met one who came in _willingly_."

"And you probably won't ever meet another one again." Gracia's brow twitched. '_Not that I was _willing_…_'

Her bunny girl and the other bunny girls all tittered.

When the bunny girl Kanda had sent off for drinks came back, two wooden _tankards_ rather than glasses on the tray she was using both hands to carry, Kanda's brow twitched but he took one, Johnny taking the other when Gracia shook her head.

And, as if spurred on by the alcohol, the girls all redoubled the efforts of trying to seduce Kanda and Johnny, Kanda quickly becoming rigid with his lips pressing into a thin, unhappy line, and Johnny… either a good actor, enjoying the contact or the epitome of innocence in that moment with his oblivious smile, apparently totally unaware of the pair of breasts pressing into the back of his head.

As Kanda took a long draught from his tankard, clearly needing it, Gracia's bunny leaned forward and ran her finely manicured nails through Gracia's shaggy hair and starting to say something about the coloring.

Then, the bunny paused.

Gracia tensed even more a moment later when she realized their stomachs were touching.

"…" The bunny leaned in even further, her movements only lascivious in appearance as she murmured into Gracia's ear, "You and that baby bump shouldn't be in places like this."

"…The boys dragged me in." Gracia muttered in response, starting to feel panicked, "They don't know…"

The bunny paused again, then pulled back and glanced over when Kanda suddenly, angrily slammed his tankard down on the table in front of the sofa, veins standing out on his temples, his bangs shadowing his eyes a bit and his teeth bared as he clenched them so harshly that light tremors ran through his body.

"Why does your way of finding the _Moyashi_ involve tours or red-light districts? !" Kanda demanded suddenly, angrily, as one girl rubbed her breasts against his arm and another rubbed hers against his leg.

Gracia quirked a brow slightly. He was asking that _just now_?

Kanda's shouted question went ignored as, to her right, Johnny turned to the bunny sitting next to him and showed her the picture in his hand. "Have you seen this guy?"

"Kyan, what a cute boy~!"

Gracia glanced over as the bunny took the picture to look at it, catching a brief glimpse of the photo of Timothy, Allen, Jiji, Timcanpy and Link…

It was a bit worn from so many handlings, but the surface was still glossy and the colors hadn't faded.

"Mmm, but I don't think I've seen him before." The bunny who had the picture shook her head, absently handing it back to Johnny as she held up her hand and signaled the bartender.

"Really?" Johnny asked, sounding a bit disappointed as he reached out and took back the picture.

"Another beer, please!" The bunny called out before she answered, "I definitely would have remembered if a boy like that came to the store."

Johnny sighed and put the photo in his inner coat pocket, pulling out his list and thumbing through it, "This place was no good, either…"

With that, Kanda suddenly stood quickly and shook all of the bunnies who were going on about his pretty face and dreamy eyes off of his arms and legs, shoving the bunny still on Gracia's lap off of her and onto Johnny's side of the sofa just as the older male stood.

"Alright, then, next one! Kanda, Gracia!" Johnny nodded with determination, grabbing the wrists of his companions and starting to drag them towards the exit.

"Waaah, you're leaving already?" The bunnies whined after them, a few making Kanda twitch and, from what Gracia could tell by the look on his face, nearly kick them when they grabbed at the hem and belt of his jacket and tugged pleadingly.

Gracia glanced back as she was pulled to the door, her eyes seeking out the glossy pink bunny and finding her quickly when she stood and looked at her pointedly.

When the bunny smiled and winked while pressing her forefinger to her lips in a shushing manner, Gracia couldn't help relaxing.


	144. PSR Set 2: File XII

Sorry this is late. We had to put my sister's horse to sleep today. Won't be able to get around to replying to things for a while.

D . Gray-man is owned by Katsura Hoshino, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original D . Gray-man storyline (such as Gracia) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

* * *

After that, Gracia made it a point of bluntly refusing to accompany Kanda and Johnny into any more bars, brothels, clubs and parlors, getting into a glaring war with Kanda when he tried to insist that they might need her as a translator when one of the places they came across had a name in a foreign language.

Once he understood that she wasn't just refusing to go in because she didn't approve of the places or because of her new bitchiness, the point getting across in his ever intoxicated mind that if _Gracia_, of all people, was glaring at him, then she must have a good reason, even if she didn't want to divulge, Kanda gave up.

Gracia sighed and leaned back against the building behind her, staring at what she could see of the night sky through the glare of the lights and the pollution and counting stars to pass the time.

"—cause we're friends!"

Gracia glanced over at the sound of Johnny's voice, sighing and shaking her head when he practically fell on his face as he stumbled out of the bar.

"As for Kanda…" Johnny tried to turn to Kanda, then faced forward again when he almost fell, "Why does the Order – or rather, why are _you_ helping me?"

Gracia stood straight and walked alongside Kanda as they started off down the street, Johnny pausing a few steps ahead of them, next to a rather thick woman in skimpy clothes and a rather odd, cartoonish bear-head mask, and glancing back to look at Kanda with an inquisitive gaze.

"If they find out… it'll be pretty bad for you, won't it?"

Gracia glanced at Kanda at that.

Much as she wanted to think that 'her boys' might have kinda… sorta cared about one another, the fact that Kanda had not only come back to the Order, but had also gone AWOL shortly after to join Johnny in looking for Allen…

Kanda made to sigh, made to answer, then his eyes widened and there was a loud gasp and cry.

Gracia looked over just in time to see Johnny, the arms of the thick woman wrapped around his shoulders, go flying backwards down the street they were about to come to, the woman jerking him through the air.

Her eyes widened and she drew Judgment, leaping forward and going to take aim when she realized that Judgment was too bulky for her to aim properly when the woman, who was revealing herself to be an Akuma, had Johnny pressed so close to her body.

"Damn it! !" She should have let the Science Division alter the damned gun's size!

Gracia stumbled and fell to the ground when Kanda suddenly pushed her aside and took the place where she had been standing so he—

…She couldn't tell what he was doing.

She'd landed on her stomach, and the pain that summoned made her limited focus shift to that, instead.

Gracia struggled to shrug the strap of her duffel bag off so she could roll onto her hands and knees and curl up into a ball in that position, her legs resting flat on the ground, her thighs pressed to her stomach and her arms crossed under her forehead so her face didn't touch the ground.

She stayed there, panting and trying to alleviate the pain, and when she heard an explosion she glanced over, her already sweaty forehead making her bangs cling as she turned her head to see Mugen jutting out of the Akuma's face and pinning it back to a wall while Kanda jumped off of the now fallen Johnny's back to leap after it. Kanda slammed into it with enough power to force it further back into the wall, making a crater, and when she could feel the reverberations and they went to her stomach, Gracia gasped sharply and closed her eyes.

Absently, she heard an inhuman shriek of laughter, and when it was followed by a taunting "Yu Kanda? ! It's Yu Kanda! What a stupid fool you are, to have come back! !", she vaguely registered that it must have been the Akuma.

"That little bit of life you have left…" The Akuma went on, "You should have just spent it in peace! ! The Order has no chance of winning! Akuma are being born quickly, even now! !" It then cackled/shrieked with laughter again, repeating "Quickly, QUICKLY! !" over and over again.

"YOU'VE CHOSEN HELL, YOU FOOL—" There was an explosion, and the Akuma went silent.

"…Really, Kanda… Why?" Johnny's voice echoed softly in the now empty, quiet alley.

"I was the one that awakened him into a Noah." Kanda said after a pause.

His tone of voice was enough to make Gracia risk turning her head and looking back over, her panting light but still pained as she studied Johnny and Kanda's backs.

"Y-You mean what happened at the North American Branch? !" Johnny started, his voice filling with emotion, "But that was the Earl using Akuma to make you—! It wasn't your fault! !"

"…I didn't care… what happened to the Order."

Gracia felt her rapidly beating heart skip a pulse. She hadn't heard that tone in Kanda's voice in a while… Not since they'd said goodbye before he'd left with Alma.

"So during the mission in Paris… when I caught a glimpse of his Noah transformation, I ignored it."

Gracia's eyes widened and she started struggling to push herself to her feet.

"Kanda!" She gasped, making his shoulders twitch and Johnny pause to glance back at her, "I didn't report that, either! And I… I should have; I should have at least told Komui! That wasn't—"

"I let it be, without even making an attempt to report it to Komui." Kanda glanced back at her and Johnny, a sad smile crossing his face, "Because I hated the Order even more than the Noah and the Akuma."

When he pointedly met her eyes, Gracia choked on her words.

Unlike her, Kanda hadn't kept it to himself because he was afraid of what would happen to Allen. He had kept it to himself because he hadn't cared if Allen went Noah-crazed and killed people.

Still meeting her eyes, Kanda nodded slightly to the look on her face, turning to face her and Johnny a bit more evenly, "But now… that regret simply won't let me die peacefully."

Gracia felt her heart clench, the tip of her nose burning and her vision watering.

He really had… grown up…

"Lets go." Kanda sighed as he walked back over and picked up the rucksack that had fallen next to Johnny, "This smoke is poisonous." Without waiting for either of them to answer, he turned and walked towards the staircase next to the dead Akuma, stepping through the noxious gas pouring from the corpse and starting to head up as dawn broke.

Johnny lowered his head, letting out an odd, strangled sound that made Gracia think he might have been holding back tears, and when he rushed after Kanda, she sighed, smiling weakly, and made to follow.

As soon as her foot met the ground, pain radiated up her spine, focusing on her stomach, and she gasped loudly and fell to her knees again, her arms wrapping around her stomach.

She tried to brush it off when Johnny rushed back to her, the former Science Division member calling back over his shoulder to Kanda, but when the familiar sensation of far-too-hot moisture pooled between her thighs, her heart rate picked up in the back of her throat and her panic increased.

She knew that wetness…

She _knew_ it!

_She had never wanted to feel it again! !_

"Johnny!" Gracia gasped, "Doctor—" Then, just as suddenly as it had picked up, her heart rate dropped again, then dropped more until it was far too slow, and she spent a few seconds struggling to breathe before the panic got to her before the bradycardia did and she passed out.

* * *

"—_nestly, carrying heavy loads and doing heavy traveling… wielding a gun… falling on her stomach… using a dose of atropine… Those drunk little idiots are lucky they didn't cause a complete miscarriage._"

Gracia's eyes snapped open at 'miscarriage' and she gasped, the panic returning as she tried to struggle into a sitting position.

"And you!" A wrinkled, liver spotted but firm hand pressed against her chest, pushing her back down, "The boy in the glasses mentioned you have a _history_ of miscarriages; how could you be this irresponsible? ! You are _beyond_ old enough to know better!"

"Johnny—!" Gracia gasped, registering that Johnny had mentioned to this old woman, some kind of doctor or nurse or healer, she assumed, that she had a history of miscarriages, "Do they know I'm—? !"

"Pregnant?" The old woman snorted, glaring down at her harshly and disapprovingly, "If you haven't told them, then no; the boy – Johnny, you said his name was? – only mentioned the miscarriages because of the bleeding even though you, apparently, haven't had your monthlies in a while. But, really, if those fools haven't noticed by now—" She cut herself off, sighing heavily, then went back to glaring at Gracia, "Now, why don't you ask the question you _should_ be asking?"

Gracia flinched, "…How is the—"

"The baby is still there; no solid matter has been passed yet." The old woman huffed, pulling away and moving around the room quickly as she did things Gracia couldn't see, "A bit of heavy bleeding, initially, but it's slowed significantly, though I would still consider you both to be in a danger zone. Drink this."

Gracia meekly took the cup she was handed, almost failing to swallow the contents and spit the liquid out, instead, when it assaulted her taste buds so powerfully she couldn't tell if the drink was bitter or spicy. As she gagged it down, her spine rolling as she almost retched, the old woman went on talking.

"The boys said they would be back shortly; they had a few more places to check. I would _strongly_ suggest that you take it slow for the next few days. Now," The woman turned back to Gracia, staring at her coldly, "Let's talk about my fee."

Gracia flinched again, sighing. It was bad when medical personnel were so angry at you they wanted to talk about payment right after talking about the prognosis…

A few hours later, Johnny and Kanda arrived to pick Gracia up, both of them able to brush off the elderly woman's admonishing glares at the stench of booze on them as Johnny rushed over to check on Gracia, Kanda stalking closely behind him.

The tall, dark male didn't say anything, but he did look down at her with what she could see through his shield of a glare and frown as being a concerned expression.

After brushing Johnny's question off weakly, keeping a worried eye on the woman in case she decided to tell Johnny and Kanda about her pregnancy, Gracia walked to the door with Johnny, Kanda not far behind, as he told her about the last few hours of their search.

As grateful as she was that the old woman kept her mouth shut as they stepped outside, she felt the already overbearing guilt the woman had laid on her increase as the door was slammed behind them, making Johnny jump and Kanda look back with a scowl.

"The fuck is her problem? !" Kanda snapped irritably, looking tired and ill.

"I don't know…" Johnny blinked at the door before turning to Gracia, "Did she find out what was wrong with you?"

"Ah…" Gracia blinked, pausing, then smiled weakly, "I must have… just fallen on something in my bag when Kanda pushed me down."

To Gracia's surprised, Kanda's eyes actually flickered away at that, something crossing his face that could have almost been called gui—

"So, nothing, then?" Gracia sighed, "Now what?"

Johnny shook his head and reached into his pocket, pulling out a map and unfolding it as he started walking, "Let's see…"

As she followed, something bumped into Gracia's arm, and she looked over to see Kanda walking in step with her, his eyes locked ahead stonily as he offered Judgment.

He must have taken it from her when he and Johnny had taken her for medical care… He also had her duffel bag slung across his back.

Gracia took Judgment and strapped it back into place, and guiltily let him keep him keep carrying her bag; not feeling guilty because he had to carry her things, because she really couldn't carry anything at the moment, but because he was carrying her things for reasons other than what he was thinking…

True, he had pushed her down, but if he'd known she was pregnant, Gracia staunchly believed Kanda would have never handled her so roughly.

Actually, he probably would have gotten quite pissy with her and would have started insisting on carrying her things quite a while ago… Hell, he might even have gone as far as to contact Komui behind her back and left her tied up somewhere for whoever Komui sent to find so she could be forcibly taken back to the Order.

Kanda really was a sweet boy, Gracia decided with a (deluded) smile.

When they arrived at the local town square, which was almost completely framed in by a small marketplace, Johnny led them over to a small statue in the middle of the clear area, unfolding his map completely.

"Hmm… Since this town's near a big harbor, and a lot of foreigners are around, I thought it would have been a good place for Allen to hide…" Johnny started as Kanda flopped down onto a ledge beside him on the statue, Gracia sitting close to the Asian teen as he propped his elbow up on his knee and dropped his head into his hand morosely, "But, as expected, it's not going to be so easy!"

Gracia sighed, and Kanda let out an almost pitiful grunt in answer.

Gracia blinked.

Pitiful…?

She glanced at Kanda, frowning when she saw the back of his neck was a bit sweaty and what she could see of his face though his hair and parted fingers was a bit pale and clammy.

"Are you okay?" Johnny asked after a pause.

"…My head's throbbing." Kanda grumbled, a sure sign he was ill; Kanda never _admitted_ to not feeling well, "What is this…?"

"Uh… A hangover, I would say." Johnny answered sheepishly. He then turned to his bag and started digging around.

As he did, Gracia kept a worried eye on Kanda, frowning when she saw a dark, bitter look cross his face.

What could he be thinking abou—

"Ah, here it is!" Johnny suddenly perked, turning to Kanda and thrusting out a bottle with a label marked "56 II", "Here, Kanda! You'll feel better after drinking this! It's the Science Division's new and improved Komuvitan D II."

Gracia's brow twitched as she remembered the "zombie" incident, and she growled, "No."

At the same time, Kanda twitched and muttered, "I'll die before I drink that."

Johnny grinned and cackled slightly, somewhat insanely, as he leaned in, thrusting the bottle into Kanda's face to the point where Kanda had to put a hand on it to push it away.

"Don't say things like that…" Johnny cackled a bit more, "And I thought I had you fooled, too. C'mon, just one mouthful! It's new and improved! It'll make you feel better… C'mon!"

Gracia couldn't help giggling slightly at the look on Kanda's face as she scooted away from them.

"As if I'd believe a lie like that from a Science Division freak!" Kanda snapped before he slapped Johnny's hand, sending the bottle flying. As Johnny ran after it, wailing "Komuvitan D II! !", Kanda stood abruptly, managing to make himself look better with sheer willpower as he barked, "Let's go, woman, we're off to the station."

Gracia smiled weakly as she stood, glancing after Johnny, "But what about—"

"Screw him!" Kanda snapped, starting to walk off.

"…Kanda… Johnny has the list."

That made Kanda freeze, and Gracia could have sworn she saw a vein stand out on the back of his head.

…Which, of course, was physically impossible.

As Kanda turned and stormed after Johnny, muttering angrily, Gracia sighed and turned, watching after him but not following.

At that point, she wanted to avoid walking as much as possible…

Gracia watched as Kanda stormed over and tried to drag Johnny away from a clown he had been watching, blinking slowly when Johnny started panicking and shouting about something. When Johnny stood and suddenly started running towards her, she turned to face him completely, tipping her head.

"G-Gracia!" Johnny gasped as he jerked to a stop in front of her, bending over and bracing his palms against his knees as he panted, "You said you didn't have any money, right? !"

Gracia blinked down at him, "Ah… No. No, I don't."

"Ooooh…" Johnny whined, grabbing his head and shaking it guiltily, "I lost our money! I-I'll have to get a job! We'll have to stay here for a bit before we can move on!" He then pulled away from her and ran back over to Kanda, jerking him away from the clown he was… glaring rather intensely at and calling out for him to hurry up as he dragged him back over to Gracia. "You, too!"

Gracia sighed and pulled her sleeve out of Johnny's grip when he tried to drag her like he was Kanda, her stomach in no condition for running. She paused, glancing at the clown, herself, to see it staring at them, then turned and started to walk after the boys as they ran off.

They didn't make it far before there was an explosion, followed by the terrified screams of the civilians around them.

Gracia's hand went to Judgment, drawing it as she turned around, and Kanda dashed past her, drawing Mugen as they both set their sights on the Akuma.

Kanda had just drawn his sword, and Gracia had just aimed Judgment when the Akuma exploded, gore spattering the ground.

After a beat, a bloodstained, feathered entity rose from the center of the flesh-strewn mess, and Gracia's eyes widened and her breath hitched when the blood slid off to reveal white and a figure rose to reveal itself to the clown, holding a little girl, with his makeup a bit ruined and the mask of the Crowned Clown floating above his—

…The Crowned Clown?

…It was him, Gracia realized with widening eyes and a maelstrom of emotions swelling in her chest – they'd found Allen.


End file.
